Allegany County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: January 28, 2006
Authors: Don Desrosiers and Chip Clark

Dan's Rock (2895 feet) -- From I-68 at exit 34, follow the state park signs for Dans Rock. Very obvious HP. Much graffiti. Good views otherwise. Interstate to HP to Interstate - 18 minutes. With photos, 19-20 minutes.

Point in northwest corner of county (2880+ feet) -- From I-68, exit 29, take MD 546 north into PA. At the first major intersection after the state line, turn right onto MacKensie Hollow Road then right onto dirt Old Mount Savage Road. We got to the dogleg shown on the map (approximately 1/4 mile) where we determined the snow and mud might be more than we wanted to deal with. At that point the GPS indicated we were 1.3 linear miles from the HP.

Take the dirt road (or along the edge of the field for us due to the snow) up to the "Packard Saddle" which is going to be as far as you will be able to drive without an ATV since the road is gated just past that point (now 3/4 linear miles from the HP). Stay on the obvious dirt road, descending to the creek noted by Mike Schwartz. Just past the creek, Mike went right, parallel to the ridge. We went straight on a decent dirt road not shown on the topo, ending up about where the central "N" in "MOUNTAIN" is located on the topo. This road winds easily around and climbs gently to the ridge and eventually to the gas line right-of-way. From there ,it was an easy bushwhack to the vicinity of the state line, although the 2-6 inches of snow tended to slow things up a bit. From there we started looking for the #179 Mason-Dixon marker.

Based on the GPS, we figured the HP should be about 50 feet due south from our position. Chip found a boulder at that point as Don looked for the M-D marker. Suddenly Chip yells out, "There's an iron rod in this rock and it has a cross on the top of it." Upon examination, it was obvious that the 3-county marker is on the southern part of the rock top (about 68 inches above ground) and is a square-headed spike embedded fully in the rock, with a cross inscribed in the top. The boulder rests in 3 counties and two states, with the highest point of the boulder in PA. Chip double-checked the GPS reading (5 satellites) against topozone later and it matched with Don's reading, even though we were using different receivers and different datums. I think we've got our rock. There was another taller boulder east and a little north but it appears to be fully in PA.

On the down side, we never did find the M-D marker. From the tri-county marker it should have been due west (adjusted 9.75 degrees) by compass but we never found it, even after substantial wandering. There was enough snow to make life difficult. It may be found in the spring.

Took the same route back (followed our tracks in the snow). Probably close to 3.5 miles with all the wandering.

If you could find a knowledgeable local, you might be able to find a better route in from the east. There were a number of ATV tracks that came from that direction.