Covington City High Point Trip Report

BM "Nettleton" (1,680+ ft)

Date: May 18, 2000
Author: Fred Lobdell

Covington's unnamed high point lies in a rural area south of I-64. From Exit 16 (described under Alleghany County) on I-64, go west on US 60 for about 1.2 miles to VA 18. Turn left (south) on 18 and go about 1.0 miles, passing under I-64 in the process. Here the road forks, and you need to take the left fork, which is county 647. Follow this as it curves around sharply to the left to where a paved road goes off to the left at a very sharp angle. (I found it easier to go past this point, find a place to turn around, and come back to this intersection.) Follow this road as it climbs steeply past some houses, then makes a sharp right turn and ends in a dirt road at a radio tower. (Two or three tracks continue past this point, but it would be overstating the case to call them roads.) Park out of the way at the radio facility. There is a "No Trespassing" sign on the decrepit shack here; I assumed it referred to the shack and not the land.

The high power lines, shown on the topographic map, make a convenient landmark. Walk uphill toward these. There will be a closed gate almost immediately in front of you, and another closed gate on your left. But there is room for a person to pass through the fence alongside the gate on the left, and you can then rejoin the grassy track that goes uphill. This track passes through two more gates, both open when I was there. As you work your way toward the hill crest you will notice a badly overgrown track going into the woods toward the ridge crest. This road, not shown on the map, passes right over the highest point. I looked around for the bench mark but couldn't find anything. I thought I might be getting warm when I spotted some blue surveyor's ribbon on a tree just about where the high point should have been, but no BM. The road continued over the crest; possibly it connects with a road shown at the northeast end of the summit ridge, although I didn't investigate further.