Peak journey: Viewing the U.S. from every state’s highest level

California’s Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain within the contiguous United States. Reaching its windswept summit requires a strenuous hike of greater than 20 miles roundtrip, ascending to an elevation of 14,505 toes. 

But for the 180 individuals who just lately gathered within the close by city of Bishop, Mt. Whitney is on precisely the identical degree as Mississippi’s Woodall Mountain, Nebraska’s Panorama Point, or Indiana’s Hoosier Hill. Each stands tall as a state highpoint. 

“There is Denali, there’s Rainier, there’s Hood that are really difficult peaks,” mentioned Shannon Brumund. “But you can do a lot of peaks that are easy to do, that are a fun trip with the family.”

Brumund is the president of the Highpointers Club, a bunch dedicated to celebrating, and summiting, the very best peak in each state. “It’s partially about just coming together as a group that enjoys this kind of weird hobby that people haven’t heard of,” she mentioned.

On the floor, to those that don’t prioritize elevation above all else, “highpointing” would possibly sound slightly bit pointless. After all, why would an individual with sufficient talent to climb Wyoming’s difficult Gannett Peak at practically 14,000 toes, additionally care about visiting Britton Hill, a car parking zone within the panhandle of Florida with an elevation of 345 toes?

“We have this, like, huge, unique, beautiful and diverse country, and a lot of people don’t see a lot of it,” mentioned Lucy Westlake. “And I just think highpointing is an amazing way to travel around the country and have, like, a purpose and a guideline on how to do that.”

In 2021, at 17 years outdated, Westlake grew to become the youngest lady to ever go to each state highpoint. She now writes a column for the membership’s Apex to Zenith e-newsletter. 

For most members, attending to all 50 is a lifetime purpose.

While among the highpoints are extraordinarily bodily difficult, others, like Mount Washington in New Hampshire, or High Point State Park in New Jersey, have drivable summits.

And some will be logistically advanced. The highest level in Illinois, Charles Mound, is on a personal farm. But to accommodate the altitude-obsessed, the landowners permit entry on simply 4 weekends a 12 months. “A lot of hikers will say this is the hardest highpoint because you just got to time it,” mentioned Floridian Rick Wise, who has been hitting highpoints together with his canine, Kika.

Carol and Greg Weiland got here to Charles Mound from Ohio, to proceed their custom of taking images of their footwear on every survey marker.

Two weeks earlier than touring to Illinois from Montana, Dee Winters summited Utah’s 13,528-foot King’s Peak. “As a group, they encourage you to keep going and keep moving, and I think that’s important,” she mentioned. “As you age, you’ve got to keep moving, you have to. Otherwise, you’ll sit and die. And I’m not up for that yet!”

Up on Charles Mound, surrounded by soybean fields, it is actually scenic, however there is no such thing as a superlative viewpoint, the type that everybody says, “You have to see.” It’s extra of a geographical quirk that has introduced individuals right here. “Yeah,” mentioned Ray O’Conor, who got here from New York, “but you know, the scenery, the farm fields, the dirt roads – there’s a little bit of magic in almost every route that brings you to one of these places.”

It’s what’s introduced siblings Lidy and Sjaak Van Schie from the Netherlands to the U.S. for dozens of highpointing expeditions. Asked what kind of response they get again dwelling after visiting a spot nobody has heard of, Sjaak mentioned, “Well, they don’t understand. But we do, and that’s most important!”

Lidy added, “The nice thing about highpointing is that all those highpoints are places you would normally not go.”

Places like Bishop, California. As Shannon Brummund explains, coming to those Highpointers Club conventions, discussing all of those highs and lows, affords an opportunity to take pleasure in some center floor. She mentioned, “I think being part of the club has helped me realize, like, if you sit down in a room with people and you’re talking about something that you love, all the rest of the stuff matters less.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch Charles Kuralt join Mitch Michaud in his quest to summit the highest peaks in Colorado and Kansas in a 1971 “CBS Evening News” report (YouTube Video)

    
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Story produced by Kelsey Micklas. Editor: Steven Tyler.