Backbone Mountain, Maryland 3,360 feet

Climbed 10/15/2014

After visiting Spruce Knob in the morning, we took a leisurely drive north toward Maryland. We had lunch and a hike at Seneca Rocks. In the afternoon we traveled through the Canaan Valley and stopped to take a look at Blackwater Falls.

Backbone Mountain is so close to the state border that we started our hike in West Virginia. Just before we reached the Maryland border, we pulled onto the shoulder of the road next to a muddy track that led off into the woods.

The trees were colorful; the trail was mucky and angled consistently upward. We navigated through the network of trails by following the red "HP" blazes on the trees. At some point we crossed over into Maryland.

Which way do we go?

After about a mile and 700 vertical feet, we caught glimpses of the landscape on the other (Maryland) side of the ridge. After a couple of short twists and turns in the trail, we were at the crest and the summit.

Insouciance at the summit
Our first look into Maryland

After returning to the car, we made our way through the vacation resorts of "Mountain Maryland." I took special care as we drove through the town of Accident. We spent the night in Grantsville, Maryland, poised to tackle another border-adjacent highpoint the next day.