Mid-Year High Point Cleanse

We’re halfway through the year, and I have failed to write here regularly as I intended.  The last half of last year was an incredible time in my life; I did a major course correction, and it has paid off. I’m happier, I have less stress, and I am finally able to move forward on reaching the things I want to accomplish while I’m still able.

I’ve not ticked off any of my 2025 goals. Yet. I listed those in my journal but was hesitant to put them out in the universe prematurely. But I think it’s time to visit them and note any progress toward said goals.

Number one at the top of the list is: SUMMIT THE GRAND TETON. This has been a goal of mine since 1998 and before. While the journey orbiting around this dream is worthy of a book (in the works) I will say succinctly that I am closer than I’ve ever been to realizing this one. Last fall as I was plotting a new direction for myself and taking bold steps to being the person I had fantasized I would be at this point in my life I finally began to feel the confidence I needed. My Cloud Peak ascent was a major feather in that cap as was the last three days of my New England high point adventure when I summited Katadhin, Mount Mansfield, and Mount Marcy in three days’ time, clocking in 28+ miles of hiking and about 9,700’ of elevation gain.

See, the Grand Teton involves 14 miles round trip as best as I can tell and roughly (roughly) 7,000’ of gain. That ascent would be spread out over two days with an approach to camp at Garnet Meadows of close to 5 miles and 2,500’ of gain, leaving 2 or so more miles and 4,500’ of gain on summit day. Nothing I’ve done to date comes close to the steepness and difficulty of the Exum Ridge route on the Grand Teton, but no experience I’ve had in the recent past convinces me I won’t be able to summit. Ideally, I would have made an attempt after a brief rest back in the fall, but of course I was starting a new job and didn’t yet have the time off or cashflow to pull it off. Now I do.

I’m planning to head west in the near future. As always, I’m struggling with chronic pain, doubt, and fear. What I’ve never had before is the rooted confidence I feel now. Everything else is a veneer of neuroses that I intend to break through and obliterate.

This past weekend my girlfriend and I took a four-day weekend and toured the southeast. We started out in Virginia, revisiting (for me) Mount Rogers. Nearly twenty years ago I bagged my third state highpoint while leading a university outdoor rec group almost immediately after discovering I had lived with undiagnosed ADHD for 30+ years. I was surly and depressed and bagging that summit was bittersweet with all its baggage. When Tonya and I started out from Massie Gap this past Thursday I hoped for spiritual redemption. Through the wind and rain and uncertainty I created by being unprepared for a summer ascent of such a low peak we trudged and triumphed. Our descent was blessed with blue skies and sunshine. One memory mended.

Grayson Highlands, Virginia

Near the summit of Mount Rogers, Virginia

 The next day we did the Table Rock of Linville Gorge march from the winter gate up the steep paved road and then traversed around the East Face to the base of the North Ridge. I had hoped to do some climbing with my friend Tony on the trip, but he had to bail at the last minute leaving me with limited options. I hauled in my climbing gear with my rope solo kit, but once we reached the base of what I consider my all-time favorite climb the heat had sapped most of my ambition. The road being closed due to Helene damage meant there were no other viable climbing partner options. It was just us, a couple of hikers, and a young man guiding a client. I contented myself to calling the hike a scouting trip, with full intention of returning ASAP to climb at Linville again.

We left the Linville area and drove over to Bryson City on Saturday, eventually meeting up with Tony to paddle the Nantahala River. It’s been more like thirty years since I first and last paddled the Nantahala, back in my whitewater kayaking days. The NOC has grown. The area is less wild and much more commercialized than I remember it being. It’s also a bit disheartening knowing that my own beloved Red River Gorge is destined to similar commercial violations. All that aside, we had a great time running the river and finally (finally) running Nantahala Falls.

