"I just completed my quest to drive, hike, and climb to the highest point of all 48 contiguous United States. I am the 406th or so person to do this as documented by the Highpointers.org.
Tammy and I hiked to our first peak in 1994, Clingman's Dome in Tennessee. We became official Highpointers in 2000 when we completed Signal Hill in Arkansas and became aware of the Highpointers.org community. It has been a 17 year inner journey. The mental and emotional components have proven to be way more taxing than the physical aspect of climbing mountains in the US. Here are photos of my last summit. Gannett Peak Wyoming at 13,804 ft. Summited at 9:30 AM August 1, 2011. The weather at the summit was quite poor so the pictures are not as pretty as one would expect.
The photo with nice weather is me back at base camp 1 after I summitted. The one of me bending over is trying to get the strength and courage to stand on the summit rock in the high wind and rain. As you can see I decided to sit instead!!
Here are a couple of factoids that our fellow mountain dwellers might find interesting. The highest point in Nebraska, Panorama Point lies at 5,424 ft above sea level yet the landscape is as flat as can be for scores of miles. The only interruption to the view are cows. The highest peak in New York, Mount Marcy, is 80 feet lower at 5,344 ft above sea level in the midst of the Adirondack Mountains."
- Richard
I think this is very cool and a truly great accomplishment!!! Congratulations Richard!!
