Delaware: Ebright Azimuth

So while in Washington for a January meeting I remembered I had yet to pass by Delaware's highpoint - Ebright Azimuth. SO I took the drive from Washington DC over to visit some old historic sites connected to Sweden, like the Old Swedes church in Wilmington, Kalmare Nyckel shipyard etc.

And also the Delaware highpoint, which as it stands might be the least remarkable high-point in the nation. GPS location and directions are essential especially if driving in the dark, it has no significant prominence so you cannot easily locate it as the highest point in the general area... 

It has a bench, a nearby standing sign describing the location, and if searching carefully, a USGS marker nearby the walking path.

I somehow forgot to post this update and change the completed points to 47/50 but better late than never!

Stats:
State: Delaware
High point: Ebright Azimuth
Elevation: 448 ft (137 m)
Date: January 13, 2015
Total elevation to date: 259,481 ft (79,090 m)
Access: drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: locating it, if dark...

(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.

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...

(IL-IA-MN-) Wisconsin: Timms Hill

Wisconsin's Timm's Hill was the fourth and last highpoint of this road trip. It's an easily accessible high point with a moderate height. The access road is actually one-way, so depending on which direction one arrives from it could lead to an extra detour.

The last walk up to the Lookout tower doesn't offer much in form of challenge apart from the random tree obstructing the path. Below you can see the base of the wooden lookout tower as well as a steel structure in the background which is a taller fire lookout tower, a number of which I saw along the roads in Wisconsin.

The views were nonetheless very nice in the summertime even if this specific high point is not that much elevated above the surrounding nature.

A mandatory mugshot at the top was taken in fierce combat with the mosquitoes which by now had gotten the blood scent which followed me after the attacks in Minnesota earlier that day... A word of warning regarding the drinking fountain at the picnic site... I have rarely tasted a more foul water, mostly being infested with heavy iron taste and other pleasant odors.

Stats:
State: Wisconsin
High point: Timm's Hill
Elevation: 1951 ft (594.7 m)
Date: July 3, 2011
Total elevation to date: 96 240 ft (29 334 m)
Access: Drive-up, walk
Difficulty rating (of 10): 2
Potential Difficulties: Park/road closing at dusk, getting sick from water fountain...

(IL-) Iowa: Hawkeye Point (-MN-WI)

Iowa's Hawkeye Point was the next high point. It's a mere 1670 ft high (509 m). Just like Illinois HP it is located on farmland. This one though does not come with any visiting restictions and visitors are welcome.

The visitors welcome part is somewhat misleading though since I saw a lot of people in Illinois, but my only company at this highpoint was a tiger striped farm cat. Who was also admiring the collection of old used licence plates, one from each state in fact.

There was also nice informative signs in all kinds of directions pointing out the 49 other locations as well as their distance. I was somewhat surprised that Arizona was closer than Massachusetts, considering I'll be heading that direction soon.

The cat happily decided to part take in most photos, even if he is hidden behind the grey summit-marking stone in the above shot, he was happy to pose for a close-up below.

Stats:
State: Iowa
High point: Hawkeye Point
Elevation: 1670 ft (509.0 m)
Date: July 2nd, 2011
Total elevation to date: 91 988 ft (28 038 m)
Access: Drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 2
Potential Difficulties: New road which GPS might not have xc, road construction detours.

(AL-FL-SC) Tennessee: Clingmans Dome (-GA)

The highpoint of Tennessee was one that had eluded me once before when I visited the region in the fall together with Eric. Back then is was early winter weather who completely shut down all chances of using roads between Tennessee and North Carolina that passed through the Smokey mountains national park.

This time however, weather was threatening with storms coming in from west, but they stayed away for the visit apart from bringing in some high clouds, but the viewing distance was unusually long for the location which is known to be veiled in clouds.

Sometimes the sun peeked through the clouds though, and showed some beautiful hills when walking up the "steep" last half mile from the visitor parking to the highpoint. It also showed how much the local tree population was suffering from invasive species together with acid rain which is heavily produced by exhausts and the massive monstrous usage of the coal which is still mined in many of the surrounding northerns states.

Hiking up the paved path to the lookout tower one is met by the sight of a very different lookout tower which mostly resembles a flying saucer. 

Temperatures sank from a warm 80F (27C) to a much colder 55F (13C) with strong winds on the top, prompting many visitors to turn around back to the parking to pick up more clothes even with the short distance to the top.

