If we were to hang a map on the wall and put a tack in all the places I've either visited, climbed or hiked, there would be some "blank spots" on it with few or no tacks. It would be different for every person.

Anyway, here are my blanks spots for the western United States highlighted in red:



The orange dots represent the places I have lived either permanently or for extended periods of time on projects.

Outside the red highlighted areas, there aren't any large areas that I haven't visited, climbed or hiked something. I didn't mark anything east of the yellow line because I am not as interested in that part of the country other than a few areas such as (for example) winter ascents of peaks in the Presidentials in New Hamshire and around Katahdin in Maine or Maybe a winter ascent of Eagle Mountain in Minnesota and a late summer/early fall trip to the Boundary Waters to name a few.

Anyway, the "blanks spots" I have highlighted aren't areas that I have no interest in (the exact opposite is true), but are areas that I haven't gotten to yet.

Where did the "blank spots" come from?

I've wanted to climb peaks in places like Glacier, Bob Marshall Wilderness, the northern Bitterroots (I have climbed peaks in the southern portion), Cabinet Mountains, etc., but in recent years (just over a decade now), with rare exceptions I can only get time off in the winter months (or at least the cooler half of the year) and even on the rare exceptions that I do get any time off in summer, it's for only a week. Before the last decade, I could get more time off in summer, but never made it to Northern Montana/Northern Idaho and Southern Oregon/Northernmost California. I guess I haven't desired it enough to make a winter trip.

I do want to climb some peaks in the Black Hills/Devils Tower in the winter though, I just haven't quite got around to it yet.

Anyway, the blank spots in southern Arizona and the corner of Western Texas may be surprising since I can get time off in the cooler half of the year. The only reason that I haven't been to Southern Arizona is because I like the northern half of Arizona so much that I haven't made it past the northern half!

Hopefully some day, I'll be able to visit the remaining areas that I don't know so well.

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Where are you're "blank spots" in the US? I'm sure we all have them.

For me, eastern Oregon and Washington are the only real blank spots in the West where I haven't hiked or climbed or even driven through. And the Cabinet Mountains in Montana.

Cool question, Scott. I'm at work and don't have the ability to make the map, but definitely a few places come to mind. While I've been all over the west I still haven't done much climbing in the Washington Cascades, or as much as I'd like in the Wind Rivers (WY). Got the tendency to go to the same range over and over again (Tetons, for example) rather than going some place new, sometimes.

Andinistaloco wrote:Got the tendency to go to the same range over and over again (Tetons, for example) rather than going some place new, sometimes.

I know what you mean. Starting in 1996, I made an endeavor to see as much of the West as I could and saw damn near all of it over the next few years. Now I keep going back to a few areas-- Glacier, Bob Marshall, Absarokas/Gros Ventres/Wyoming Range, southern Utah-- and have little interest in revisiting the other places.

I do want to spend some more time in the North Cascades, though.

Catamount wrote:Below is a map of New York State including areas circled in red where I haven't spent much time. As you can see, there are no real blank spots. BUT, I should mention that I have excluded the western 2/3 of the state from consideration as all of the mountains in New York are to the east. Any hike or outdoors agenda west of the Adirondacks or Catskills is pretty much beneath me and not worthy of my attention. It doesn't mean I've never been in western New York ... just that I couldn't care less. Maybe someday I'll go over Niagara Falls in a barrel - about the only real adventure to be had in western NY.

Sounds like this post belongs in that thread on elitism!