When a member completes their 50th highpoint, the person is always asked what their least favorite high point was. More often than not the response is Kentucky.
Considering that my highpointing career is still active, I refuse to pass judgment at this stage of the journey.
I had bagged Mount Rogers in Virginia the day before. This day I was going to do the easier of the two. I woke up to a cold, early morning drizzle.
I left Marion at 9:00AM and drove south on I-81 from Exit 45 to Exit 17 (which is Alternate Route 58 in Abingdon).
I took Alt. Route 58 into downtown Abingdon. You go west, then (making a left turn) south briefly, before turning right and westerly again. I stayed on Alt. Route 58 west for fifty-two miles before I reach Norton, Virginia.
My drive was uneventful. The countryside is rural. The road meanders through cattle and horse-breeding country. The pastures are steep and studded with boulders. Occasionally the road sliced through mountain passes but, on the whole, the drive went smoothly. It is very pretty countryside. I had never visited this area of Virginia before and I was enjoying the scenery thoroughly. The drizzle had died down to an intermittent mist.
I was listening to Bob Dylan performing his famous 1966 "Albert Hall" concert in the Free Trade Center in Manchester, England. Somehow the revolutionary electronic vanguard folk-rock sound of Bob Dylan and the Hawks lent a bright counterpoint to the dreary weather outside my car.
It was in Norton that I had a momentary flutter. I was looking for Business Route 23, which would take me to the town of Appalachia, and the road, which would lead me to the Kentucky border and the summit of Black Mountain.
I made a wrong turn onto Route 23 and instinctively realized my mistake. I turned off and went back into town and found a convenience store named Glen's Friendly Market. I was hoping to acquire some friendly directions in the process.
I was not disappointed. I encountered a kindly gentleman (who didn't give me his name). It's not often that a man from New Jersey comes into Norton, Virginia looking for an obscure road to the Kentucky border.
Despite the oddness of my request, he give me first class directions on how to get there. He told me to stay on the road I was travelling which would take me to Business 23 and downtown Norton. I would turn right onto Business 23 stay on it for about twelve miles until I reached Appalachia. Once I reached Appalachia, I would turn right at the second street light in the town (Appalachia only has two). Once I made the right turn, I would see 168 West and that would take me to Kentucky.
I thanked the man and was on my way. Everything he said was spot-on the money.
I got on Business 23 and never looked back. The road takes you through downtown Norton.
It is after Norton that you enter coal country. Whereas before the road was lined with farms and private homes, this time it was coal yards, slag heaps, coal shovels, and drilling installations.
Coal mining is not a pretty sight to see. I was constantly passing trucks laden with coal heading southbound on Business 23.
Appalachia lived up to its name. It is depressed and has seen better times. I gassed up my car there but didn't indulge in any conversation. I was too close to my objective now.
The gas station where I got gas was right at the intersection where I needed to head west on county road 168. You make a right at the light and make another right and you are right on the road.
County Route 168 serpentines through a pretty development called Inman (which is part of Appalachia). They are building new homes there.
Soon after I passed the community the road got steep very quickly. You can't go faster than 35 M.P.H. in this section. One is literally climbing the Appalachian Mountains. There are some sections where one can stop and enjoy the scenery but I decided to do that on the way down.
The switchbacks are very narrow and I would never want to drive this road during a rainstorm or snowstorm. I could see scars from mudslides.
I don't know how long it took me but after a time, I came to the Virginia-Kentucky border.
The road that takes you to Black Mountain is to the left of a sharp right-hand turn around a bend.
I came to a stop at the entrance and oriented myself to the FAA Facility road. The sign for the FAA facility is light blue in color with black letters. The sign is slightly obscured by the tree shadows but you can see it from the road if you're alert.
The FAA road is a very narrow paved road. You go up, hoping that you don't meet anyone on the way down because there is no real room to move aside if that happens. Luckily for me I didn't.
