Mount Porte Crayon

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Mount Porte Crayon
Summit
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Pendleton, Randolph
Part of	Allegheny Front
Range	Allegheny Mountains
Elevation	4,470 ft (1,362.5 m) [1]
Prominence	1,590 ft (484.6 m) [2]
Coordinates	38°55′44″N 79°27′22″W / 38.92889, -79.45611
Management	Monongahela National Forest
Owner	USDA Forest Service
Easiest access	off-trail hike
Topo map	USGS Laneville
Nearest city	Harman, West Virginia
Location of Mount Porte Crayon in Virginia
Website: Monongahela National Forest

Mount Porte Crayon is a 4,770-foot (1,450 m) mountain located in the Monongahela National Forest in the extreme northeastern corner of Randolph County, West Virginia, United States.

The mountain is named for illustrator David Hunter Strother, known as "Porte Crayon", who produced a wide array of West Virginia landscapes in his work. Mount Porte Crayon is the sixth highest point in the state of West Virginia and the northernmost of the top ten state highpoints. It is also the highest point on the Roaring Plains, a natural extension of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. The summit area is presently set aside as an 8.11 acre prescribed management area, and is a Research Natural Area, for a native mountaintop red spruce forest that is home to endangered northern flying squirrel and endangered Cheat Mountain salamander. Mount Porte Crayon is the remote headwaters to three drainages and is the highest point on the Eastern Continental Divide in West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Mount Porte Crayon is notorious for its inclement weather and strong winds. The prevailing westerly winds are so severe, they have deformed the red spruce trees, causing branches to grow on only one side. The summit itself is very isolated and difficult to access. Even the best routes require a two day hike. The last half-mile to the summit is a bushwack. Mount Porte Crayon is for experienced hikers only and should not be underestimated.

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v • d • e Monongahela National Forest National Recreation Areas Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area Wilderness Areas Cranberry Wilderness • Dolly Sods Wilderness • Laurel Fork North Wilderness • Laurel Fork South Wilderness • Otter Creek Wilderness Observation Towers Bickle Knob • Olson Tower Lakes Lake Sherwood • Spruce Knob Lake • Summit Lake Mountains Allegheny Mountain • Back Allegheny Mountain • Backbone Mountain • Bickle Knob • Cheat Mountain • Gaudineer Knob • Mount Porte Crayon • North Fork Mountain • River Knobs • Seneca Rocks • Shavers Mountain • Spruce Knob Other Major Areas Blackwater Canyon • Camp Allegheny • Canaan Valley • Cheat Summit Fort • Cranberry Glades Botanical Area • Gaudineer Scenic Area • Germany Valley • Highland Scenic Highway • Sinks of Gandy Rivers and Creeks Black Fork (Cheat River) • Blackwater River • Cheat River • Cranberry River • Dry Fork (Cheat River) • Elk River • Gauley River • Greenbrier River • Laurel Fork (Cheat River) • Seneca Creek • South Branch Potomac River • Shavers Fork • Tygart Valley River • Williams River USDA Forest Service