Randolph County Highpoint Trip Report
Mt Porte Crayon (4,770 ft)
Date: July 22, 2004
Author: Ryan Richardson
In his trip report, Fred Lobdell said that there were parking problems with the route he took and that there
was an alternate route starting on FS 70. I decided to try the alternate route. The parking situation on the
route Fred took still has not improved, so I would consider the FS 70 route to be the only viable one,
unless you have someone who is willing to drop you off and pick you up when you get back.
Unfortunately, the directions that Fred gave to the alternate route were wrong.
Here are the correct directions.
From the intersection of US 33/WV 55 with WV 32 in Harman, go north on 32 about 4 miles to county road 32/3.
Turn right on 32/3 and go 5.0 miles to a T intersection with a stop sign. You will pass the trailhead
for the Flat Rock Run Trail but since there is no parking for this trail, just keep going. At the T intersection,
there is a brown sign for "Dolly Sods". Turn right here, as the sign indicates. Drive 1.4 miles, where the
road becomes FS 19. At this point FS 19 (gravel) will start climbing steeply. Continue for 2.5 miles and FS
70 will be on the right. The road is not signed as FS 70 and it is gated. If you come to the top of the hill
and see a developed trailhead/parking area on the right, you've gone too far.
Once on FS 70, bike (unless you like really boring hikes) 3.5 miles, slightly uphill, to a second gate,
which was open when I was there. Here FS 70 ends, and a forest maintenance roads crosses it.
Turn right on this road and within 0.1 mile there is the trailhead for the Roaring Plains Trail on the left.
Hike on this fairly flat trail for 3.0 miles to the intersection with the Flat Rock Run trail.
At this point, I continued about 0.3 mile on the Flat Rock Run trail, which passed about 0.5 mile
(according to my GPS) from the summit of Mt. Porte Crayon.
At this point I bushwhacked uphill to the right to the summit area.
The summit area itself is a thick spruce forest that makes for a nasty bushwhack -- no views.
Total distance was 9 miles hiking (including bushwhack),
7 miles biking, 5.5 hours, about 1,000 feet of elevation gain.