Not the way most of us plan on going up Denali. Lonnie Dupre Solos Denali in January...

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Flying down to Phoenix tonight to help the girlfriend's parents close down the winter home and then we'll be putting them on a plane Friday morning and driving the minivan back up to Minneapolis. We're planing on doing Black Mesa, Mount Sunflower and Hawkeye Point along the way. I've never really considered myself a high pointer but as we check them off just because we can why not. At least it's keeps us off the main drag. Dex or Diamox?

Accompanied my wife two weekends ago for re-visits to Sassafras and Cheaha Mtns. I had been previously but new #31 and #32 for her. Weather wasn't great but we had fun anyway. They clear cut the top of Sassafras in preparation for installation of the new lookout tower. Greatly improved the summit views. In time hopefully they will do something more aesthetically pleasing with the slash piles.

I'm a little confused by the routes on Mt. Elbert. They seem to be called different names here on Summitpost and on the 14ers website. Is the "South Elbert Trail" listed here the same as the "East Ridge" on 14ers? Could someone please clarify which route is which? And which route would you recommend for an early July attempt (4th of July weekend).

IagosGhost wrote:I'm a little confused by the routes on Mt. Elbert. They seem to be called different names here on Summitpost and on the 14ers website. Is the "South Elbert Trail" listed here the same as the "East Ridge" on 14ers? Could someone please clarify which route is which? And which route would you recommend for an early July attempt (4th of July weekend).

Looks like the NE ridge route page has been removed and this was considered the main route. I understand your confusion but below are the directions to the main TH and with the masses that time of year you will have no problems with logistics.

From the SP Elbert Page:

North Mt. Elbert Trailhead: (10,050 ft.) From Leadville, drive 3.5 miles south on U.S. 24 to Colorado (CO) 300. Turn right (west) on CO 300 and drive .7 miles. At .7 miles, turn left (south) on Lake County 11 which is a newly paved road. Drive south 1.8 miles on Lake County 11 and turn right (west) at the signed intersection for Halfmoon Creek. Continue southwest past the Halfmoon Creek Campground and the Elbert Creek Campground until reaching the signed North Mt. Elbert Trailhead at 6.9 miles. Note: This trailhead is also referred to as "South Colorado/Main Range Trailhead" in some guidebooks. It is an access point for the Colorado/Continental Divide trail, a short section of which runs from here to the Lakeview Campground to the south.

I have a family wedding in La Crosse WI on June 5th and I am thrilled since its one of weekends Charles Mound is open; than I figured I should grab Hawkeye point while I'm there as well. So i'm planning logistics and all excited since its been over 1.5yrs since my last highpoint and this will put me over 30 hp's but then i look at itinerary and think "i'm really planning on driving 12.5hrs in a single day to visit two non- spectacular hills in the middle of farm country and I'm happy about it?" what a bizarre hobby to choose

Jow- I have wondered about this crazy hobby as well. Charles Mound is kind of fun because you can meet other Highpointers on the hike. If you like baseball stop at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa on the way to Hawkeye Point. OR you could hit Timms Hill in Wisconsin instead. Drive up Grand Dad Bluff for a great view of Lacrosse.

I learned elsewhere that Catamount successfully reached the summit of Denali yesterday for #50! I wanted to congratulate him here, but now it appears that he has left Summitpost again.

This ambitious couple are trying to set a new speed record for climbing all of the lower 48 state high points. They need to be under 23 days and change to do it. Currently climbing Whitney for #8 in about a week. Wow, lots of energy here! https://www.facebook.com/thegreat40eight

I summited Mt. Elbert via the Northeast Ridge on July 2nd with my 15-year-old son. It was my 10th HP. My son enjoyed pelting me with some snowballs on the summit. It was quite the adventure as we got some hail while on the top. On the way down, I could hear some buzzing. We crouched down and waited. We heard some thunder and started running down the trail. Luckily that was the only lightning we had to deal with.

We happened to meet a youth group from Branson, Missouri which is only a little more than an hour from where I live--small world. Two of the guys from the group were ahead of us on the trail when the lightning buzzed us. One of them said his hair stood on end and his cell phone in his shocked him. As he was running down the trail he trip and somehow hurt his ankle. He had a really hard time hiking down so I loaned him one of my trekking poles. His day just turned into an ordeal. His friends helped him down the rest of the way, and it was really slow going. I don't know what happened to him, and I may not ever get my trekking pole back. But it was the least I could do.

Some had asked for a Gannett Peak conditions report: Three of us attempted Gannett via Elkhart Park and Titcomb Basin from July 11-13. Jeremy summited, Nate and I did not. I attribute my lack of success to overestimation of fitness level and underestimation of difficulty. It would have been much more likely as a 4-5 day trip. There was a surprising amount of up and down the first 15 miles. Full pack combined with altitude on day 1 wiped me out for the summit day. Trails down low were very wet and muddy. Had to ford Little Seneca Lake due to high water level. Bonney Pass was half snow covered, half scree. Jeremy reported that the bergschrund was open but a 10-foot wide snow bridge remained. Snow was firm in the morning and sloppy in the afternoon. When the wind stopped the mosquitoes were hungry. Trails drying up on the way out. Had intermittent hail and a bit of a thunderstorm Saturday and Sunday. Not overly disappointed about not summiting as it was still a great first-time adventure in a beautiful place.