Frederick County High Point Trip Report

Date: July 21, 2002
Author: Ryan Bowles

I tried Mike Schwartz's Approach III, from the west in West Virginia. This was much easier than the eastern approach, judging from Mike's trip report. However, there may be minor access issues. If you try this route, try to get permission ahead of time from the Capon Springs Hunt Club. I have an email out trying to get a phone number, but haven't heard back yet.

From the intersection of US 50 and VA 259 (zero odometer), go south on 259. At 7.2 miles, turn left on Back Creek Rd. At 8.4 miles, turn right where Back Creek comes to a T onto an unsigned road (which may be Bent Creek Rd., but I'm not sure). At 10.8 miles, turn left on an obvious gravel road. There is no street sign, but a sign facing the other direction advertises the Capon Woods Resort. This road is close to and parallel to the power line Mike describes. I parked at 11.2 miles, in front of an empty cleared lot, which I went through to get to the power line. You could also continue up the road and get permission to go through someone's property to get to the power line, cutting off some of the hike.

From the power line, go up along the right of way road. Before long, come to a gate in a fence posted by the Capon Springs Hunt Club. The gate was closed, but the fence was rolled back, making access a piece of cake. Even if the fence were complete, the gate is easy to scale. Continue up steeply until you come to the obvious side road along the small power line described in Mike's trip report. This side road is just before the ridge line, and is also on land owned by the hunt club.