Hotoven wrote:

Fletch wrote:dumb question. how many HP's would you knock out if you through hiked the AT? which ones are they? thanks and sorry for the dumb question (I live out west and have no real conceptual framework for the AT).

Tennessee (A few hundred feet off the trail)

Virginia (You have to hike a mile off the AT to hit the true summit)

New Jersey (Also hike a mile off the AT to hit the true summit)

Massachusetts (A few hundred feet from the trail)

New Hampshire (Right over top)

Maine (The AT ends on top of the Mountain)


Correct me if I'm wrong anyone...

The trail also goes pretty close to the highpoint of Georgia. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it's not more than 4-8 miles on a side trail.

Holsti97 wrote:

jdzaharia wrote:Attained my first state HP a couple weeks ago on Harney Peak, South Dakota.

Congrats jdzaharia on your first State HP! It is fun to follow the progress of fellow State Highpoint climbers. I had the privilege of summiting Granite Peak with Ben Lostracco from Quebec a few years ago when he reached HP #48 and that was great to share with him. Here is my best estimate of the progress of some Summitpost State Highpointers who frequent this forum:

gmoney 48
dalescout 47
Catamount 45
gwave47 42
madmaximus 39
Alpinist 37
Hotoven 34
maddie77777 24
BadgerSummitSeeker 24
xDoogiex 19
zodis 19
musicman 1

Some of you have not done Wisconsin yet. Make sure you send me a PM when you do and maybe we can get together. I hope to do 4 more in October...AL, FL, LA, and MS.

Keep Klimbin'

I'm at 39. Shooting for 40 next month in Montana...

I don't know the mileage, but the AT runs fairly close to Mt Frissell in CT.

The thing about the Highpointer's Club - in fact any club - is that you get out of it what you put into it. In wanting to get more out of the club I've recently become the Club's liason for the DE HP.

I joined last year, and last year was my first Konvention. My impression of the club is this: it is not for hardcore outdoor enthusiasts as others have said. It seems geared more for those with a love of travel outdoors who are looking for a good reason to go somewhere. There are a lot of families with children, and a lot of older folks.

Personally I'm considerably more "hardcore" than a good 70% of the membership, yet the toughest climb I've ever had was Boundary Peak NV (but I do have my sights on Denali).

Now I still had a great time at the convention. I met more than a few people with similar climbing goals and energy level. In fact I've already been on climbs with many of them. It was great to meet and talk to people who share my interest.

I love getting the newsletter (I frequently send in pictures, and its fun to see myself in print).

I agree that this year's convention seems a bit weak. It's not exactly being held in the most exciting place, so it is what it is. Also, the whole shebang is run by volunteers, so keep that in mind.

Would it be nice if the club was something more than it is? Maybe. And maybe once I've gotten a bit more involved I'll see what the club thinks about making a few changes.

All that said, if I can pull it off I'll be going to the convention. Probably hitting a whole bunch of HPs on the way.

elichten said: " In wanting to get more out of the club I've recently become the Club's liason for the DE HP. "

Hey, I live 3 miles away from the Ebright Azimuth. If you ever want to hold a SP / HP party to celebrate the "peak" I'll buy some beer.

Picked off VT, MA, and CT last week for 22 total. Frissell was surprisingly a bit of a challenge as it was quite wet and slippery on the steep parts of the trail. I wound up on my butt once on the way down. Need to invest in some new trail shoes!

Different topic: The AT is pretty close to Mt. Frissell (a few miles?) but in no circumstance would I call it close (on foot) to Brasstown Bald. My recollection is that there is a major valley separating the two ridges and it would probably be a better part of a day walk each way.

It's been a good summer!

Catamount wrote:I've been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2001 and take it for what it is. I really enjoy Apex to Zenith and think it is worth the price of membership all by itself. I also appreciate the work the Club has done to secure access in places like Illinois, Rhode Island and Kentucky. No trespassing signs could really be a buzz killer in the life of an aspiring state highpointer.

But I do think the Club is based on a model that appeals to only a small segment of the outdoors world. The Conventions hold zero appeal to me and I doubt I will ever attend one. I also think the Jack Longacre thing has gotten kind of weird over the years. Has the feel of a cult of personality. IMHO, the Club would do well to refocus its energies on year-round club-sponsored hikes and climbs to highpoints rather than on a single yearly event.

Also, congrats to all on the recent successful trips!

