Elevation: 1,549 ft
Date: July 28th, 2007
Group Size: 1
Miles Covered: Short walk from the parking lot
Difficulty: Drive up
Scenery: Goldwing convention!

This was the first of three highpoints visited during the last weekend of July. I landed in Chicago's Midway airport at 4pm on a Friday afternoon, just in time to experience the Chicago traffic jam. Not knowing any better, I took the local roads (or surface streets as we call them here in SoCal). The supposedly two and a half hour drive on US-30 to Lima, OH turned into a six hour ordeal. Good news was that my rental car came equipped with a satellite radio, so I at least had some good music and NPR to keep me company.

I arrived at the Hi Point Vocational School, the site containing the highpoint, around 8am the next morning. The school is not in session during the months of July and August, and a permission is needed to access the highpoint. I figured it would be easier to beg for forgiveness than dealing with paperwork. What I did not realize was that the highpoint is surrounded by a tall chain link fence, with a massive gate guarding the entrance!

I am not sure what the policy is regarding the gate opening hours, but I like to think I caught a lucky break. The school was hosting some Honda Goldwing convention on the day of my visit. Not only I bagged another highpoint, I got to check out the bikes, and especially their various trailers. The winner had to be one rider who came in pulling an entire barrel of wine!

The gate guarding Ohio's tallest hill.

The summit was easy to find, despite the heavy fog.

Right below was the Goldwing convention. This guy brought his dog along for the ride in the trailer converted to a kennel.