elichten wrote:If anyone is heading to the Delaware HP this year let me know. I live 20 minutes away.

Dang you beat me! I live 40 min. away. How come we haven't tagged a HP up togeather yet, you live so close!

Hotoven wrote:

elichten wrote:If anyone is heading to the Delaware HP this year let me know. I live 20 minutes away.

Dang you beat me! I live 40 min. away. How come we haven't tagged a HP up togeather yet, you live so close!

We should remedy that! Where do you want to go and when?

elichten wrote:

Hotoven wrote:

elichten wrote:If anyone is heading to the Delaware HP this year let me know. I live 20 minutes away.

Dang you beat me! I live 40 min. away. How come we haven't tagged a HP up togeather yet, you live so close!

We should remedy that! Where do you want to go and when?

Well, I'm super busy lately, but am planning on going up to the SP North East gathering this Fed. Maybe we could car pool. Do you Ice Climb?

surgent wrote:

Alpinist wrote:In thinking about this, it it occured to me that they must have a gif file for every possible combination of states. That amounts to one hell of a lot of gif files! If my math is correct, that equals 2 to the 50th power, or: 1,125,899,906,842,620 possible combinations. Are there any math wizards here? Did I calculate that correctly?!

Yes, you are correct. Each state has two "options": colored in, or not colored in; thus, 2 to the 50th power. This includes the blank map.

I doubt they have every conceivable map stored somewhere. It's a simple code that "tells" when to color in a state, so the maps are created dynamically.

Thanks. So the gif files are created dynamically afterall. That makes sense.

Alpinist wrote:Has anyone figured out the best logistics for doing the Southern 6-pack as far as where to start, what sequence to do them, and what is the most efficient driving route?

We flew into the Tri-State airport (Bristol) this summer as our beginning point for the southern 6 pack. We hit KY first then NC, SC, GA, and TN before spending a few days in Gatlinburg. We then did VA before flying back out of Tri-State.

It probably would have been more efficient to do VA after KY but I had some friends meeting me for VA so I had to wait for them.

Maybe you'll be met by Doreen K., a local woman who is the self-appointed Ebright Azimuth welcoming committee. We were there in 2005 for a quickie visit but hse came out to greet us, and told us all sorts of interesting stories.

http://www.surgent.net/highpoints/states/de.html

Alpinist wrote:Has anyone figured out the best logistics for doing the Southern 6-pack as far as where to start, what sequence to do them, and what is the most efficient driving route?

Which 6 are you talking about Alpinist? (KY, VA, TN, NC, SC, GA) maybe?

I had to pick up a few to the west and flew in to Atlanta and did AL, FL, MI, GA, TN, SC in a looong weekend. I would have done NC but I ran out of time on that trip... I think once I get 50 done I will spend some time doing them all over and hike the AT for the 6 you have in mind..

I believe this is the route we took with some variations of course..

http://bit.ly/eiZLKG


Sitting at 39.. hoping to end 2011 at 45 with WY, HI, AK, TX, and CA remaining... I just can't win that damn CA lottery.. will have to take PCT in and out on the back I think in 12.

jeffh25 wrote:

Alpinist wrote:Has anyone figured out the best logistics for doing the Southern 6-pack as far as where to start, what sequence to do them, and what is the most efficient driving route?

Which 6 are you talking about Alpinist? (KY, VA, TN, NC, SC, GA) maybe?

Yep - those are commonly referred to as the "Southern Six Pack" or just the "Six Pack" due to their proximity.. They can be done during a very aggressive 2-day weekend, or take a more leisurely schedule to see more of the local sights.

Alpinist wrote:Has anyone figured out the best logistics for doing the Southern 6-pack as far as where to start, what sequence to do them, and what is the most efficient driving route?

I think this all depends on where you need to start and finish. VA is supposed to be a decently long hike, whereas all the rest are quick drive-ups. The best suggestion I have is to time at least one of them with the sunrise or sunset. We caught the sunrise on GA and it was beautiful! SC was in the trees, so don't worry about sunrise or set on that one.

Yeah VA's a good half day. That's your only real time killer. I stayed in Marion VA when I did Rogers and Black Mt. KY is about 3 hours from there. I did Mitchell, Sassafras & Brasstown Bald in about 8 hours too on an earlier trip. I don't think there's really a right or wrong way to go about it. It would just depend on what else you want to see or do.

