Noondueler - Jun 9, 2011 11:37 pm - Voted 10/10
Well Sarah...how can you be sure you bagged the sucker?
Sarah Simon - Jun 10, 2011 11:12 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Well Sarah...Noon,
They're not really into summit cairns and summit registers in these parts. Even peaks that at one time had a USGS marker placed on their summits, well...reforestation and decades of forest growth mean the marker is often buried under a foot or more of duff and even live trees!
To find the summit on these peaks, you use the map and your best judgement. Honestly, you've just got to be willing to accept a higher level of ambiguity here than in, say, the Rockies.
Honestly, I don't mind the more relaxed non-approach in the southeast. Yeah, it's a little odd to reach what has got to be the high point of the peak but see no confirmation of this. But it's more mellow than in Colorado where people carry hand-levels and argue whether or not the true summit of UN 12,345 is 10 feet to the east of the historic summit, etc. I'm all for reaching the summit with a high level of personal integrity, but sometimes people let Obsessive Compulsive tendencies get in the way of having fun. :)
Also, in these parts, you might be amazed how often folks visit an overlook, but never step the extra one topo line to the summit. It's just, I guess, not as much a part of the mountain hiking culture as in New England, Colorado, California and elsewhere.
Sarah
Noondueler - Jun 10, 2011 11:56 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Well Sarah...Thanks for all the info! I was just kiddin' around but it is funny how obsessed people get with stats.
In that case no one has summited Kanchenjunga because they stop a few feet from the true high point out of respect for the gods. ;)
Sarah Simon - Jun 10, 2011 12:25 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Well Sarah.......well, there was a group of backpackers from Gilliad Baptist Church in Macon, GA. When they saw us coming down to the trail from one of the summits, they were like: What in the heck-fire are you girls doing? They thought we were out of our minds! "There's snakes, ticks, poison ivy and who knows what up there! Get back on the trail!" is the more common approach here. ;)
Sarah
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