The drive up to the parking lot at Georgia’s high point was absolutely beautiful.  The 3 mile road was lined with mountain laurel and rosebay rhododendron bushes (later I found the trail up to the top was also lined with the same gorgeous, welcoming vegetation).  All I could think about was this site must become one spectacular colorful bloom late May.  I was a bit ‘beaten up’ by yesterday’s hike and decided to hike the summit trail up to the top, as it was paved and a little easier on the body.  Once I arrived I looked around for the gates to the bench mark.  That’s right.  This bench mark is locked behind a gate and only accessible to those who ask.  So I found the gate, walked into the visitor’s center and asked the ranger for access to the high point.  He immediately stopped what he was doing and cheerfully marched outside and unlocked the gate to reveal Brasstown Bald’s marker.  There was a lot of curious onlookers wondering what was going on.  The ranger was very friendly and happy to entertain everyone in view!  Lots of fun!!

 The high point of South Carolina was within reach today, so off I went to Sassafras Mountain…

After a very long slow drive from Chattanooga thru Dollywood (An amusement park the size of a small town, with everything you could think of that says country in the Smoky Mountains of TN.  It reminded me of the Clampett’s hometown, you know the Beverly Hills family, to the Red Skeleton Show, to Dolly herself.  It looked like Las Vegas without the slot machines!), then thru Gatlinburg (where there was at least 100,000 cars and people everywhere!), to finally the Great Smoky Mountain highway leading to Newfound Gap.  I parked the car intending to walk up the road, but I knew the Appalachian Trail was close at hand and I couldn’t resist it’s pull.  So I hiked 7.9 mile up the trail to the high point of TN, Clingman’s Dome.  Hiking up the trail I met a dozen or more ‘thru’ hikers on their way to the trail’s terminus.  Everyone was friendly.  It was a lot of fun chatting with them.  And I can see why people want to hike this trail for whatever reason.  Stepping on rocks and stumps of trees that were obviously not only weather worn, but also because of the 1,000’s of foot steps before me.  It was ruggedly beautiful.  At the top there was a constant stream of people walking from the visitor’s center parking lot to the dome.  The actual natural high point is a rock adjacent to the dome’s supporting wall. 

On my drive back to the hotel I ran into a severe thunderstorm.  Kind of scary driving along a road that is constantly winding on the edge of the mountain range.  I thought to myself, I hope tomorrow’s drive to Georgia’s high point isn’t like this.  And anxiously continue driving…  The next morning I found myself on the same road, winding up the mountain side thru one spectacular view after another…

I klimbed the high point of Mississippi today, which is designated as a drive up.  Upon arriving, I drove up the gravel road to check out the area.  I had read the site was not one of the best kept mountains and was unsure about the condition of the road, which was actually in very good shape.  So I drove back down to the highway, parked and walked up the one mile road to the top of Woodall Mountain.  This high point is 806 feet and the 4th lowest natural high point of all 50 states.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the site in good condition and enjoyed the one mile hike back down the mountain road.  The soil in this area is rich in iron which makes the soil look red.  And the drive thru Alabama (as the MS high point sits right on the Alabama/Mississippi state line) was rich with historical markers.  From the civil war to the civil rights movement, to Jessie Owens homestead, to Helen Keller, and on and on.  Remarkable indeed. 

 

I’ve arrived in Chattanooga, TN to klimb Clingmans Dome.  It’s the most visited high point in the nation because of the enormous amount of history in this area.  I’ll let you know what I find!

Cheaha Mountain, Alabama, became #10 high point today.  It was a drive up, but I had the opportunity to explore a variety of trails surrounding the mountain.  I spent about five hours hiking trails that ranged from an elevated boardwalk, a very steep rock climb, a rappelling cliff and a waterfall.  I met some very friendly people along the way.  I do have to say after some apprehension, that I was a little nervous traveling thru the state of Alabama.  But, even though the confederate flags were flying, I had a lot of people waving as I drove by and others who took the time to stop and say hello.  The weather was spectacular.  And the trails were challenging.  I think I hiked about eight miles today.

 There is an observation tower on the summit, but the true natural high point is a large rock to the left of the tower.  There is also a CCC museum and a monument dedicated to the Boy Scouts of America on the top of the mountain.  And there are a lot of very friendly people in the park as well.  Everyone took the time to say hello.  Fantastic!  I’m happy to say I get the chance to drive thru Alabama one more time on my way to the next high point in Mississippi!

 

 

 

The drive from Fort Myers to Lakewood Park took about 6.5 hours, while klimbing the lowest point of the 50 states (Britton Hill, 345 feet) took about 6.5 seconds!  The Florida point is a drive up high point located on the panhandle, just south of the Alabama border.  The classical location of this high point is considered the monument seen in the picture below.  But, recently that point has been reexamined by a new technology called LiDAR DEM which confirms the real location is actually 500 feet south southwest of the monument (the pic of the woods seen below).  So I visited both locations just to be sure!

On my drive from the Florida high point, passing thru Alabama and heading to Savannah Georgia (site of the National Masters Championships), I drove thru a town called Opp, home of the annual ‘Rattlesnake Rodeo’.   As I passed thru, the signs told me I was two days too early for this years ‘rodeo’.  They claim there has been no rattlesnake bites in over 40 years.  Definitely an unusual event I’m sorry I missed.  But, I am happy to say the Alabama high point is my next klimb!