My wife and I did the Southern 6 Pack as part of a 9 state Highpointing trip in April 2006. Sorry if this seems like a trip report.

Flew into Atlanta and visited Georgia Aquarium on April 8. Drove to Brasstown Bald the next day. Climbed via the Jacks Knob Trail 5.8 miles round trip. Nobody on the trail. A lot of the people at the parking lot and at the museum on top. Very nice hike on a sunny day. A ranger unlocked a gate so that I could take a picture of the USGS benchmark. HP #7.

Drove to Sassafras from Blairsville, GA on the very scenic Hwy. 64 in North Carolina. Very curvy road along a lovely trout stream with many waterfalls. Drove to parking lot of Sassafras below summit since we missed the Foothills Trail trailhead. Saw a pileated woodpecker. Hiked a short distance to register box. Found Foothills Trail on the way down and hiked on it for a mile or two. Lovely spring day. HP #8.
Drove to Asheville, NC from Sassafras Mtn, SC. Attempted to access Hwy. 128 from the East from Hwy. 80 to Blue Ridge Parkway. Road closed due to damage from Hurricane Frances. Drove 80 miles back around to Asheville and drove up Blue Ridge Parkway to Hwy. 128. Parked at campground below Mt. Mitchell. Hiked 2 miles round trip on the Old Mount Mitchell Trail. Few people. Clear day with nice views at the summit. HP #9.

Drove to Cherokee from Asheville, NC to Hwy. 441. Stopped at Sugarlands Visitor Center and were told that we wouldn't be able to go to summit because of repairs to the area at the top. Drove on Clingman's Dome Road to parking lot. Hiked 2 miles round trip on Forney Ridge Trail to Appalachian Trail and then to the summit. No official looking people around so we climbed the "curved cement bridge to nowhere." Met a few through hikers on the AT. Very nice hike on a perfect day. Drove back to Maggie Valley on the Blue Ridge Parkway. HP #10.

Mount Rogers: Drove to Damascus, VA from Asheville, NC and had breakfast. Climbed from Massie Gap trailhead. Saw some ponies right away. Walked north up to the AT. Hiked AT up Wilburn Ridge to Thomas Knob shelter. USFS helicopter flew over and dropped several fire fighters off in front of us. Talked to one and was told that they were going to do a controlled burn. "You will have to turn around." I told him that I wasn't going to turn around, I came to summit. He let me go and said that I might have to stay on top for awhile. We continued on to the Mount Rogers Spur Trail and reached the summit and had lunch. Hiked down through the burned area. Very smoky. Saw more ponies on the way back down. Warm day, but cloudy. One of my favorite hikes of our HP trip. HP #11.
Black Mountain:
Drove to Appalachia, KY from Mount Rogers, VA shortly before dark. Drove up steep and curvy Hwy. 160 to the dirt road. Road very rough. Parked and hiked to the summit. Very trashy summit. I seriously considered cleaning the area up, but it was getting dark. Found benchmark and left. HP #12.

Backbone Mountain:Started the day in Norton, VA and drove through West Virginia to get to the trailhead. Very nice evening hike. Well-marked trail. Nice summit. Mailbox, register, and certificates for hikers who complete this HP. HP #13.
"We are not that far from Mount Davis you know," I said to my wife at 7:30 PM while we finished hiking on Backbone Mt. the HP of Maryland. So we got in the car and drove through a thunderstorm in the dark to Salisbury, PA. Drove to the summit parking lot and found the HP and benchmark on a rock in the dark. Left summit at about 9:30 PM and still had to drive to Seneca Rocks, WV to get to our cabin. HP #14.

Drove to Spruce Knob from Seneca Rocks, WV on long, rough, curvy road to summit parking lot. Thunderstorms. Cold and windy at the top. Hiked around on the nearby trails and met some interesting people. HP #15 and our 9th HP of the week.

Thanks for the ideas. I wasn't sure if there was a "best way" to do the Southern states. I'll figure out the timing of my arrival and then work it out from there.

Not a bad year, I got 6 (ND, AZ, WY, IA, MO, AR) which brings me to this:

Hotoven wrote:Well, I'm super busy lately, but am planning on going up to the SP North East gathering this Fed. Maybe we could car pool. Do you Ice Climb?

I'm still debating the SP gathering at Marcy. I don't have the technical tools for ice climbing, but it was a damn lot of fun the few times I've done it. I'd like to do more.