Harrison County Highpoint Trip Report

unnamed (1,860+ feet)

Date: May 12, 2009
Author: Fred Lobdell

I followed Mike Schwartz's trip report but found the sawmill to be 2.1 miles from WV 20. It was not operating on this day. I spoke with a young man who lives in the trailer just past the sawmill and who was returning from an unsuccessful turkey hunt. He had no problem with my hiking the roads from that point.

As Mike noted, take the middle of the three roads continuing from the sawmill. This road is gated and has been freshly graveled up to the first switchback, but is not posted. The "small house trailer" reported by Mike is gone.

When I got to the top of the first of the two knobs reported by Mike as being "about 150 feet apart", I continued on to the second where I found the drying rack he mentioned. From that knob there was a road continuing to the northeast, but that's not the direction I wanted to go. Indeed, I was having trouble getting my GPS unit to agree with where I thought I was.

I returned to the first knob and saw a good woods road going off to my left. I started walking this road and it took me almost directly to the promised land.

So I offer the following revised directions:

After getting to the top of the first knob mentioned by Mike, see to your left front a good woods road going off to the left. Take this road which descends to a saddle, then ascends.

Shortly after starting out on this road you will notice a barbed-wire fence a few feet to your left that parallels the road. Keep an eye on this fence, as you will have to cross it to get to the high point.

About half way from the saddle to the road crest, there will be a gate in the fence to your left. This is the easiest place to cross the fence. From there it is a short walk up a grassy slope to a relatively open HP knob. My GPS unit said that this was the spot.

Although I didn't do it, if you're interested in looking for benchmark "Charity", I suspect that you should return to the woods road and continue past the crest and descend 75 to 100 feet while looking for the benchmark.