Wood County Highpoint Trip Report

two areas (1,328 and 1,320+ feet)

Date: May 13, 2009
Author: Fred Lobdell

For this cohp, I misread Mike Schwartz's report and never found the correct road that would have taken me to the base of the 1,328 foot knob. Eventually I wound up using Levi Foust's approach.

I parked near the locked gate and walked up the road. A sign said that this was "Sand Hill Wildlife Management Area"; and that vehicular travel was prohibited but foot travel was permitted.

After walking a distance that seemed a good bit more than Levi's mile, I found myself at the base of the 1,328 foot knob. After bushwhacking to the top, I found the tower and the large tank. East of the tank, and on higher ground, was a metal shed. Just east of this was what seemed to be the highest natural ground, a hillock that rose 3 feet or so higher than anyplace else on the knob. It sported a 3-foot diameter tuliptree, showing that it had been undisturbed for quite a few years at a minimum.

Of course, I don't know exactly where the county line is supposed to go over this knob, so it may be that this rise is in Ritchie County.

I'm not entirely sure I got to the second area. I was on the correct hill but the almost impenetrable greenbriers discouraged random wandering. I may try to return to this area in winter and bring my machete along. My GPS unit was also little help here; it insisted on giving me a "batteries low" message rather than my lat/long coordinates.