scottgg Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 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 hours Forecasted 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: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 O yeah, this one's for Frieh: HOOAH Scott! With that kind of endurance work you should be thinking about the best ranger comp... bet you'd do awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmatt Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Nice! I got into doing HPs when dating someone a long time ago. The suffer fest is really the best way to get them done in the midwest and south. At least the HPs in the east and west are a lot more enjoyable. How many are you up to now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurthicks Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Looks like fun Scott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 i've done that trip before you're lucky you didn't try throwing kentucky into the mix - almost got meself shot by a zealous security guard there - fucking coal miners! interesting piece of trivia - anyone know the previous name for pennsylvania's highpt (black mtn) 'fore someone thought maybe it wasn't so PC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostCamKenny Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 interesting piece of trivia - anyone know the previous name for pennsylvania's highpt (black mtn) 'fore someone thought maybe it wasn't so PC? wasn't it negro mountain? think i read something about that a while back in one of my bathroom readers, er, somewhere anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 wrong n word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottgg Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 O yeah, this one's for Frieh: HOOAH Scott! With that kind of endurance work you should be thinking about the best ranger comp... bet you'd do awesome! Thanks John! Man, best ranger comp looks great, maybe next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belayerslayer Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Fun trip report! Glad to see my nephew is taking after his father! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynicalwoodsman Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Pa's highest point is Mt Davis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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