Once you reach the FAA facility the pavement gives way to gravel and after a couple hundred yards, I parked my car at the spur road. The spur road is even narrower and is made of gravel. It was pretty muddy and I didn't want to take the chance of getting stuck. I parked my car in such a way that I wasn't blocking anyone and decided to walk the rest of the way.
The summit has two communications buildings and the decrepit observation tower. There were three vehicles at the summit. Some employees were in one of the buildings doing some work: one male and one female. They both saw me but paid me no mind at all. (Apparently they are used to this kind of thing).
The ground below the observation tower was pretty messy. The survey marker shrouded by weeds. Broken glass, beer cans, and the detritus of romantic passion were everywhere.
I watched my step for fear of stepping into something I couldn't explain later on. The views from the summit are negligible. The summit is tree-lined and has power lines.
Considering the presence of the communications towers, Black Mountain reminded me of an uglier version of Cheaha Mountain. (Cheaha Mountain is well maintained and is very clean).
I took still pictures and videotaped myself but I didn't stay long at the summit because I didn't want to make the employees working there nervous.
The weather had improved markedly. The sun was out and white clouds dotted the sky. A cool breeze was blowing over the summit.
I had reached the summit at 11:40AM and by 12:12PM I decided to walk back to my car to take notes, munch on my cousin Ruth Anne's biscotti and take stock of my situation.
At 12:36PM, I left the mountain and never looked back. Twice I stopped on the way back east on 168 to videotape the scenery. When I returned to Norton, I had a hankering for a cone of custard so I stopped at the Dairy Queen and had myself a delicious cone of vanilla custard.
The train tracks run close by so I had the childlike pleasure of watching the trains roll through town. (One of my favorite pastimes when I was spending summer's at my grandparent's home in Altavista).
Once I was done I hit the road. All in all my drive back to Marion was quiet and uneventful. I was playing The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan and the Band and enjoying every absurd mythological elemental moment of the album. Where else could such luminaries such as Tiny Montgomery, Mrs. Henry, and Ruben Remus meet? What other artist could provide such profundities like Lo and Behold, Million Dollar Bash, Yeah! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread?
The song Clothes Line Saga captures the atmosphere of Altavista, Virginia perfectly. The song reminds me of those long, hot, lazy summer days at my grandparents, listening to the cicadas and smelling the honeysuckle trees.
When I got back to Abingdon, I decided to take Route 11 back to Marion. Route 11 is the old Valley Turnpike, which was the main road in the Shenandoah Valley before I-81 was built.
Abingdon, Virginia is a pleasant old community. I was impressed with the old brick homes and the historical markers lining the main drag.
John Steinbeck in his famous travelogue Travels With Charley mentions Abingdon. He wrote that after he reached Abingdon, his mind switched off and that he spent the rest of his return journey back to Sag Harbor, Long Island in a sort of a daze. He had no recollections of what he saw on the road after all he had seen during the previous weeks of his journey.
For me it was the opposite. I followed a school bus discharging its youthful passengers. I passed by brick ranch houses, a multitude of Baptist churches, banks, antique shops, and an assortment of stores. It was all rural America and I much preferred old Route 11 to the Pamplona-like madness of I-81. I-81 is an ordeal. You can't drive in the slow lane because the trucks run you off the road. If you switch lanes to avoid the trucks then you get the speedsters running up your tailpipe. I-81 should be six lanes instead of four. It's one of my least favorite highways. (It's a pity too. The scenery surrounding I-81 is stunning, brilliant, and splendid but you cannot enjoy it very long because of the nature of the road).
In due time the Valley Turnpike took me to Marion, my hotel, and some badly needed rest.
And that, my friends was how I bagged my 15th high point. My next highpointing journey will be in the autumn when I journey to New Hampshire in the hopes of bagging Mount Washington. I know I'm going to be in for a rough haul but I know that the journey will be worth it.
See you at the high points!