The tail-end of the trip was a side visit to Kuwohi on Sunday as we drove toward home. I visited Clingman’s Dome as a small child but have no recollection of it. I only know because there are family photos of the trip. In 2005 (or maybe 2006) I tried to climb the highest point in Tennessee from the valley but turned back within half a mile of the summit due to leg cramps. To date that’s still probably my best single day athletic feat. I hiked 28 miles in about 30 hours, and 21 of those miles about 12 hours gaining and losing 3,500’ through rain, snowy conditions, fog, and mostly alone. I finally have memories of the summit of my very first state high point. That’s another memory repaired.

When I go, there won't be an
announcement, but there will be signs

This Juneteenth trip wasn’t quite on the magnitude of my New England or Cloud Peak trips. It helped me refresh my confidence somewhat. While still a far cry from the mathematical effort needed to tick off my top bucket list item, it did show me that I’m not out of shape. Am I a little wrecked by the effort? Absolutely. A strange twinge of pain sprung up in my back on Monday. I’m nursing it this week, trying to rest as much as I can, and getting ready for my final conditioning push for the Tetons beginning toward the end of this week. I’ll be ready. I’ll summit this year.

To mitigate the failures of my last attempt I will be better prepared, have better beta, and reduce all barriers to success that I can between now and summit day. There are no reasons left for me not to summit the Grand Teton.

What about my other 2025 goals? In the short term, I’ll make a subsequent post or two revisiting backyard adventures this year and other things I hope to accomplish. Through the winter I put a lot of effort into new bouldering development near home. That and hiking with Tonya has been the focus of my outdoor attentions these past few months. I’ve not ticked any new peaks or high points since last fall, but I have some solid plans laid out to check off more and more. Stay tuned for more fun and games in the world of Ascentionist!

Blitzpeak Bop: Part I, the New England Tropics

Traffic sounds coaxed me from sleep.  It took a few blinks and scrubbing the sleep from my face to remember I was in the back of my Jeep in a rest area along eastbound I-84 in Pennsylvania.  It was 6:30 am, and I was about an hour from my first destination: High Point, New Jersey.  The gate supposedly opened at 8:00 am.  

I did my morning car camping routine, ran in to use the rest area’s main attraction, and got moving toward the sunrise right on schedule.  I had a packed itinerary for the coming week and wanted to stay on schedule as much as I could early on to ensure maximum success.  

My goal?  Eight New England state high points in the week between leaving my job as Zoning Administrator for my hometown and starting my new position as a Senior Planner for the LFUCG Division of Planning.  That’s the city of Lexington.  It’s a big step up.  And it’s another life adventure I’m getting ready to set out on.

I have to admit it’s a tad overwhelming as well.  So I wanted a send off/consolation prize for this huge life change.  Originally I had planned to hike the Pine Mountain Trail, but Helene convinced me to consider other options.  After twenty minutes of plotting out a route through New England with Google Maps and calculating some hiking distances and times I was positively buzzing with excitement.

Most of the New England high points had always been relegated to the “maybe someday” shelf of my life.  Particularly Katadhin and Marcy seemed far enough and remote enough from home to be low priorities.  

Once I mapped it out I realized I could possibly visit all eight remaining high points I needed in the northeast well within the week I had.  It only took a little while to craft an acceptable itinerary which I refined over the next couple of days, but with about three days to plan I had come up with a stellar trip.

Thursday evening I began packing in earnest, and despite some shuffling of vehicles and the uncertainty of which car I would drive and of either of mine would handle the roughly 2,800 miles of driving I had planned I set out Friday about two hours behind schedule.

I reached said rest area and crawled into the back of the Jeep.  I’d streamlined my gear for this trip after the Cloud Peak endeavor and had more room and less junk to deal with.  That made for a much more efficient and comfortable trip.

I started my first full day with an early morning visit to the generically named High Point, New Jersey.  I wasn’t expecting much; despite having been conceived in New Jersey myself, I’ve never felt a strong attraction to the state.  I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of High Point State Park.  I had the place to myself, as the entry gate was open, but no one was manning the gate.  I wound up the narrow road catching a good view of the summit obelisk from a little ways away.  I pulled into an empty parking lot.  It was cool as I walked quickly up the paved drive to the flat area around the monument.  Apparently some rich, white guy with a teenie peenie is buried nearby.  