I joined back in 1996. At the time the internet was a useless curiosity and not helpful for finding information on the state HPs. Only two books on the 50 state HPs existed: Zumwalt's and Holmes'. I was made aware of the club through the proprietor of the Merc in Kenton, OK. To that point I did not know there was a club. I did join, and Jack Longacre was still writing the AtoZ and answering each letter personally. For awhile there, the club was a very real nexus for people interested in the state HPs, and the AtoZ newsletters had good trip reports and info about various HPs, including those with variable access rules. The conventions way back then were smaller and generally consisted of "everyone", which at the time numbered at most a hundred maybe???

That's how we old-timers handled things before the internet, back in the one-thousands.

I would agree on some focus-reshifting, but not on the whole model. The AtoZ newsletter's main themes are now effectively covered via the web. The physical newsletter could include more narratives and stories of completers, and it's possible the newsletter could be moved entirely to the web as a PDF. However, I always enjoyed getting my copy in the mail. I applaud Dave and John for taking on this huge task.

The convention itself must be rethought. In the old days it was held near a state HP, but now we've started repeating HPs, while others will never get to host a convention (for example, Montana or Wyoming). I'd suggest to remove the state HP from the official activities, for example. Consider Nevada: it could host an HP convention in Las Vegas or Reno (nowhere near Boundary Peak), or attempt to host it near Boundary, where the biggest nearby towns are Tonopah (NV) or Bishop (CA).

People have come to expect the state HP as an entitlement for attending a convention. On a big western peak, this could be bad news, and place others in an unintended role as "guide".

I let my membership lapse two years ago. I haven't rejoined mainly because I've forgotten and other things have consumed my time. But I still enjoy the whole group, even if I don't participate directly with the club anymore. I've plateaued on 45 HPs... I'll be one of those to rejoin when I get number 48 or even the magical 50th.

markv wrote:

Holsti97 wrote:

jdzaharia wrote:Attained my first state HP a couple weeks ago on Harney Peak, South Dakota.

Congrats jdzaharia on your first State HP! It is fun to follow the progress of fellow State Highpoint climbers. I had the privilege of summiting Granite Peak with Ben Lostracco from Quebec a few years ago when he reached HP #48 and that was great to share with him. Here is my best estimate of the progress of some Summitpost State Highpointers who frequent this forum:

gmoney 48
dalescout 47
Catamount 45
gwave47 42
madmaximus 39
Alpinist 37
Hotoven 34
maddie77777 24
BadgerSummitSeeker 24
xDoogiex 19
zodis 19
musicman 1

Some of you have not done Wisconsin yet. Make sure you send me a PM when you do and maybe we can get together. I hope to do 4 more in October...AL, FL, LA, and MS.

Keep Klimbin'

I'm at 39. Shooting for 40 next month in Montana...

29 for me. I'll be attempting Kings Peak in a couple weeks.

I was going to write a trip report for our July 19 Gannett Peak climb via the Glacier Trail from Dubois, but musicman82 who climbed it a few days earlier did such a nice job on his trip report that I thought it would be redundant. His trip was very similar to ours.

Here is a link to my album on Facebook that combines the best photos of all 5 of us who climbed Gannett Peak:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 0180728774

Enjoy.

Doug - people have short memories. Wait a couple of weeks and then post your trip report. I'd love to read it. Nice pics!

Yes, it's a beautiful hike and a challenging trail. There's a lot of "micro-terrain", typical of many Adirondack trails. I've done it as a day trip from the Tahawus trailhead...but it was tough. The ghost mining town at the trail head is pretty interesting to poke around. Lake Colden is a nice place to camp. Also consider taking in Mt. Skylight as an easy side trip on your summit day. Have fun!

After reading some replies to my view on the Highpointers convention I thought I'd add a couple of points.
My post was not ment to be an indictment for the whole organization and its purposes. My view (rant) was about THIS years meeting. Most people feel stong ties to where they are from, having the meeting to spotlight a state's high point no matter how unexciting is a good thing. Moving the meeting to the state next door is not. I'm not a member of the organization and this would be my first meeting to attend so the first time I went far enough to find out the cost, to me its too much especially for the kidos. So pat the folks of Mississippi on the back by recocgnizing their not too exciting high point and staying in their state. I bet their faces would light up if you told them you came 800, 1000 or more miles to see it!
Well, whatever keep on climbing. Stumblingbear

hey everyone just posting because i am excited for my trip next week where i'll be hopefully knocking out Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. wish me luck. its ambitious and lots o driving but living in NYC got to take advantage of trips out west.

Have fun! I'd be curious to know which highpoint you think is flater; NE or KS.

we'll see; but having already conquered both Rhode Island and Delaware don't worry i am well prepared