Lincoln County High Point Trip Report
spot elevation on county line, 1 1/2 miles west of Miller School (1,686 ft)
Date: September 29, 2001
Author: Michael Schwartz
From the junction of US 119 and WV 85, go south 3.4 miles to CR 10/Mud River Road. This point is also
9.2 miles north of the Boone/Logan County line via US 119. Zero the odometer. Go west on Mud River
Road, reach the sharp crest of Mud Gap at 2.0 miles, and traverse the hairpin turn shown on the topo at 2.4 miles,
just east of spot elevation 1049 feet. I parked at the hairpin.
Maybe 100 yards downhill, the track road shown on the topo heading south along Bearcamp Branch heads
into the woods next to a house. Pass a gate signed as Penn Evergreen property and hike south until the
ridge extending northeast from the high point comes right down to the road at a steep embankment. This is
just before an open gate and several derelict buildings. Bushwhack due west up the steep ridge. Reach a
woods road and follow it uphill until it levels off and a lesser, cleared path goes up to the right toward the
ridge line. This reaches another woods road, which should be crossed and the bushwhack continued directly
up the ridge line. These woods have burned recently, and the undergrowth is minimal. Reach the summit
1/2 mile northeast of the high point, between the "W" and "A" in the word Washington on the topo.
From there take a nice ridge walk on a good woods road SW to spot elevation 1686 feet. Go to the saddle
between the two knobs on the ridge, and backtrack on a grassy path to spot elevation 1686 feet.
I also visited the south knob, which looked as high as spot elevation 1686 feet. On the descent, when I
reached the lowest woods road that was used for a while on the ascent, I followed it north as it gradually
dropped down off the hill. The track road along Bearcamp Branch was visible below. The woods road
reaches the track road, avoiding the final bushwhack and cutting the corner. It's hard to identify for sure on
the hike in, and there are no landmarks nearby.
I forgot to mark the junction with a piece of surveyor's ribbon.
Trip Statistics: Hike up was 1 hour, down was 50 minutes. Elevation gain was 530 feet.
The track road at the high point seemed to drop down to the south and may offer a shorter approach from
that direction. I chose the northern approach because the hike to the summit appeared more straightforward,
and the terrain was indeed easy to follow.