(MS-LA-AR-) Missouri:Taum Sauk

The last stop on our trip was Missouri's Taum Sauk.

The trail is actually very short along a very nicely prepared path, and this is one of few highpoints that specifically brags about it's wheel chair accessibility.

The area is not much more than an hour from St Louis and even closer to the Mississippi river. The highpoint has a plaque on the ground and a boulder marking the spot which I made sure to climb for the feeling that at least a minor effort was exerted during the peak bagging...

Stats:
State: Missouri
High point: Taum Sauk
Elevation: 1 772 ft (540 m)
Date: November 27, 2011
Total elevation to date: 177 933 ft (54 234 m)
Access: Drive-up, short walk, handicap access
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: Essentially none, except that the look-out tower is not located at the high point but rather a couple of miles away.

(MS-LA-) Arkansas: Mt Magazine (-MO)

Arkansas' Magazine Mountain proved to be the highest and most "mountainy" on this trip. SO much that the weather changed severely when going towards the top with the car, extremely dense fog with barely 30ft (10 m) visibility quickly surrounded us and made way-finding very hard. It did slow us to a crawl in the car though so the chance of accidents was pretty much reduced.

The new state park lodge proved to be a blessing as we decided to stop there for lodging for the night and then hike in the morning instead.

The next morning revealed great views from our room, and the breakfast room seen above was gorgeous. The mosquito net on the windows makes the view look less impressive in the photo below however.

The hike was fairly short and we had no rain although temperatures were fairly low around the freezing point.

There was a limited view from the top of the mountain due to trees, but one could see the valleys below as well as a another peak which looked surprisingly close in elevation.

Stats:
State: Arkansas
High point: Mt Magazine
Elevation: 2 753 ft (839 m)
Date: November 27, 2011
Total elevation to date: 176 161  ft (53 694 m)
Access: hike, class 1
Difficulty rating (of 10): 2
Potential Difficulties: Finding the trail-head (fog!).

(MS-) Louisiana: Driskill Mountain (-AR-MO)

Louisiana's Driskill Mountain was located in the remote areas of the state where churches seem more common than people. Also houses not in the trailer home format are rare and far between...

The weather was not very cooperative, although we did have less heavy rain than what we drove through just half an hour before our hike. The problem though was the soil which consisted of very red clay like material which got very muddy and slippery (and discoloring) when walking in it.

Markus made sure to sign the ledger now that he had successfully doubles his highpoint count in USA (While protecting his backpack full of electronics under his jacket).

Stats:
State: Louisiana
High point: Driskill Mountain
Elevation: 535 ft (163 m)
Date: November 26, 2011
Total elevation to date: 173 408  ft (52 855 m)
Access: Hike, class 1
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: foul weather...

Missisippi: Woodall Mountain (-LA-AR-MO)

Missisippi's Woodall Mountain was the first stop on a 4-state highpointing spree during the Thanksgiving weekend. The trip also included a visit to Mammoth caves and 2400 miles on the prius odometer together with friend Markus.

Not too much excitement at the top (I was nevertheless very happy when reaching the top after a strenuous 3 ft - 0.9 m - vertical climb...), but it was surprisingly prominent considering the low elevation and the size of the state of Mississippi. Also it is very nicely located for driving hundreds of miles along the very nice Natchez Trace parkway which follows an old native amarican route. The highpoint itself is fairly well marked with signs, but the gps was reluctant to follow that route which cause some minor delays...

Stats:
State: Mississippi
High point: Woodall Mountain
Elevation: 806 ft (245.7 m)
Date: November 25, 2011
Total elevation to date: 172 873 ft (52 692 m)
Access: Drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 2
Potential Difficulties: GPS finding non-existent roads...

Idaho - Mount Borah

Borah Peak fell today on the list (on the second attempt if counting a lost try last year even before I knew about highpointing).

Rising up about 5300ft in just a bit over 3 miles it is one of, if not the, steepest highpoint hikes. It nevertheless starts like a forest path. Actually you fist climb a little to get INTO the forest zone, the valley is quite dry and won't allow larger vegetation than bushes. Then you stay in the tree zone for a few thousand feet (700m) before you exist the tree zone again in the alpine zone.

The picture above shows the start of the tree zone. Below you see the gravel road leading toa small campsite at the trailhead.

The trail leading up towards the chicken out ridge show some beautiful views as long as the weather is cooperation. Actually if the weather takes a turn for the worse then getting of the trail which is on very exposed peaks and ridges is a sound idea. Below you can see the chicken out ridge starting behind the peak in the foreground on right, and leading up to the snow bridge, which at the time of passing was actually melted on the top, so one didn't need crampons.

On the picture below the peak is seen to the left (the seemingly lower peak).
 