Being the second highest high point in eastern USA, and only some 30ft lower than the highest  (Mt Mitchell, NC) there were some spectacular views to be had when the clouds and weather cooperated.

Stats:

State: Tennessee
High point: Clingmans Dome
Elevation: 6643 ft (2024.8 m)
Date: May 1, 2011
Total elevation to date: 84299 ft (25694.3 m)
Access: Drive-up, short hike
Difficulty rating (of 10): 3
Potential Difficulties: weather! road closures.

(AL-FL-) South Carolina: Sassafras Mountain (-TN-GA)

Sassafras mountain in South Carolina was next on the list and the third highpoint in 2 days, in the third unvisited state of the trip which brings the 'states visited' count up to 33. Sassafras is named after the plant which was used (the root) for flavoring root beer back  in the day.

It is located just on the border of South and North Carolina, meaning one have to navigate the state border markers to know which state one is currently in on different sides of the mountain. One can reach a nice newly built lookout spot on the south side looking out over the hills of the state of South Carolina.

From the lookout platform which is close to the parking there is a short walk up to the highest point of the mountain and state. There are some very nice trails on the mountain which is part of the Foothills Trails, which I hiked parts of together with Tricia.

Standing by the Sign indicating both Sassafras mountain and the foothills trail system

Stats:
State: South Carolina
High point: Sassafras Mountain
Elevation: 3560 ft (1085.1 m)
Date: April 30, 2011
Total elevation to date: 77656 ft (23669.5 m)
Access: Drive-up, Trail
Difficulty rating (of 10): 2
Potential Difficulties: Identifying the exact highpoint.

(AL-) Florida: Britton Hill (-SC-TN-GA)

Floridas highest point is also the lowest one of all the american states, it's even lower than the highest point in washington (Distric of columbia), neverteless for completeness one might as well visit it, nad it is situated in the far noth of Florida south of the town of Florala, which as one might suspect lies on the border  of FLORida and ALAbama. Have to admire the people who come up with these imaginative names...

The high point is located in a park and well marked from the surrounding roads making it one of the easiest located and visited highpoints. It's marked with a nice stone monument declaring the incredible height of 345ft (105m) meaning that most moderate high-rises in Miami and other Floridan towns are actually higher than the natural highpoint of the state. To get higher than the highest natural point climbing a moderate tree in the northern parts of Florida is enough if elevators aren't your cup of tea...

Stats:
State: Florida
High point: Britton Hill
Elevation: 345 ft (105.2 m)
Date: April 29, 2011
Total elevation to date: 74096  ft (22584.5 m)
Access: Drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: none?

AL - Cheaha Mountain (-FL-SC-TN-GA)

Cheaha Mountain in Alabama was the first of 5 highpoints I did together with Tricia on a road-trip through parts of the south. Despite being under 1000m in height the surroundings and the road to the highpoint offered many beautiful views of flowing hills and mountains covered in green.

The top of the mountain is home to a stone-built lookout tower (and many less adorable radio communication towers which are common to find on elevated areas. In the same area you also find campsites on the top of the mountains which might have some of the best views of any eastern campsites.

Just In front of the lookout tower is a USGS marker, with an alternative spelling of the mountain from the WW2 era. There is also a nice informative sign declaring the highest point of Alabama and offering a nice photo opportunity.

There really aren't many difficulties in reaching the high-point other than possible accidentally taking the wrong one-way route close to the highpoint. After the Alabama highpoint we decided to continue our trip the same day to memorable things such as tornado-disaster areas, Florida's highpoint and Florala...

Stats:
State: Alabama (AL)  
High point: Cheaha Mountain
Elevation: 2407 ft (733.7 m)
Date: April 29, 2011
Total elevation to date: 73751 ft (22479.3 m)
Access: Drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: Taking the wrong turn on one-way roads near highpoint.

(NJ-CT-MA-NH-) Rhode Island: Jerimoth Hill

Shortly after visiting the New Hampshire High point I went down to Rhode Island to visit my so far lowest high point - Jerimoth Hill.

The high point itself is quite unremarkable in a faily flat region which is also indicated by different locations for the USGS benchmarks. The highpoint itself is marked by a small stone cairn and a sign along the short walking trail.

Below one can see one of the USGS markers for Jerimoth Hill

Along the way in New England the roads were quite varied with both ups and downs as well as twisting and turning and varied fuel economy depending on the flavor of the moment, the listed average was over several tanks, and the average for the shown half hour was rather on the order of 70+ mpg (under 3.4L/100km). the freezing temperatures didn't help either...

