On Wednesday, 20 July 2005, I had to drive from Charleston, W. Va., to Arlington, Va., so I left early in the morning and determined to summit Spruce Knob on the way.
Following the usual route, I took the Spruce Knob road west from US-33/WV-28 just south of Riverton and just north of Judy Gap. The drive up is pretty straightforward and well-signed, although the road was in much worse shape than I had expected, being full of deep potholes. It took about half an hour to negotiate the twelve miles to the summit.
I met no other vehicles on the way up, and at the summit the parking lot was empty. There was a pick-up truck over near a beat-up picnic shelter (or some kind of small building) and two guys were repairing the roof of the building. I reached the observation tower at the summit around 11:00a EDT. It was a nice clear day, and pleasantly cool at the summit compared to the brutal heat wave in the lowlands.
On the way down I met three or four vehicles that were headed uphill.
I think this was highpoint number 20 for me.
Mark Stauter
Rolla, Mo.