Motivation

I recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  It was not something I gave much thought to beforehand.  I had lived for a couple of years in Africa serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, and it just made sense to me that on one of my return journeys, I should give the mountain a go.  My “climb” was entirely non-technical, meaning that I spent the entire time hiking my way to the top without the aid of ropes, ice axes, and the like.  Regardless, I still felt an amazing sense of accomplishment with that dedicated act.  I actually choked up a bit when I saw the sign for the summit which sort of shocked me since I am not really one to give into emotion.  Mt. Kilimanjaro of course is the tallest mountain in Africa.  By climbing it, I had reached the peak of one of the “Seven Summits”, a list of the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents.  A natural progression might be to continue onward with that list, seeking higher and greater challenges.  A quick look at the list though will reveal that pesky mountain by the name of Everest on it.  Um, perhaps there is something else I can do.  Maybe there is something less suicidal but still keeping in the sense of adventure that I could pursue…

Highpointing.  I can’t say that I ever heard of this word before.  I was bored at work one day, and I came across a Wikipedia article that mentioned this term.  Apparently, some people are attracted to visiting the “highest points” of various places.  The “Seven Summits” list is a version of this that focuses on the highest point of each continent.  Some folks are considerably more pedantic and try to visit the highest point of each county of their state.   A more popular version though, is an attempt to visit each state highpoint in the United States.  It’s an interesting challenge really, as the difficulty in doing so runs the gamut!  At the extreme end (literally and figuratively), you have Mt. McKinley aka Denali.  It’s the highest point in North America and is actually one of the “Seven Summits”.  Climbing it requires solid mountaineering experience, a minimum of 3 weeks of time, the ability to carry a 60 pound pack and a 40 pound sled for the duration of the climb, and generally solid ice climbing skills.  It is not for the faint of heart or the would-be dilettante.  Fortunately, most of the state highpoints are not nearly so difficult.  On the other end of the spectrum of difficulty, there are handicap-accessible highpoints that one can simply pull up to in a car.  Some state highpoints are simply just hills.  “Climbing” all 50 state highpoints will require quite a bit of dedication and a steady development of real climbing skills over the course of a couple years, at least for me it will. 

The purpose of this blog will be to highlight each and every state highpointing adventure that I embark upon.  I hope to motivate others to find similar adventures in their own backyards, and provide some useful travelogues for the would-be highpointer.  The point will be that you don’t need to travel to the extreme ends of the Earth to find a worthy adventure.  Also, I can make no promises that I will finish all 50 states.  Not being certain of whether or not I can actually do it is a hallmark that the journey will be a worthwhile one.  Here is hoping for the best!