Florida Frank wrote:

Alpinist wrote:Our very own Hoslti97 received a little press a few days ago. Nice article Doug!

http://www.agriview.com/feature/urban-has-a-passion-for-highpointing-and-dairy/article_a434b554-00d5-11e1-89fb-001cc4c002e0.html

Good press! And now I understand "Holsti" I hope to have the lower 48 done one of these years myself!

Nice article, its neat to see how people get into the sport.

Alpinist wrote:

sm0421 wrote:hi guys, what would be a good map for hiking Kings Peak UT and Gannett Peak, WY? Thanks!

Hiking Map & Guide, Northern Wind River Range (Earthwalk Press)

I didn't buy a map for Kings Peak. I just printed the topo map from SP for the standard route. Navigation is very straight forward. It's a trail hike all the way to Gunsight Pass. From there you have 2 choices; traverse the south side of Gunsight Peak to Anderson Pass (shorter but more of a scramble), or stay on the trail to Anderson Pass (longer and involves elevation loss). From Anderson Pass, you just follow the ridgeline to the summit of Kings Peak.

Thanks so much Alpinist, will hike Kings and Borah in Aug, 2012.

Hi All - I am trying to determine what mode is a"fair" to have a highpoint count? I've done quite a few, but I see that some are actually drive ups (NJ, DE, etc...) is there a criteria?

coldworlder wrote:Hi All - I am trying to determine what mode is a"fair" to have a highpoint count? I've done quite a few, but I see that some are actually drive ups (NJ, DE, etc...) is there a criteria?

Its all up to the individual. I have a rule that I will never drive to the summit unless there's no trail. Some highpoint makes this difficult as the only other option besides driving is a 20 mile round trip. Its also in a way imposable because many of the mid Western high points are at the end of a road or driveway, so there is no path at all.

In NJ there are a nice amount of surrounding trails to link a few to the summit and have a nice day hike. Where as in DE, there is no other option other then simply parking the car along the road and walking to the point on the sidewalk.

If the only thing that matters is physically occupying the highest point, and the means doesn't matter, then even descending upon it by helicopter would be fine.

One can set their personal standard as high as they wish.

Sup dudes! Been awhile. I haven't gotten any accomplished since this summer. Thinking TX early next year. Hope to get another one this year. So close to being half way

There is no cheating at being a tourist. Personally my rule is try and make some sort of hike out of it. Originally I was going for prominence but I've compromised on that a tad. On Mt. Mitchell I did the Old Mitchell trail which is a 3 mile each way ridgewalk where if I had more time I should have done the 5.6mile each way Mt. Mitchell trail to get more prominence. But this rule is causing me a long hike on Spruce Knob when I attempt this spring where you could just drive.

My drive ups so far are RI, DE, NE, KY, and KS and there really isn't any choice in matter on these ones.

Jow, I did the long hike up WV's high point. I think it was around 18 or 20 miles so I made it into a nice weekend backpacking trip. Worth the hike though, very beautiful!

The only requirement is to physically be on the high point. How one gets there is a matter of personal preference. Consider the essential drive ups as a scavenger hunt / geocaching kind of adventure. Rely upon maps instead of a GPS. Getting to some of these places is most of the fun! We had a blast "finding" Hoosier Hill. Road detours, etc. made it memorable.

SM0421

When you hike Kings Peak, stick to the trail, take the elevation loss. In my opinion this will save you time and energy compared to all the rock hopping you will find yourself doing if you try to traverse Gunsight Peak between the passes. Are you doing this as a dayhike or do you plan on camping and making it an overnighter? Enjoy!

Hotoven wrote:Jow, I did the long hike up WV's high point. I think it was around 18 or 20 miles so I made it into a nice weekend backpacking trip. Worth the hike though, very beautiful!

Yea the shortest route I found is 8.7miles each way Seneca Creek Trail to Judy Springs Trail to Huckleberry Trail to Summit. Plan on one long day beating my previous long of Clingmans Dome 7.9miles each way. But I am contemplating hitting up a big mountain or two next year if I can so I could use the training. I've been hitting gym pretty good as of late and if i continue through winter should be a breeze. (weather permitting of course)

Jow wrote:

Hotoven wrote:Jow, I did the long hike up WV's high point. I think it was around 18 or 20 miles so I made it into a nice weekend backpacking trip. Worth the hike though, very beautiful!

Yea the shortest route I found is 8.7miles each way Seneca Creek Trail to Judy Springs Trail to Huckleberry Trail to Summit. Plan on one long day beating my previous long of Clingmans Dome 7.9miles each way. But I am contemplating hitting up a big mountain or two next year if I can so I could use the training. I've been hitting gym pretty good as of late and if i continue through winter should be a breeze. (weather permitting of course)

Yeah that's the route I took, although, we took a wrong turn because the trail junction signs were all destroyed for some reason. I'm sure they are back up though by now. Its a nice place to hike and has a lot of up and downs so that keeps it fresh!

Which big mountains do you plan to do? I love planning ahead and training for trips! Gives me motivation!

Well AZ is on schedule for Sept/Oct since have family vacation in Sedona. Then I may have bachelor party in vegas and try to hit up Boundary and Whitney while there. Or potentially Kings or Borah or both. I spoke with Alex aka sm0421 offline and he is planning those last 4 as well so a potential meetup may be in order if you want in.

Jow wrote:Well AZ is on schedule for Sept/Oct since have family vacation in Sedona. Then I may have bachelor party in vegas and try to hit up Boundary and Whitney while there. Or potentially Kings or Borah or both. I spoke with Alex aka sm0421 offline and he is planning those last 4 as well so a potential meetup may be in order if you want in.

Thanks mate, if it worked out with my schedule I could make it happen, but I'll be in the middle of my internship then. I don't think I'll get out west again till next Fall or Winter.

gwave47 wrote:SM0421

When you hike Kings Peak, stick to the trail, take the elevation loss. In my opinion this will save you time and energy compared to all the rock hopping you will find yourself doing if you try to traverse Gunsight Peak between the passes. Are you doing this as a dayhike or do you plan on camping and making it an overnighter? Enjoy!

That's funny. I would recommend just the opposite. To each his own I guess. The traverse starts out as a faint use trail which slowly peters out. However, if you have a good eye and route finding skills, you can follow a path of least resistance that is really not difficult. There are some cairns that mark the "best way". I'd much rather hike off trail on a shorter route than lose all that elevation and have to regain it. Plus the traverse saves you a lot of distance.

I guess it depends on your comfort level for off trail travel and route finding. You won't get lost on the traverse since you have Gunsight Peak to your right the whole way. However, if you stray from the path of least resistance it would make the hike slightly more difficult.