The Highest Point in KY and What You’ll See When You Get Up There
I am aware that I have regaled you with stories of New Mexico any number of times. What can I say? Outside of Kentucky, it is my favorite state. I know there are five I have yet to visit, but the Land of Enchantment is too special. It is, in fact, enchanting.
The Highest Point in Kentucky
But Kentucky IS my home, and you might think I've done some of the same things here that I've done there. Well...let me rephrase that because the two are barely comparable. New Mexico is out west, very dry, and VERY mountainous. Kentucky cannot check off those first two boxes, but it IS SOMEWHAT mountainous. However, I've never been atop a Kentucky mountain, let alone its highest peak. On the other hand, I have been atop a peak in New Mexico that's more than double the elevation of Kentucky's Black Mountain. It's called Eagle Peak and it rises 9,800 feet above sea level. We actually got to spend some time in its fire tower eight years ago. And we learned a lot.
What You'll Encounter Atop Black Mountain
That's not something you can do in the fire tower on Black Mountain, which has a peak elevation of 4,139 feet. It's because that fire tower is abandoned. You can get to it, but you cannot get INTO it. There are, however, active radio towers, and I'm sure they're inspected and maintained. But I'd imagine they're off limits to us civilians.
And I guess you'd need a four-wheel drive vehicle or four-wheelers like those guys had. Either way, it looks well worth the effort to get up there. The thing is, despite the amazing scenery, you'll need to be a little creative getting great images...at least on the Kentucky. This according to summitpost.org:
Since the area has been used for coal mining, the road (route 160) crosses some of the best scenery in the state, without so much as an overlook to take it all in. An overlook was built on the Virginia side in recent years, which will hopefully give visitors a good view of the mountain.
Black Mountain -- an Unparalleled View
Of course, that's not to say I couldn't find a wide spot in the shoulder for a quick pic, but, yes, overlooks do come in handy. And that might be difficult, anyway, since the road up there is lined with STEEP drop-offs and rock walls. Better yet, someone needs to invent passenger drones, so we can see what THIS sees:
Black Mountain is calling and I need to get there and hopefully before too long.