Getting High in a Different Way
The story of a quest to hike the high points of all 50 states. Some true high points — the joy of cross-country travel, being outdoors and conquering challenges.
Some people collect coins, dolls, stamps or old model trains. But my wife Jackie and I collect altitude. We seek out state high points. Each commonwealth or state in the United States has a natural high point. It's usually a mountain but it could also be a hill, a dome, a knob, a mesa or, frankly, an almost-imperceptible gradual rise (think Kansas and Iowa). The U.S. high points range from Denali in Alaska (20,310 ft above sea level) to Florida's Britton Hill (345 ft).
Earlier this year, Jackie and I completed our goal of hiking all 50 of these state high points. We knew that pursuing this quest would get us outdoors. But it also brought with it several other unforeseen delights.
Unexpected Discoveries on the Hiking Trails
Just traveling to the state high points often brought us to many unexpected places in our diverse country. For example, not far from the Mississippi high point, just across the Alabama state line, is the Coon Dog Cemetery. Even if you have never hunted in your life, you can't help but being touched by the heartfelt inscription on the tombstones of some of those beloved dogs. One epitaph says, "He wasn't the best, but he was the best I ever had."
Many high points have a simple mailbox or other container and a logbook. In these logs we typically saw names, addresses and date of visit.
If you travel to the high point of Louisiana, you will probably stumble upon the nearby roadside marker designating where the notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while driving a stolen car near Sailes, Louisiana. The pursuit of high points often brought us in serendipitous contact with all sorts of Americana.
Another of the attractions of summiting is the thrill of discovering what will be at the top. In most cases the US Geological Service (USGS) has weighed in, done the surveying and set a round metal marker at the "highest natural point" in each state. But beyond the marker, we have found stone or brass plaques, towers to climb, or sometimes simple wooden signs.
Some states (for example, South Carolina and Georgia) have gone all out and constructed huge multi-acre structures that visitors can enjoy. Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaii has 13 astronomical observatories. On the high point of South Dakota, Black Elk Peak, stands an impressive stone fire tower built by the venerable Civilian Conservation Corps.
At Hawkeye Point (Iowa) we visited a small agricultural museum. But beyond these impressive buildings and markers, many high points have a simple mailbox or other container and a logbook. In these logs we typically saw names, addresses and date of visit.
But there were also words of encouragement, affirmation and congratulations to those who have achieved the summit. People advertise their YouTube channels showing their summit hikes. Once we found in the logbook a record of a marriage ceremony that had taken place at the high point. On Mt. Sunflower, Kansas, a sign on the mailbox says "Where will this lead?" For us, it led to the next high point.
Interesting People Along the Way
As you might guess, the people you meet while climbing high points are pretty interesting. For example, the Illinois high point (Charles Mound) is on private land and the owners open the spot to visitors only the first weekend in June to September each year. This means that the "highpointers" who wish to reach this 1,235-ft summit must show up on these dates. The restriction results in a high concentration of like-minded hikers.
We met an older man who was running up the path to the high point and asked him if he was training for a race. He replied "… my thing is to run a 5K in every state and if I can do that on the high point of that state, I'll run to the top."
On that same trail we met a father and his teenage son who were doing all the high points together — a terrific bonding experience. The famed Appalachian Trail (A.T.) passes over, or comes within two miles of, five state highpoints, including the northern terminus of the A.T. (Katahdin, Maine).
As we hiked Mt. Greylock (Massachusetts high point) we stopped and talked with A.T. 'through hikers' and heard their stories of joy and woe, injury and perseverance. Without exception, we have met fascinating people as we hiked the state high points.
Despite all of the attractions of hiking high points, I concede that the designation of a state's high point can be perceived as arbitrary due to the fact that the placement of state borders may appear almost random.
An extreme case is in the state of Connecticut where the highest point is on the slope of a mountain (Mount Frissell) whose summit is actually in Massachusetts! State boundaries were established based on many complicated, non-uniform, but also non-random factors. Some boundaries are defined by geographical features such as rivers, lakes and oceans. Various political struggles such as slave vs. free state disagreements, treaties with foreign governments, economic pressures and religious motivations have influenced the placement of borders for every state.
Therefore, a tour of state high points is an opportunity to reflect on the cultural and political factors that shaped our nation. The diversity of our high points is simply a reflection of the historic diversity of those states themselves.
Our Own Version of the Goal
At age 75, Jackie and I met our goal of hiking all 50 US state high points. The last one was achieved in June of 2023: Idaho's Mt. Borah (altitude=12,662 ft.). A time for great celebration!
While on some of the mountains, snowstorms, hail, wildfires, floods and frankly, our physical limits, forced us to turn back.
But now is also the time for full disclosure. Did we actually stand on the summits of all 50 state high points? Sadly, no. I can tell you that we diligently attempted to reach the summits of each state high point. While on some of the mountains (in 14% of the states), snowstorms, hail, wildfires, floods and frankly, our physical limits, forced us to turn back.
Sometimes we had to settle for longingly viewing a state's high point from a distance (10% of the states). Ultimately, we summited (i.e., actually set our feet upon) 76% of the state high points.
We came to believe that one of the joys of pursuing this interest during retirement is the freedom to make up the rules of "success" as we go. We tended to persevere in hiking to the top of state high points that were frightening, just enough, that we felt vibrantly alive (but not dead!) when we arrived there.
Joys and Challenges in Nature
In 100% of the states, we experienced the joys of the cross-country travel, being outdoors, conquering challenges, enjoying fantastic views and spending quality time together. Ultimately, we found that if we were on the mountain and, even if we did not reach the summit, we still achieved about 95% of a what we hoped to get out of each experience.
Many people have asked me, "So, why is it that you wanted to hike all 50 of the state high points?" The answer is not simple. I love being outdoors and immersed in the beauty of nature. I enjoy encountering fascinating sights and meeting interesting people. Simply, I like new experiences of all sorts.
But why the urge to hike all 50 state high points? A friend of mine thinks I have a latent compulsive streak. But I prefer to think of myself as a "completist." Once I start something, I like to finish it! I persevere. Or maybe I'm just using this completist tendency as another excuse to get outside.