Stats:
State: Rhode Island
High point: Jerimoth Hill
Elevation: 812 ft (248 m)
Date: November 28, 2010
Total elevation to date: 71 344 ft (21 746 m)
Access: Drive-up, hike
Difficulty rating (of 10): 2
Potential Difficulties: "open hours", slightly confusing signs.

New Jersey: High Point (-CT-MT-NH-RI)

The New Jersey high point is suitable located in high point park, and the high point is called "High Point"...

 The top is marked by a 220 foot obelisk which makes the point easy to see from the distance. Travelling there is veru easy on nice paved roads, although a parked snowmobile indicated that also here there winter climate might create some difficulties for visiting the highpoint in colder weather. I got lucky though, and apart form some chilling winds it was nice and view were quite impressive.

Many high point have lakes close to the top, and New Jersey was no exception. It's fascinationg to drive or hike sharply uphill only to find that large masses of water made it up there, or perhaps rather down since they fall, while humans will have to climb...

Lastly a mandatory posing picture with the high point in the background.

Stats:
State: New Jersey  
High point: High Point
Elevation: 1803 ft (550 m)
Date: November 26, 2010
Total elevation to date: 58373 ft (17792 m)
Access: Drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: none? failing here is very hard and would require entering the completely wrong destination on a gps or similar.

(KY-VA-) North Carolina: Mount Mitchell

Mount Mitchell is the highest point in USA east of the Mississippi river. And also the highest peak in the Appalachian mountains. It's not particularly hard to visit though, it is located in a state park and with national forests around it. There is also a rad leading essentially directly to the top of the mountain.

That is however a road well worth taking especially in good weather. Coming from the north one follows mountain ridges fro close to an hour offering plentiful overlook places and scenic vistas. Once again the weather was on the right mood and apart from some scattered high altitude clouds, the sky was mostly blue.

The top have a lookout tower which offers stunning views, but also a bit of exposure to the chilling winds.

There is also some information and exhibits showing how the area have changed lately focusing much on acid rains and pollution that have severely hindered the current growth of the trees on the peak (post 1950's).

A bit of a curiosity is that the peak itself is essentially a grave with a professor from the University of North Carolina being buried in a stone grave close to the absolute top. Being that he was also a reverend he can not have had much faith in God since it is declared that he hoped for God to come and resurrect him, and rather than leaving anything to chance he tried to improve the odds by being buried as high  or as close to his god as possible... Having made the best of an effort he or those who buried him there are probably not completely pleased that he remains on the top of the mountain almost 150 years later... As for a scenic burial place though it is fantastic and I would personally not want to be resurrected and risk loosing what might be one of the more spectacular resting places I've ever seen.

Next week I hope to pass Clingman's Dome, leaving only one 6000+ ft peak in the eastern USA (NH).


Stats:
State: North Carolina   
High point: Mount Mitchell
Elevation: 6 684 ft (2 037 m)
Date: October 31st, 2010
Total elevation to date: 56 569 ft (16 770 m)
Access: Drive up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1
Potential Difficulties: Road close after hours/season (8am-8pm currently)

Kentucky: Black Mountain (-VA-NC)

Going to the black mountain in Kentucky is probably more of a administrative challenge than anything else.
Since th area is an old but still active mining area it is riddled with mines and the place of the peak is owned by a mining company which requires that one signs and submits a waiver releasing any responsibility regarding staying in the area.

Coming from Michigan it was a pretty hefty drive for a day, but the last parts were some nice roads between hills and forests. 

We arrived as the sun set and the light was quickly fading, the peak have an old fire lookout tower which is now standing there only as a decaying reminder of the thousands of towers that once was scattered around the country and used for different purposes. Climbing it is ill advised with many boards missing, and if it's dark and windy it's even more of a challenge and definitely not for the faint of heart, I had enough just watching Chris climb part of it.

There's a plaque at the top with some information and declaring it the highest point in Kentucky, but that is about as exciting as it gets. it's a forested area so the drive up and down offers more vistas than the top does...

The last bit of the road is getting a bit worn, and a high clearance vehicle is not exactly needed, but wouldn't be a bad idea either...

Stats:
State: Kentycky
High point: Black Mountain
Elevation: 4 039 ft (1 231 m)
Date: October 30, 2010
Total elevation to date: 44 156 ft (13 459 m)
Access: Drive-up
Difficulty rating (of 10): 1 (6 if trying to climb shut-down tower)
Potential Difficulties: pot holes, getting lost