Clay County High Point Trip Report
Dates: September 28-29, 2001
Author: Mike Schwartz
USGS BM at Bird Knob (1,864 ft)
Take WV 16 north 2.6 miles and turn left onto CR 10/Independence Road. Fork left at 4.5 miles onto a
lesser paved road, that heads west along the Adonijah Fork. The road deteriorates, but stays paved,
reaching a pullout at 6.4 miles just before turning to gravel and being posted. This point is north and slightly
east of Bird Knob.
From here, I bushwhacked due south to the ridge line, finding a track road that followed the ridge.
Mark the point at which you gain the ridge. The track road eventually starts to drop off the ridge to the south,
at which point a fence line can be followed to the summit. Stay to the south of the fence line, avoiding definite
private property to the north. The summit has cairns in two places, but I could not find the benchmark.
On the descent, I decided to follow the track road down the ridge line all the way to avoid the bushwhack.
It descended very steeply at the end, reaching the paved road at a woodshed and outbuildings, no more than
a three minute walk east of the parking pullout. There are private homes in the same area, and using the
track road as an ascent route could be a problem. No one saw me as I descended through the area.
Considering the steep track road, it might be just as easy to retrace the bushwhack.
Hike to summit took about 20 minutes, with 550 feet of gain.
one area 2 miles southeast of Fola (1,840+ ft)
From the turnoff to Bird Knob off WV 16 at CR 10, continue 5.5 miles north on WV 16, to a right turn onto
Sycamore Creek Road/CR24. Zero the odometer. Pass the Community Baptist Church (shown on topo) at
2.4 miles. At 4.7 miles, reach the fork shown at spot elevation 1392 feet. The county line is not marked,
and landmarks are few. I verified the location by repeated trips along the road, following the curves and
terrain as shown on the topo. The area is none too prosperous, but nobody bothered me, and the many dogs
in the area were completely laid back. I turned around twice in the same driveway, and a husky on the front
walk barely roused himself enough to look up. Park along the road where an overgrown woods road heads
uphill to the right.
Bushwhack due east up the steep ridge, reach and bypass a rock promontory to the left, and regain the ridge.
Mark this spot for the return. The ridge levels off and then climbs again, and picks up a woods road to the summit.
The liner summit is marked by blazes and with an aluminum disk (#PS 835) placed by Allegheny Surveys,
Birch River, WV. The blazes seem to follow the county line. I walked northeast along the ridge to
verify the terrain. This was the correct knob. Check the compass on the descent, as it's easy to get turned
around to the north.
Round trip took 1 hour 5 minutes.