This message has been edited by dipper on Aug 12, 2002 11:55 PM This message has been edited by dipper on Aug 12, 2002 11:53 PM
I left Travelers Rest, S.C., early on the morning of Wednesday, 8 October, bound for Black Mountain, the highest point in Kentucky.
Beautiful clear early fall weather and the first tinge of color in the leaves made the drive very enjoyable. I approached the summit road via VA-160, a well-maintained mountain highway. Just at the VA/KY state line I turned left on the single-lane blacktop marked with a "No Trespassing" sign erected by the Penn Virginia Coal Company. I had my access waiver agreement with me, but as everyone else has noted, it wasn't needed. Has anyone ever been asked to produce that thing? In any case there's no active mining up there.
As noted, the access road is a couple of miles long and single-lane, but I met no other vehicles and saw no other people during my visit. As you near the summit the FAA long-range radar facility is encountered on the right, and the blacktop stops there. You can park there or continue on a very short distance to the gated access road to the summit. I parked by the gate and walked up to the summit area.
Like Sassafras Mountain in South Carolina, Black Mountain is disappointing. A trash-strewn antenna field, a couple of unmanned support buildings, and a decrepit observation tower occupy the high point. The tower is accessible only if you care to shinny up one of the legs to the ladder. Again, a fairly small investment could make this a very nice area. You would think that a state would want to show off its highest point and make it a significant tourist attraction.
I believe this was my 19th state high point. I'm running out of easy ones!
After reaching the summit at about 10:45a EDT, I returned to my car. As I jotted down my notes I noted some movement behind me. A large doe walked right behind my car and ambled down toward the radar site. And, she seemed perturbed rather than frightened when I followed after her in my Detroit iron.
I left the area on KY-160, which descends to the interesting coal-mining region of southeastern Kentucky, and headed west toward home.
Fax'ed my signed released in to the Coal Museum ahead of time. Had a pleasant drive over from summiting Mt. Rogers earlier in the day. No problems finding the road up to the FAA radar facility although the mileage listed on the America's Roof map page is short by about 4 miles. I thought the road was plenty wide if another car came along and wasn't concerned at all. I parked at the radar facility and walked up the dirt road to the summit as the gate was locked. A kind local sleeping in his car at the radar facility pointed the way for me.
I live in the area and have been to the summit several times. When I first moved here, about 12 years ago, there was little brush on top of the mountain and you could look down and see many plant fossils on the ground. The last time, I was up, there were few to be seen. I have seen wild turkey on the summit also. Earlier today, I was at parked just past the radar station and saw a flock of hummingbirds in the weeds by the road. I say weeds, but you might say tall flowery stuff. They were swooping and chasing each other. I watched for about 20 minutes. I know there were at least 10 individual birds and may have been more. It was a treat. If you continue past the short road that goes to the summit and bear left you will come to the apple orchard. What great views. A 4-wheel drive is advised, especially if it is muddy as it was today. Not for the faint hearted. Enjoy!
I visited Black Mountain, the Highpoint of Kentucky at 4145 feet, on Tuesday, June 1st, 2004. It was my 24th state highpoint.
After climbing Clingmans Dome, TN, earlier in the day, I arrived at Black Mountain, KY at 6:30PM with the help of the directions provided in the Winger’s and Holmes’ guidebooks. It was cloudy and 63 degrees. The local radio was announcing severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in the nearby areas. As I reached the crest of the hill of SR 160, and turned left onto the narrow, winding road that leads to the summit, I passed about a dozen local good ole boys talking and drinking beer by their pick up trucks. They may have been employees of the coal company winding down after a hard days work. I did not see anyone else on the road to the highpoint or at the highpoint itself. The gate was locked, and the employees were gone for the day, so I parked my car at the fork in the road and walked the remaining short distance to the summit. Noone checked to see if I had submitted my waiver. The highpoint of Kentucky was not very impressive but it was certainly not my least favorite highpoint, as it seems to be with many highpointers. For me that distinction would have to go to Delaware. I would much prefer to be in the wooded mountains of Kentucky, even if there were a few buildings and towers around, rather than having to drive through heavy traffic, past many crowded shopping centers, in order to get to the highpoint of Delaware, which is in an ordinary flat suburban neighborhood. The views from the summit of Black Mountain were nil but I noticed some nice vistas from a couple places along the road leading up to it.
