Logan County High Point Trip Report
on county line 3000 ft northwest of Burning Rock (2,920+ ft)
Date: May 23, 2001
Author: Michael Schwartz
From the junction of US 52 and WV 97, take 97 east about two miles and turn left onto Coal Mountain
Road/CR 6-2. Reach a locked gate just past the Coal Mountain Post Office a little short of nine miles
from the 52/97 junction. Safe parking is available at the post office. I estimate this point to be just north
of where the Upper Sturgeon Branch is shown on the map as flowing into Big Cub Creek, about a mile
north of Coal Mountain as positioned on the map. The gate is posted by the coal company, but I checked
with the post office employees, who told me that "people go up in there all the time, and nothing ever
happens." They felt that hunting would be the one activity that would upset the landowners, and that
hiking would not be a problem.
Hike up the good gravel road shown on the map that turns more to the east as it climbs gradually past
abandoned railroad beds and evidence of past mining. Based on the absence of litter and foot or vehicle
tracks, with the exception of some old bulldozer tread marks, the area beyond the gate would seem to get
very little visitation. About 1/2 mile in, ignore a major left fork that climbs steeply uphill and continue
straight on the road that parallels the rushing stream. Where the road starts to switchback, note the
almost perfect five-pointed star pattern it makes on the topo and keep track of the switchbacks to
accurately pinpoint your position on the star. The high point knob will be visible from several locations.
I considered bushwhacking to the ridge crest at the saddles on either side of the high point knob, or directly
up the ridge leading to the knob. All three of these choices looked very steep and were very overgrown, so
I opted to continue on the road until it crested the ridge to the west near BM 2462 and try for a ridge line hike.
At the crest, a good woods road starts east up the ridge line, but soon splits into two overgrown paths.
Ignore both and strike directly up the center of the ridge line, soon finding an overgrown, but easily
followed woods road/path. This drops off the crest slightly on the north side, and has some minor ups and
downs, but stays high and gradually climbs. It bypasses the higher of the two knobs west of the high point
and eventually swings around that knob and turns more toward the east. When the skyline becomes
closest to the trail, make a short bushwhack to the saddle and mark the spot for your return. From the
saddle, follow this narrow ridge directly to the summit. It gets steep and rocky, but never too overgrown.
The small summit area was surprisingly marked with an eroded, lichen covered, stone monument about a
foot high. It's painted light blue and has a button-sized disk embedded in the top, and is not inscribed.
Minimal views in summer, but should be better off-season. The bushwhack down from the summit to the
"star" road did not look inviting.
Hiking times: 2:05 up and 1:30 down.