Belmont County Highpoint Trip Report
Date: October 3, 2004
Author: Michael Schwartz
This updates Bob Schwab's excellent report, with which the all 14 areas can be visited without a map,
for those who like to travel light.
four areas south of Belmont (1,380+ ft)
For Bob's area #7, the top of the hill has been scalped and surfaced with gray stone, probably for a water
tank installation. A new stone driveway leaves Route 147 just south of the McKeever's driveway and winds
to the hilltop.
two areas west of Bethesda (1,380+ ft)
For Bob's area #9, note that permission to cross her property is no longer granted by the occupant of the
brown A-frame house. New approach: Drive south on OH 147 a short distance from the junction with
Goshen TWP 147 (old state highway 147) and park at the last pipeline marker on the right before the next
road junction on the left. Scramble up the bank, penetrate the brush, and enter the more open woods.
Hike uphill a short distance to the summit and find BM Bethesda 1963, not shown on the topo, in a round
concrete base that protrudes above the surface. This route is unposted.
three areas northwest of Barnsville (1,380+ ft)
For Bob's area #13, from parking walk up the track road until you see a grassy track on the right. Take the
track uphill to a gentle bump with highest ground a few feet left of the track. GPS placed the center of the
1380+ contour a couple of hundred feet south of this point in an area clearly lower than the gentle bump,
and I am unable to explain the discrepancy. There is a lot of strip mining in this area, which could explain
re-contouring, but the area does not look as if it's been stripped.
one area in section 26-9N-6W (1,380+ ft)
For Bob's area #14, I followed the power line right-of-way and found it to be a sea of stickers, briars,
and things that cling to one's clothing. A much easier route is to walk south up the road from the parking
pullout, around the sharp curve to a point where access into the woods looks easy and not too steep.
From there, the bushwhack to the top of the hill is through very open woods and goes very quickly. At the top,
cross the right-of-way and look for the slight opening through the brush edge that gives relatively easy
access to the highpoint. If you find an annotated copy of Bob's trip report and a topozone map of area 14,
they belong to me.
The whole Belmont excursion took about five hours, nonstop. This was cohp #700 for me.