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.