9th High Point Visited
27th Highest State High Point
42nd Most Difficult
summitpost.org
wikipedia.org
After spending 3 days
with the MOM Columbus team
at Lake Cumberland, I chose
not to drive home, but
rather to journey across KY
to summit Black Mountain
(4,139). I took the trip
solo on my 95 VFR. The day
was beautiful, with threats
of rain all around, but I
managed to escape the rain.
The trip on the bike was a
couple hundred miles from
Cumberland, but I didn't
mind the drive because the
back roads that I chose were
splendid full of many
twists. I approached from
the KY side all the way up
the very winding road from
base to top.
The approach is
mostly a drive up, turning
right onto a private drive
that is one lane paved road
leading back to a FAA long
range radar facility. I
drove up the path, passed
the radar, and spotted the
stone trail up to the
summit. I was very excited
after all the trip to
finally make it here. I was
pressed for time to make it
back to Ohio before dark, so
didn't have much time. I
didn't even take off my one
piece motorcycle suit as I
walked the .2 miles to the
top.
I noticed an abandoned
look out tower that had to
be climbed, although it was
difficult because it had to
be scaled to get to the
first level of stairs. I
crawled up and held on for
dear life. A storm was
coming and it was very
windy. I took a few pictures
from the top and quickly
came back down the rickety
tower. Once on ground again
I made a phone call or two
to friends back home to tell
about my adventure.
|
Black Mountain (4,129), Kentucky - State Highpoint #9
|