Pennsylvania

Our Trip Report
We departed from Cleveland around 5:15 am on Saturday, October 7th with the ambition of summiting the peaks of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. The itinerary we had designed did not allow us much room for error so optimizing our time was crucial. This trip was going to be unique in that we were accompanied by our first guest member, Scott's friend "Buck". We picked him up in Mansfield, OH, about 80 minutes south of Cleveland. As dawn broke, the three of us headed west toward Mount Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania. Rain and snow were in the forecast for much of the three-day trip. But Saturday morning, we were fortunate to have a beautiful, clear, albeit cold day. As we drove further west, we were greeted by the foothills of the Western Appalachian Mountains. The leaves in this region had already begun to change to their fall hues. Colors of red, green, yellow and orange radiated from the mountains. What a way to begin our trip. Mount Davis was well advertised, and before long, we found ourselves on South Wolf Rock, the access road leading up to the 3,213 foot peak. The road itself was a sight to behold. Maple trees with leaves of bright yellow canopied the road and created a tunnel of brilliant gold foliage. It was nearly noon when we ultimately reached the parking lot. Stepping from the car, we stretched our atrophied legs and realized that the temperature had dropped considerably. The wind at that altitude further added to the chill in the air. The trail from the parking lot to the highpoint was a gradually sloping trail that ran for a few hundred yards. As you approach the observation tower from the rear, several plaques can be viewed that tell the history and geology of the highpoint and its surroundings. When we arrived, there were about 20 people at the highpoint. Many of them were children who were enjoying the views from the top of the observation tower. With the tower being so full at the time, we read the plaques and hiked around the area. Soon thereafter, the once crowded tower was vacant. We hurried up the 50-foot tower to see the panoramic vista from above the treeline. Once on top, we were not disappointed. The views that were before us went far beyond our expectations. There was a large plaque at the top of the tower with a topographical map and some additional information about how the landscape in the area was formed. It appears to the naked eye that there are a couple of hills to the north and the southwest that are actually higher than Mount Davis. But as the plaque and map illustrate, the effect is caused by an optical illusion that occurs when you view a mountain from a certain perspective. If the hilltop you are looking upon has no background beyond it other than the blue sky, one naturally assumes that one is standing below it. But in this case, the hills are far enough away that your line of sight, which is arc-shaped, does not allow you to see what lies beyond those particular hills. As it turns out, the two hills in question are 21 and 53 feet lower than Mount Davis respectively. As the piercing winds continued to blow, we took a few pictures and quickly hurried down the tower. One note must be made concerning the tower. Anyone that is afraid of heights, be warned! The tower is tall, steep, and wide open. Put your fears behind you and climb the tower. Believe us, it's worth it! Once on the ground again we searched for the U.S. Geological Survey marker. It's located on top of a large boulder about midway between the plaques and the tower. After about a half-hour we went back to the car and continued our assault on the eastern highpoints. Seven down, forty-three to go!

Map

See some other Pennsylvania Highpointer's Sites America's Roof Pennsylvania Page Matthew DiBiase's Pennsylvania Highpoint Page Unknown Pennsylvania Highpointer's Page History of Mt. Davis Pennsylvania's Geological Survey

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