Cheat Summit Fort and a Winter Night on Shavers Fork

My goal was a place atop Shavers Mountain, but not inside the Otter Creek Wilderness.  When I got to the top of Shavers Mountain, I remembered that the winter was a lot further along in the mountains than in Pittsburgh.  The roads were impassable, so I had to find someplace else to spend the night.  And the day was getting late.

Fortunately, I found these beautiful campsites along the lovely Shavers Fork.  This is the Stonecoal Dispersed Camping Area, where you can camp right beside the road.  It was a great relief to not have to drive back into Elkins and get a motel.

As a bonus, there is an interesting historical site very nearby: Cheat Summit Fort, a Union stronghold inside the Confederate "Old Dominion" (Virginia).  General Robert E. Lee himself was defeated and routed from this site early in the war.  

West Virginia formed in 1863--two years into the war.  But though this fort was in Confederate territory, it never fell.  There is an old cemetery site hard-by--but all the graves were relocated to a national cemetery.

Where the fort once stood, there is a raised deck from which to get a bit of a view.  But be careful!  A wide plank is missing from the floor, and if you're not paying attention you could get pretty badly hurt.  I almost did.