From above the trail selection to and away from chicken out ridge (from 11 300 ft to 11 600 ft) and most of the ridge itself is kind of obvious, from below however it was harder to see, and I ended up taking less traveled paths a couple of times, nothing that presented any major problems (class 3), but the longer stretches made the arms somewhat tired, and I had stated getting quite affected by the altitude at this time, having flown in from Michigan late the previous night. The picture below taken with my phone on the way down shows some people here and there on the different possible paths. Seeing other people is actually a very nice help for deciding path if you are uncertain or lack a guide book.

The nature surrounding the peak is mostly made up of other jagged peaks, but there were a few pretty glacial lakes and pretty valleys.

It is one mean mountain, and a effort larger than expected, but very happy to have it ticked off on the list!

Stats:
State: Idaho
High point: Borah Peak
Elevation: 12 662  ft (3 859.4 m)
Date: September 10, 2011
Total elevation to date: 172 067  ft (52 446 m)
Access: Hike, class 3, 7.5h round trip
Difficulty rating (of 10): 8
Potential Difficulties: Altitude acclimatization, inclement weather, path selection on chicken out ridge.

(NY-) Vermont: Mt Mansfield

Vermont was showings its uglier side when arriving at Stowe. We decided to take the gondola up rather than the auto toll road. Views were not too impressive once you entered the clouds, but some nice views of the valley could be found. 

Up at the top of the Gondola there is a 'DDD' rated trail (class 2-3) called the liff trail leading up to the chin of the man that is the outline of Mt Mansfield.

The trail which was soaked by mild rain and the humidity of being in the clouds offered some challenging sections over cliffs and sometimes between and also under boulders obstructing the way such as seen below, and trust me when I say that going on top of them was not an option due to the size of the boulders.

Eventually though the trial leads to the ridge and it's a decently easy trial on exposed slab the last part, only made harder by the wetness which made it somewhat slippery.

Views on the top was quite nonexistent, which can also be seen in my very wet and disappointed face below.

Going back down to the Gondola was the real challenge though, although a multitude of trails lead to the top, only the Cliff trail leads back to the gondola. And the rock moves that proved easy on the ascent were now extremely wet and slippery on the way down, resulting in some shaky legs and slip-ups.
Below is an example of exposed slab with a 30% inclination looking down from above which proved to be a formidable challenge to get a secure footing on.

It got much worse on the parts where there was 15 ft (5 m) drops between the cliffs/boulders which you were supposed to taverse on the top off. The somewhat hidden bushes in the pictures below are actually surprisingly tall sticking up from some of the cracks and holes between rocks.

I made it down with only some minor bruises and was glad to take the gondola down to some warmer weather and dry clothes.
I was so focused on putting on some dry clothes that I completely forgot my sunglasses on the roof of the Prius, which Tricia heard something moving when we dove off, amazingly there were still on the root 100 yards later when we stopped after I realized my mistake.
18 high points left of which 8 are above 10000 feet (6 in continental US) and some of them will prove to be quite formidable and rewarding challenges hopefully.


Stats:
State: Vermont
High point: Mount Mansfield
Elevation: 4 393 ft (1 339 m)
Date: August 7th, 2011
Total elevation to date: 159 405 ft (48 587 m)
Access: hike, class 2 about 1.5h round trip Difficulty rating (of 10): 7
Potential Difficulties: weather! (slippery rock trail)

New York: Mt Marcy (-VT)

There are still a few states within Driving distance from Michigan that have yet to be climbed. New York and Vermont was therefore the destination of a roadtrip covering  almost 1000 miles in Canada, and Niagara Falls among other things. Mt Marcy in New York is a lengthy day hike of just under 15 miles round trip. The elevation is not too high, and the elevation gain is spread over a long distance. After a few miles one can see some of the surrounding peaks in the direction of Mt Marcy as can be seen in the background behind Tricia...

The main "difficulty of the trail (Van Hoevenberg trail) was the variety of the trail. some sections were nice, while large portions looked more like a jumble of stones meaning the hiking shoes came into good usage (almost too good, judging by the blisters).

After some long struggling towards the top one is met in best case by good weather and loads of happy people,  and in worst case thunderstorms or hail together with swiftly dropping temperatures. This high point might have been the most trafficked I've ever seen, it was 30-50 people just on the top, and the trail was filled with hundreds of Canadians, mostly french speaking, but also some English speaking, indicating the proximity to Montreal. The top is marked by a USGS marker seen below.

As well as a plaque with information. The peak was also the home to summit stewards during the well traveled season. They warn people regarding the fragile nature and teach people to maintain the trail. a nice initiative, and considering the remoteness of the peak very impressive to have park personnel present there who have to hike there by foot.

 Some painstakingly slow hours on the decent was later rewarded with a hot tub and soft bed in Plattsburgh. Getting to Vermont the next morning meant having to take ferries from New your state across Lake Champlain.

Stats:
State: New York
High point: Mount Marcy
Elevation: 5 344 ft (1 629 m)
Date: August 6th, 2011
Total elevation to date: 155 012  ft (47 248 m)
Access: Hike, 15 miles round trip 9h
Difficulty rating (of 10): 5
Potential Difficulties: Fatigue, weather (very changeable on top).