I didn’t stay too long but the good ole boys were all gone by the time I left Black Mountain. Instead of going back south on SR 160, the way I came, I continued north through the town of Lynch. By the looks of the condition of the roadway there is very little traffic on SR 160 north of the highpoint entrance. There were many stones and rocks lying undisturbed in the roadway, and the edges of the pavement were worn and crumbling in many areas. It appeared that flooding from runoffs from the mountains when it rains is causing this. Small streams run along the side of the roadway undercutting the pavement. Lynch and the nearby area seemed to be very poor and rundown. Coal mining does not appear to be a very appealing or profitable way of life, but I certainly have to respect how hard these miners work and the courage it takes to do their job. I continued north, driving through Hazard, KY. There were no signs of the Dukes, and I was especially disappointed in not seeing Daisy. I stopped for the night at the Motel 6 in Georgetown, KY. The next day I continued driving north to my home in Algonquin, IL.
After screwing around in VA for 3 hours to discover that the highpoint is a very long hike (we didn't research VA's because we added it while on our roadtrip) we made our way to Black Mountain. That road going up to the summit road was probably one of the most twisty of all the one's we drove on our Southern Roadtrip. Don't really rememeber what time we summited but it was dark rainy and eerily quiet. It didn't help that the threat of mines collapsing added to the spookiness. We snapped the picture and got the hell out of there and were suprised at how nice of a town Lynch was. We were up to Lexington to stay at friend house and head back to WI the next morning.
Leaving several days early on a drive to New Orleans from the suburbs of Chicago, I hit eight southern state HPs on the drive down. Black Mountain was the first HP on the trip and second overall. Quite a contrast to my first HP, Mt. Whitney. The parking area for the summit walk is 600 miles from the start of the trip. No problem finding the road to the HP, came across many ATV riders cruising with beer in hand around the forest. Took a few photos at the top then headed to Adingdon for the night before hiking Mt. Rogers in the morning.
Out of the nine high points we have done so far, this was our least favorite and most scary!. We approached the high point from the Virginia side because we did Mt Rogers earlier in the day. The road up was very steep and full of twists and turns. As you get closer to the top you can look back down and see the effects mining has had on the mountain. It's sad.
As we crested the mountain we looked to our left to see the FAA sign and dirt road as described in "Highpoint Adventures" by Charlie and Diane Winger, my highpoit bible. We headed past the gate up the narrow road to the summit. I was afraid of this road because I have a Honda Civic that sits very low to the ground and there were a few deep potholes. Needless to say I took it very slow because the last thing I wanted to do was blow out a tire so far away from help!
We parked just beyond the FAA radar site where the paved road surface ends. From here we walked a short distance up a dirt road to the summit. The summit is just plain ugly and very unimpressive! There was trash and broken bottles scattered everywhere. As we were taking pictures under the firetower, we heard a radio playing music in the cinderblock building behind us. Now I know for a fact that we did not pass any cars on the way up nor did we see any other cars parked at the summit, so I knew we were alone. At this point the kids and I got REALLY creeped out because we didn't know if there was anyone in there or not! To be truthful I didn't want to find out either. All I could think about was the movie "Deliverance".
We quickly walked closer to the woods to search for the true highpoint, took our pictures, and got the heck out of there. I'm telling you, my kids were really scared. Again I had to drive down slowly because of the condition of the road. When we got back down to the FAA sign, we took our pictures near the bullet riddled "Welcome to Kentucky" sign. FYI, this was my first time back to Kentucky since I left Army basic training at Fort Konx in 1994. We made a left onto Routh 160 and headed into Lynch, KY, glad that this highpoint was behind us.
RSS Feed For This Forum