Elk County Highpoint Trip Report
Dates: June 7 and 11, 2008
Author: Fred Lobdell
Wildwood Fire Tower and one additional area - June 7
Follow Mike Schwartz's directions to get to this area.
The access road to the now-vanished fire tower is gated but open to non-motorized travel,
according to a sign. Almost across the road from the tower site access road
is another gated road, also open to non-motorized travel.
For the second area, hike this road a short distance to a pipeline,
then turn left (south) and hike to the crest and a bit beyond.
This will save you a short bushwhack directly from the road but you will still
be left with an unpleasant experience ahead of you.
The area west of the pipeline, including the highest contour, has been logged.
We are all familiar with the mess left behind after loggers leave an area
but this was worse than most.
Just south of the crest on the pipeline there was a logging road going west
toward the high area. Follow this as far as you can until you have to bushwhack
into the mess to get to the high ground. Abundant logged trees and "slash"
mixed with dense scrubby growth makes you ask, "Are we having fun yet?"
Boone Mtn: benchmark plus two additional areas - June 11
Follow Mike's directions. The turnoff is now signed. It's Boone Mountain Road
west of PA 153, and Fire Tower Road (which is the one you want) east of it.
Like Mike, I was unable to locate the BM. The county line is also unmarked,
so a GPS unit comes in very handy to try to figure out where you are.
I too thought the high ground was in the woods on the south side of the road,
not far from the road.
The other two areas I did in the reverse order of what Mike did.
I was able to drive without difficulty all the way to the second area,
where the map shows a rough road passing through the southwestern part
of the western area. This road is gated but I was able to park here and
walk the short distance up the road to the crest.
There I bushwhacked a short distance northeast to reach what appeared
to be the highest ground. From that spot I continued bushwhacking due east
to the other area.
This is not a pleasant bushwhack, with laurel thickets and some briars.
Finally, I got to a spot that seemed a little higher than the surrounding ground
and took out my GPS unit to check my location. It differed from what I had downloaded
for the center of the area by just a couple of ten-thousandths of a degree
in both latitude and longitude, which was good enough for me.
On my return bushwhack, I headed generally northwest and got to the road
which I walked back to my car.
webmaster's comment: One ten-thousandth of a degree in latitude is
about 35 feet on the ground - a negligible offset. At Pennsylvania's latitude
one ten-thousandth of a degree in longitude is about 25 feet. Error in cursor
placement when viewing online maps is typically larger - and thus of
greater potential concern.