East Coast Highpointing - Barfing and Bonding 11/7/2009
Trip: East Coast Highpointing - Barfing and Bonding
Date: 11/7/2009
Trip Report:I'm not sure how I originally got into "Highpointing", the practice of trying to climb the highest summit in each State. It must of been when we relocated to North Carolina, and I needed a good excuse to travel the back roads, see the rolling green hills and raging rivers, and enjoy this beautiful country. Here follows a brief description of two very different attempts to chip away at my highpoint checklist. The first, a 24 hour sufferfest and the second a mellow father-son excursion up three easy but memorable summits.
#1 When endorphins are not enough: 5 State Highpoints in under 24 hoursForecasted rain forced Sam and I to change our plans from rock climbing at Laurel's Knob to an soggy attempt at climbing the highpoints in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and finally South Carolina. Even though he's more at home on hard trad than hiking/running, Sam made an excellent partner for this trip! Solid dude.
Our self imposed rules stated that we must use a trailhead to hike up the mountain as opposed to driving to nearly the top (as most of these summits feature a parking lot and paved trail to the summit lookout) and finish the whole thing in under 24 hours. We managed it in 23:15, covering 44 miles and approximately 15 hours of driving.
#2 Man, why do they have to put the summit tower so far from the parking lot? My wife flew back to Washington for the week, and I took the opportunity to introduce our 2.5 year old to the outdoors. On Friday we staged in Cumberland, MD, and woke up Saturday morning and hiked up the highpoints in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia before getting back to North Carolina Saturday night.
Joe joined us on this trip, and I was glad to have his company during the long drive when Logan was fast asleep. Another solid dude.
Joe following
Mercury's Lead, Stone Mountain, NC
O yeah, this one's for Frieh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbgwM3v5e0
