11–20 of 22 posts
somewhat sad to say that if you follow the map link ( https://caltopo.com/m/4N7A ) there's in fact a trail right next to the "point of inaccessibility" that includes trails + roads. The path was added to OSM two years ago, which is after the analysis was done. OSM is a moving target! https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1255896413
This reminds me of something I saw on a backpacking blog sometime last year. Project Remote, a family that's finding and hiking to all the "most remote" place in each state of the USA. Here's some of the statistics: https://web.archive.org/web/20240621094642/https://www.proje... The most surprising one to me is: Least Remote: Kansas (0.8 miles from a road). As someone who lives in the very densely populated greater B…
I'm extremely surprised that Wyoming is more remote than Alaska! I wouldn't think Alaska has that many back-country roads running through it. Edit: they have another page describing Alaska. It seems that the linked page might only describe the contiguous US? But also, wow. This seems stupid: > Thoughts of roadless Alaska came to mind and our amazing, wild trek through the Brooks Range of the Arctic National Wildlife…
"Towns" on a map might literally be a single home up there. It's as remote as can be even alongside utility roads.
somewhat sad to say that if you follow the map link ( https://caltopo.com/m/4N7A ) there's in fact a trail right next to the "point of inaccessibility" that includes trails + roads. The path was added to OSM two years ago, which is after the analysis was done. OSM is a moving target! https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1255896413
somewhat sad to say that if you follow the map link ( https://caltopo.com/m/4N7A ) there's in fact a trail right next to the "point of inaccessibility" that includes trails + roads. The path was added to OSM two years ago, which is after the analysis was done. OSM is a moving target! https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1255896413
[1]: https://ironhiker.blogspot.com/2025/08/baden-powell-x3-and-r...
This reminds me of something I saw on a backpacking blog sometime last year. Project Remote, a family that's finding and hiking to all the "most remote" place in each state of the USA. Here's some of the statistics: https://web.archive.org/web/20240621094642/https://www.proje... The most surprising one to me is: Least Remote: Kansas (0.8 miles from a road). As someone who lives in the very densely populated greater B…
The Wikipedia article for section (survey) has an aerial photo of Kansas in it, naturally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_(United_States_land_su...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well Kansas has the benefit of being utterly flat and also quite homogenous biome wise. Even though it has no people I' assuming without looking at it that the entire state has been chopped up into square mile sized squares.
Yeah, if "road" is satisfied with tractor path that leads back to a road, that sub-mile distance doesn't seem hard to believe
The Kansas landscape is very underrated. Just infinite sky in all directions.
Yet, I still stare and wonder. Despite people having been here for thousands of years, I look at a ridge, or a spot on the mountain, and just wonder "has anyone been there before".
There are all sorts of reasons to not "go" there. There's "nothing there" to go to. It's hard to get to. There may not even be an animal trail up there. Even the sheep are smart enough to leave it be.
But I wonder.
I look at the ridge few miles north of my house, and, in the back of my head, I have a Plan to hike it someday. Just walk the ridge. It doesn't seem arduous, it's not Everest. Seems like only ("only") 15 miles.
But I do wonder, if anyone has done it before, and were they thinking about it like I was.
somewhat sad to say that if you follow the map link ( https://caltopo.com/m/4N7A ) there's in fact a trail right next to the "point of inaccessibility" that includes trails + roads. The path was added to OSM two years ago, which is after the analysis was done. OSM is a moving target! https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1255896413
The Roads Only Pole of Inaccessibility would require a hike downslope from Ross Mtn peak to about 1400-1450m elevation. You could use the ridge that runs SE away from the peak of Ross Mountain to a bench at about 1695m elevation just NE of the spot and, depending on terrain, could hike the last 650 m (as the crow flies) to the curve in that stream channel 300 m downslope. The map sympbols indicate it is meadow so you can probably see where you're heading all the way. (LOL, I checked GEarth and it isn't meadow at all. The slope looks steep but I'm sure a dedicated hiker could manage.)
After spending a bit of time on GEarth looking at this location it appears that the Roads Only point is probably the Ross Gulch in the Johnson Corner area. Without ever having been there and using only GEarth and the photos people have posted in that locality to get an idea of terrain I think the easiest way to reach that point is to follow the ridge from Ross Mountain as described to the bench noted. You'll be above that bend in the Gulch on the east side where the slopes are less steep and you should be able to zig-zag across terrain to the point.
To access the Paved Driving Allowed Roads Only Pole of Inaccessibility you probably want to just take the Iron Mountain Trail up to the peak (2419 m) and hike downslope about 500 m in elevation (around 1 km best guess for hiking distance) along that NNW trending ridge to the north of that drainage above the Fish Fork campground down on the river.
Thanks. This was fun.
somewhat sad to say that if you follow the map link ( https://caltopo.com/m/4N7A ) there's in fact a trail right next to the "point of inaccessibility" that includes trails + roads. The path was added to OSM two years ago, which is after the analysis was done. OSM is a moving target! https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1255896413
This isn't really a path, and certainly not an official trail. It's a use trail [1] that should probably get (edit: now has) an informal=yes tag [2]. I think it still counts! [1]: https://ironhiker.blogspot.com/2025/08/baden-powell-x3-and-r... [2]: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:informal%3Dyes