Despite high wind warnings of gusts up to 90mph and after careful consideration with the rangers on duty, Michael Ambrisco and I decided to make an early start up Guadalupe Peak to try and get ahead of the predicted weather.  The morning (Saturday, March 12th) was pleasantly warm and the views were spectacularly clear.  The trail of this 8,749ft peak begins with a number of switch backs which wrap around the mountain and then the trail eases off to a more gradual climb.  Most of the hike was protected from the wind until the final push to the top, in which the ridge begins to open and becomes exposed to the elements.  Upon reaching the top we could feel the wind picking up and were happy we decided to climb early, as others who started later in the day were unsuccessful in their attempt to climb the peak, due to high winds.  The monument at the top commemorates the 100th anniversary (1958) of the founding of American Airlines and is dedicated to the pioneer airmen and stage drivers of the mail services we know today.  Kind of a cool looking monument!

Well it’s off to Florida for high point #9!  Just a couple of side notes on this trip.  Michael and I were recruited on our first trip to the Carlsbad Caverns to assist bird researchers.  Because we had arrived late (hoping to see the bat flight) we were told not only would there be no bat flight, but we couldn’t go to the bottom of the caverns.  But, we were offered a free ticket to go as far down as we could until one of the ranger’s turned us around.  We took them up on the offer and proceeded to climb down.  Needless to say, we were stopped and told to turn around soon thereafter.  The ranger must have taken pity on us because she offered us a chance of a lifetime.  To come back to the cavern at 5pm and help bird researchers.  She also told us that there will be a bat flight, but it is not advertised yet and if we helped we would see it!  It was a chance of a lifetime.  Not only did we assist in a cool project about swallows, we soon heard and saw 20,000-30,000 bats coming our way.  We all sat quietly in awe for about 20 minutes watching and listening to them, thinking how spectacular this was…  We were unable to take photos during the bat flight (they were afraid we’d scare them off, as this is their spring/summer home and they had barely just arrived!).   We did go back two days later and did climb down and up the cavern.  A must see.  And we ran into the ranger who gave us the opportunity to experience something really out of this world and thanked her.  We then drove to Roswell (UFO sighting capital of the world) and saw lots of things from out of this world…

 

I successfully ‘klimbed’ the high point of Rhode Island this past weekend. Jerimoth Hill’s name is derived from the Hebrew word ‘Jerimoth”, a biblical name meaning ‘elevation’ and is 812 feet high, sitting just east of the state line between Connecticut and Rhode Island.  Despite record low temperatures in the area, I drove to the point, parked across the street, walked about 200 meters (220 yards) to the high point in about 6 inches of snow.  The total ‘klimb’ was less than five minutes!  It was lots of fun looking for the monument because I had to sweep my way thru snow and ice.   This type of klimb is known as a drive-up!   Next high point.  Texas!

 

 

We couldn’t have asked for a better day!  The weather was absolutely spectacular!!  Amazing views at every turn.  We started for the summit just before 7am and arrived at the summit in just under 4.5 hours.  It was not only emotional, because we were standing on sacred ground, but astonishing, as the views were overwhelming.  When you look at the photos below, you may think some of what you see in the background is sky, but it’s actually the ocean.  The lake on the mountain is Lake Wai’au, also very sacred to the Hawaiian people.  I’m so very thankful to have had a safe journey up and down the mountain and for my friend Tom Murphy who was awesome company and encouraging.  I can’t thank him enough.  I also want to thank Andrew for his dedication to filming in such extreme conditions, as he ran across rock of lava to get the best shots ever.  It was fun to see him working with the drone.

Thank you to everyone for being so encouraging and supportive.  Love you all!  6 down, 44 to go…

 

 

 

 

 

 

We caught our first glimpse today of the summit of Mauna Kea at 7,000 feet during our helicopter adventure today.  It was inspiring and over whelming.  The mountain soared above the clouds and our pilot got us high enough to be able to see both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa above the clouds.   We also saw active volcanoes and lava that flowed down to the ocean, burning the landscape along it’s path.  Then we flew up the coast line watching enormous waves hit the shoreline.  An unbelievably awesome experience.  The series of waterfalls from the air was absolutely beautiful.

The weather is looking great for tomorrow’s climb.  The weather prediction is 100% sunshine.  We couldn’t ask for a better day.  We will be up before 5am and will be at the trailhead of Mauna Kea by 6:15-6:30am local time.  We are ready to rock and roll!

We had another awesome day on Mauna Kea (White Mountain in Hawaiian) today.  Great visibility.  Fantastic views.  And great weather.  We have decided to climb this Saturday, December 5th starting at 6:30am (11:30am EST).  We estimate the climb will take approximately 8-10 hours.  We will begin at the Visitor’s Center at 9,200 feet and climb using the Humu’ula-Mauna Kea Summit trail and finish on the summit at 13,796 feet (4,205 meters).  Not only is this mountain the highpoint of Hawaii, but it is actually taller than any other mountain in the world, as its base is on the ocean floor and it rises over 33,000 feet (or 10,000 meters), making it significantly greater than the elevation of Mt. Everest!  We plan to stop at a sacred lake on the descent called Lake Waiau (Swirling Water) and KuKa’lau Cave.

I know some of you are not on Facebook, but if you are Tom Murphy is still posting on his Sweethearts and Heroes Website and it appears the local St. Messenger is copying it to their website located at http://www.samessenger.com.  So if you don’t do Facebook, check out their website!

The photos from today’s journey also include a pic of Rainbow Waterfall located in Hilo, Hawaii.  We are anticipating tomorrow’s journey to be quite unique as our acclimatization to high altitude may include a helicopter ride over active volcanoes (weather permitting).

Stay tuned…