South Carolina was the next state to get on this year’s End Of Summer East Coast Highpointing Tour. We remained in Asheville for both Carolina’s since Sassafras Mountain is close enough to Mt. Mitchell that it didn’t make sense to relocate between these two states. We also liked the idea of Asheville as our “basecamp”…
Author: Backcountry Fever
Mt. Mitchell Trail to the Top of North Carolina
It’s time to hit the east now that I’m done with all the state high points west of the 100th meridian! After a fun Labor Day weekend in Charlotte, we drove west to Asheville and began my End Of Summer East Coast Highpointing Tour with North Carolina’s Mt. Mitchell. This summit is accessible by car…
Mahalo Mauna Kea
Hiking to the top of Hawaii is definitely one of the more unique states to summit a 13er! I had a hard time seeing how you can go from sea level to almost 14,000 ft on this island when both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are nothing more than two little bumps on the horizon….
The Snow Bridge on Borah Peak
I’ve done Borah Peak 4 times now and always asked the same questions about this state’s highpoint: 1) How was the snow bridge? 2) Did you carry spikes? 3) What time did you start? Before I share my perspective, I’m not even sure why people call it a snow “bridge”. It’s not bridging any kind…
Consider Always Roping Up on Glaciers
I was talking to a guy that broke through a snow bridge on Glacier Peak the week after we did Baker. The story and pictures he shared makes me take glacier travel way more seriously. “I fell into a crevasse on Glacier Peak last weekend. Had I not been roped up, I would have broken…
Coleman-Deming Route to Mt. Baker
DAY 3 – Roped up for the Summit The night before a big adventure is always a restless one. You go to bed shortly after dinner in preparation for an alpine start. Unfortunately, you just end up laying there thinking about the day to come. Today’s plan was to get up at midnight and start heading…
Heliotrope Ridge Trail to Hogsback Camp
My summer mountaineering tour of the Pacific Northwest continues in Washington with Mt. Baker. We planned for 5 days to bag Baker from the Coleman-Deming Route with a schedule that went like this: DAY 1 – Fly in to Seattle, drive up to Bellingham Most of us chose to fly in for this one because…
Solo Summit of Shasta
After success at Mt. Hood on Wednesday (5/31) and again at South Sister on Saturday (6/3), the group had accomplished their plans and would now be heading home. My plan, however, involved one more stop. My heart was set on continuing just a little further south to knock something off my list that has been…
Sightseeing on South Sister
Time to head down into Central Oregon for some sightseeing on South Sister. This was the second stop in our tour of the Pacific Northwest. I had never been to this area before but was interested in seeing what there was to see through a first-hand experience. Spending the weekend here would also serve as…
‘Tis the season for Mt. Hood
‘Tis the season for Mt. Hood! Seems like everyone is making their way out west to get Oregon’s tallest peak this spring… and I’m no exception. I need this state, and its neighbor to the north, to have all the highpoints west of the 100th Meridian. The opportunity came to me a few months ago…