ahhh thanx
& even tho the boulder cairn top marks the morgan county highpoint
that you were seeking
what i was actually seeking
if we can believe the usgs topo in this case
& i must say my hope springs eternal especially for west virginia
on which they have claimed to be authoritative
but in any case
what i was actually seeking with their guidance
was
the nearby bm ridge marker that you actually also saw
so just to appease my curiosity
&or for any eventual retry
can you recall what this bm looked like
also
since i had you in mind shouldnt i get some credit for that too
but if thats not funny enough
then just wait til you check your answering machine
since i called you this morning from a phonebooth that miraculously
loomed out of the fog a mile after my parawa try
the 7th pearl
& i called you because for all i could tell from there & then
this point might well have been the highpoint of any or all 3 of page
warren & rappahannock counties
& thinking an instant replay or better of the van fiasco highly
likely there
i just wanted to check my reading on this point with any experience
you might have had there too
& what i would have reported to you then & do now
is that my best guess at the time
from my reading of the topo
was that the tripoint was most likely defined as the highpoint
slightly different from van but nearly the same idea
so here i directed my primary try toward the highpoint
while of course keeping my eyes open for anything else on the way &
in the vicinity
as i walked south on the appalachian trail from the nearby overlook
as far as the topo said to walk
& tho the side trail never appeared
i wasnt concerned
because the nps map i also had showed it coming in farther south
& also
especially
because the topography did match the topo perfectly
as i approached the hump of the ridge where the topo places the
tripoint
several times i prematurely declared the next outcrop just ahead to
be the winner
just as slightly higher outcrops kept emerging from the fog
each without a single marking of any kind on them
it reminded me of my earlier attempts to establish which of half a
dozen similar outcroppings was the true cream summit
without benefit of altimeter
so i felt highly qualified already even if still at a loss
on the fourth try i was sure i finally had it
as everything dropped off from this rock in all directions
but i was still left to puzzle over which of its 2 separate but
nearly equal tits was higher
i kissed the right tit
or so i thought
& called it a try
when i got back to the truck i realized
tho i had taken my camera
i was so infatuated with my kiss that i had forgotten to take my
picture
so it wasnt long before i returned to the trifinium area for the pic
& figured i better kiss the left tit too
or rather actually both left tits
since the left tit also was divided into 2 equal tits
my loud smacks were answered by similar sounding deer snorts
from about 30 feet into page county
the doe eyed me but kept browsing unalarmed
i dont know if she will show up in the photo i finally took of her &
all 3 tits at once
but yikes i dont even know if the word tits will show up in this post
so anyway i dont know if you can help out there too
but before i raced down here to luray to report it
i had the foresight to bag the next point too
mapara
madison page rappahannock
the 8th pearl
as presumptively a saddle point as parawa was presumptively an apex
& so easy to find that it was
topographically
actually at the edge of the pavement of the skyline drive
but again no marker at all
just a painted arrow red herring in exactly the right place
but i could see that was just the highway painters
so i stepped on the arrowhead
anyway
& headed for hardees & the library
with 8 pearls on the string
& i am beginning to think now
perhaps a full octave of bliss is enough already
at least for demonstration purposes
since the 9th pearl just ahead
magrpa
madison green page
is looking positively daunting
hahahaha
especially as they dont appear to be very concerned about having
markers around here
so what kind of a fools errand would it be anyway
but maybe i will feel differently after a hot shower
which i have also learned i can get in that vicinity
beeps for now
--- In
BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "nj55er" <spookymike@a...>
wrote:
>
> --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "aletheiak" <aletheiak@y...>
> wrote:
>
> <<but is that the true van point
> > yikes
> > it must be
> >
> > by gps
> > or how did you know>>>
>
> Mike, I was only looking for the county highpoint, which was pretty
> easy to determine on the ground by eyeball as some boulders very
near
> the benchmark. I confess, somewhat sheepishly, that I never thought
> about VAN or the multi-county nature of the point, until I read your
> message. Serious case of tunnel vision for one who was already
> interested in boundaries and multi-points long before 11/2000.
> Anyway, I had no GPS at the time, so all I can testify to is that BM
> Ridge exists and can be found with a little luck.
>
> >
> > --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, spookymike@a... wrote:
> > > Read Mike Donner's report of his search for BM Ridge with
> > interest. I
> > > visited BM Ridge, in my quest to reach the Morgan County WV
> > highpoint, back in 2000.
> > > Here's a copy of my report, available on the County
Highpointers
> > website
> > > (cohp.org):
> > > ----------------------------------------------
> ---------------------
> > > Morgan County High Point Trip Report
> > > Date: November 6, 2000
> > > Author: Mike Schwartz
> > > Take US 522 about four miles north of the state line, and turn
> left
> > into the
> > > well marked Cacapon State Park. Zero the odometer. Once in the
> > park, bear left
> > > twice, following signs to Cacapon Mountain Overlook. At 0.9
> miles,
> > bear left
> > > at sign for the Overlook, pass through a gate just uphill, and
> > drive a decent
> > > gravel road to the crest. After 4 1/2 miles, the road
approaches
> > the two
> > > microwave towers shown on the topo, and curves around to the
> right,
> > heading north.
> > > About 0.2 to 0.3 miles north, look for BM Ridge on the crest
just
> > to the left
> > > of the road. It's on a clump of white boulders, marked by a
cairn
> > clearly
> > > visible from the road at this time of the year.
> >
> > ahhh really
> >
> > never saw it
> >
> > or could i have seen it & discounted it
> >
> > not likely
> >
> > but is that the true van point
> > yikes
> > it must be
> >
> > by gps
> > or how did you know
> >
> > based on the odometer data
> > my search must have overshot it by 175 feet or less
> >
> > you were in my mind mike
> > but i really wish you really had been there
> >
> >
> > In foliage season, a little
> > > exploring might be required to find the cairn. All the ground
to
> > the north is lower,
> > > so BM Ridge (actually the boulders nearby) mark the county high
> > point.
> > > Drive another 0.3 miles north to an overlook on the right, with
> > lovely views
> > > to the east. Ho-hum, another drive-up. Not exactly. The gate at
> 1.0
> > miles was
> > > locked and signed "closed for the season, mountain overlook 4.5
> > miles." At 45
> > > minutes before sunset, too long a hike. I drove to Park
> > Headquarters, and
> > > literally begged the amused rangers for the gate key and
> permission
> > to drive to
> > > the summit. Desperation worked, and they sent me over to the
> lodge,
> > that looked
> > > like a great place to stay, to sign out the key. Only provisos
> were
> > to lock
> > > the gate behind me and be careful. The gate is closed from
> October
> > 1 to Memorial
> > > Day, initially for the fall fire season, and then for the
winter.
> > > ----------------------------------------------
> ----------------------
> > ----------
> > > ---------------------------------
> > > Mike, if you're not too far away by the time you read this, it
> > might help you
> > > find the BM.
> > >
> > > Mike Schwartz