Highpointing
Peaks Summited So Far
To date, I have achieved 7 of these highpoints, or summits. Below I have listed the highpoints that I have summited, in the order achieved, and created links for walkthroughs to each.
What are we doing?
Highpointing, or peak bagging, is a word you don’t hear every day. It means: ascending to the highest point in a given area. Pretty simple.
My goal is more specific. I aim to reach the highest natural point in each state of the United States. I don’t have a deadline, but 2 a year is going to take me 25 years, and who has the time for that? So I am trying to hit them at a rate of 5-10 each year. I made a good start by doing the 12th highest first, and by accident; you can read about the beautiful Humphrey’s Peak here, and how we hiked it on a whim.
Why do it?
I decided after that felicitous adventure in Arizona to take on this challenge because I’ve never met anyone yet who has done it, or even someone who is attempting it, or had attempted it and given up. I have read that the list of people who have done so is very small, and I can see why that might be. This will take thousands of miles of travel, require visiting every state, and cost a pretty penny by the end of it all. It’s quite the undertaking. Sounds like fun to me, and it has been so far.
I have always liked exploring. Not knowing where I am, what’s coming up, having to move forward and find out, is an exciting feeling. I’d love to explore the Canadian north (in the summer) because there’s barely anyone up there. Highpointing doesn’t have the same fanfare as going into space. It doesn’t have the same claustrophobia as diving in a submarine. It’s open, it can be shared with others, it can be done according to our life, and it can be as fun as anything else can be. It’s something I can do, at least partially, with my friends and family. That’s why I’m going to do it.
How Are We Doing It?
There are 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and 14 territories. 13 of the high points are over 10,000’, making them a day trip in themselves and inherently at least a little dangerous. Denali (McKinley) requires a lot of time and planning, Mauna Kea is in Hawaii and requires planning of a different sort, hopefully the kind with some beachgoing.
Some of these will be grand adventures, requiring forethought and care. Some of these will be boring road-trips and a goofy picture, just to check them off (looking at you Nebraska). But I will try and do them all with friends, to make memories for my family, and to create a good story I can tell when I can’t climb mountains anymore.
