Category: High Points

Harney PeakSouth DakotaMay  2015 We cross a footbridge to get to Trail #9, the Harney Peak Trail.  #9 starts out innocently enough.  No, not innocent at all, with its rutted mud puddles every half dozen paces.  Too much, way too much.  I’m surprised that this popular trail doesn’t have better drainage. It’s a matter of… Continue reading Trail #9

Baxter State ParkMaineAugust  2012 We’re up on the mountain, halfway to our destination of the summit.  We dump our gear in the designated shelter for our stay and then check in with the ranger.  He gently introduces himself, “Hi.  My name is Mark and I am here to make sure everything goes smoothly for you… Continue reading Ranger Mark

Mount DavisPennsylvaniaJune  2014 Before we begin on our hike to the high point, we cross the road, like very few chickens actually do, to visit Baughman Rock. A hundred feet into the woods on a handicap accessible trail we come to an area which could only be “the Rocks.”  There is an entrance to the… Continue reading An Ill-Tempered Man

Black MesaOklahomaMarch  2013 Ahead, we see something with straight lines subtly sticking up perpendicular from the straight horizontal line of the horizon.  I’ll bet that’s our ultimate destination:  The marker at the high point. Another ten minutes.  After an anything-but-grueling 600-foot climb, we comfortably arrive at the summit, in the midst of the flat highland. … Continue reading Carved in Stone

Mount RogersVirginiaJuly 2011 & July 2014 We’re enjoying the summit of Mount Rogers, the high point of Virginia. Which means that after hiking so many hours to gain 1500 feet of elevation, we’re doing nothing in particular, just being here.  Lisa does a little exploring of the high woods in our vicinity while I absentmindedly… Continue reading Virginia’s High Point?

Mount SunflowerKansasMarch  2013 Up the road, a right turn at the hand-painted sign… MOUNT SUNFLOWER Bump Ba-Bump!  Over the cattle guard. I don’t recall ever seeing a cattle guard in the eastern U S of A.  While it’s true that Kansas has almost four times as many cows as my home state of Pennsylvania, we… Continue reading Cattle Guard

Mount RogersVirginiaJuly  2014 Leaving the hikers, the dogs, the boulders, the benchmarks and the mystery (of where the exact high point really is) behind, we retrace our steps back down the mountain.  This time, when we come to Wilburn Ridge Trail, halfway back to trailhead, instead of continuing straight on the path that brought us… Continue reading The Mount Rogers Zoo

Humphreys PeakArizonaJune  2013 Up before dawn on the day we plan to hike to the summit of Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona.  Lucky us, there is a 24-hour Denny’s Restaurant right across the street from where we lodge.  It is four o’clock in the morning and as you might expect, we find a… Continue reading Rebel!

Black MountainKentuckyJuly  2011 Literally more than a ton of country music performers come from eastern Kentucky, appropriately nicknamed the Bluegrass State:  Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Naomi Judd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tom T Hall, Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, Crystal Gayle, Bill Monroe, Dwight Yoakam and a number of other talents.  That’s a lot of twangin’ and… Continue reading Country Music Highway/The Peace of Wild Things

Taum Sauk MountainMissouriJuly  2012 In spring and in wet weather, Mina Sauk Falls is a 132-foot waterfall over rocky volcanic ledges.  Highest falls in the state of Missouri.  Today, it’s so dry the dogs are marking their territory with chalk lines.  The only water we find is in pancake-sized puddles filling depressions in the rock. … Continue reading Mina Sauk