The views were amazing, and I lingered only a few minutes.  I had three more high points to visit before dark.  As I walked back to the car I passed a young hipster guy in a sarape and smoking a cigarillo seemingly on his way to the summit.  But as I pulled away he turned to return to his own vehicle seeming perturbed the restrooms were closed. 

I drove on toward my next destination quickly exiting New Jersey not to return.  I crossed back into New York and then eventually Massachusetts and south toward the parking area for Mount Frissell.  The road in reminded me of Kentucky if the houses were better kept and the Breathitt County Road Department had built the road.  It’s funny how all throughout Appalachia there are common geologic and ecological threads.  It’s the human flavors that change.

Somewhere deep in Massachusetts I passed a fruit stand with a sign:

FrUit 

I wasn’t sure if they meant: “F-U, we have fruit!”  Or “Do you want fruit? F-U!”  Not sure who their target market is.  Must be a New England thing.

I continued on the war-torn road for a few miles and could see a long ridge off to my right.  I was pretty sure that was Free Cell.

I parked next to an ancient concrete boundary marker delineating between Connecticut and Massachusetts.  There were lots of cars lined along the road, and I was fortunate to slide into a spot before even more people showed up.  I quickly topped off a water bottle and slipped into my old trail running vest.  It was cool but I went in only shorts and a t-shirt knowing the ascent would warm me up under brightening blue skies. 

Frissell is an excellent hike, and I enjoyed a much more colorful fall landscape than it was at home.  The approach involves summiting and crossing Round Mountain and then passing close to the actual summit of Mount Frissell.  The high point is a little ways away to the south where the state line crosses the shoulder of the mountain.  I went there first, signing the summit register, and then backtracked to the true summit.  From there it was a quick and enjoyable hike down.  Mount Frissell was my 25th state high point.  Halfway there!

Frissell from Round Mountain to the east

Summit marker

I’d realized the night before that my route from Frissell to the Massachusetts high point passed close to Stockbridge, Mass.  Well, you know what that means!  That’s right, I had to stop by and see the town and the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington.  It was a righteous detour and I’m really glad I thought of it.  There’s no restaurant anymore, but I passed through the town where Officer Obie arrested Arlo and friend for throwing their garbage down with the other pile.  

It was a great non-high point experience along the way, but then I was moving on to Mount Greylock.

What I hadn’t considered is that as I drove north I would be passing deeper into fall and crossing over into peak foliage.  The park Greylock is within was overrun with leaf gawkers.  I couldn’t get to the summit parking lot, so I had to wing it and find a roadside pull off near a trail crossing.  I ended up with a three-quarter of a mile hike to the busy summit area where I found a giant chess piece tower which you can actually go up in!  

I squeezed my way up and instantly began to panic with all the people in the small room.  I got my photos and made my way back down and then down the trail to the car where I ate a quick, late lunch and then headed on toward my fourth and final high point for the day: Jerimoth Hill.  

Rhode Island was also a new state visited for me, so it was a double tick.  Traffic was heavier crossing Massachusetts into Rhode Island and it definitely seemed more urban.  I got to the roadside parking spot right at dusk and almost ran to the spot in the woods marked by an ammo can chained to a tree next to a water buffalo sized hump of rock.  I signed my second register for the day (Mt Frissell had one too) and made a note of my fourth high point for the day and my 27th total.  Four in a day is a record for me.  

As I pushed north on toward Maine I was pleasantly satisfied with part one of my New England high point blitz.  The big stuff was yet to come. I had executed a pretty neat little one day tour of some great high points.  Even Jerimoth Hill had some character.  I was surprised and pleased by each new place visited.

I was excited for bigger mountains, but I didn’t realize just how big and how exciting they would be.