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"If I am asked 'what is
the use of climbing this highest mountain?' I reply: No use
at all -- no more than kicking a football about, or dancing,
or playing the piano, or writing a poem, or painting a
picture."
-Mountaineer Francis Younghusband,
1913
"...to those who have
struggled with them, the mountains reveal beauties that they
will not disclose to those who make no effort. ... And it is
because they have so much to give and give it so lavishly to
those who will wrestle with them that men love the mountains
and go back to them again and again ... mountains reserve
their choicest gifts for those who stand upon their
summits."
-Sir Francis
Younghusband 1
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Trails compel me to
discover what is around the bend or over the next ridge, and
I have been answering that call since childhood. List-making
is also part of my nature, so it was probably inevitable
that my compulsion to walk to high places would lead to
peakbagging2
and then to highpointing3
. A like-minded spouse has shared the adventures since he
entered my life, and we included our children for the two
short decades they lived with us. We savor a summit as a
reward for effort. We had already visited several summits on
various lists, when new resources made it easier to seek out
new vistas and fanned the flames of our addictive habits of
peakbagging and woods walking. Highpointing is our latest
excuse for seeing new territory where we often learn some
natural and human history along the way.
Our children rode in
backpacks before they hiked with us on their own legs. We
selected hikes that matched their abilities so we could
nurture their interest, and we are proud to say they are
also "hooked" on walking in nature. Walking together all day
in wilderness is wonderful family time. We repeated many
Colorado Fourteeners and Adirondack 46's with our children.
They were collecting Fourteeners on their own legs by the
age of 6, and some of the Adirondack 46 before the age of
10. Years before they turned into teenagers they had walked
more miles in a day than their age in years. They kept
hiking with us, and still do, when we can all arrange a day
or so together. Our offspring have also visited summits that
their parents have yet to see.
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© Highpointers
Mercantile
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"In every
walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."
-
John
Muir
"A
mountain is a friendly thing; it heals the hurts that cities
bring." -
Anonymous
4
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 ©
SAMiller 1969
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Kilimanjaro
[Kibo]
location: Tanzania, East Africa
elevation: 19,343 ft.
date on summit: 1 August 1969
Still 2 days walk from
Uhuru Point on that cone of Kibo in the distance, I am
enjoying that, on this saddle between Kibo and Mawenzi, I am
above any elevation in Colorado, my home state. Kilimanjaro
may be the only continental high point that I'll summit in
my life, but it is a great one!
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© Highpointers
Mercantile
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I've posted a
selected
list of summits and
high points that I have visited, but many other fine walks are not
represented on a summit list. Pockets of old growth
forest5
provide a different sort of impressive walk. Waterfalls, ponds and
lakes lure non-fishing types, too. Ridge lines promise views. Valleys
and canyons offer a challenge in reverse. Abandoned roadways and
railroad beds and the old towns and mines they lead to give a sense
of history. Walking through national battlefield parks and Native
American mound sites found en route to a hike enriches
understanding of current society. All provide natural enjoyment,
intellectual enrichment and renewal. Excerpts from a
poem6
and a September sunrise on the horn that is Mt. Toll, CO say it
all.
Early
Morning
Now
in the early morning we arise.
The mountain waits above us there, . . .
All the sounds of mountain morning are around us
. . .
The topmost twigs . . . bend
And barely sound the early wind. . . .
A tiny stream maneuvers round our camp. . .
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 ©
SAMiller 1970
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How
can you say what makes one morning magic?
Some special blend of time and mind and place.
The climb? It's buried in a box of slides,
Just one more summit shot of grinning faces.
But that morning's carried with me as a charm
Against the city sickness of the head,
A memory and a promise of a time
When I was whole and wide awake, alive.
Sunrise on
Mt.
Toll, CO 12,979 ft. Photo from vestibule of our
tent.
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Maps provide a different
visual arrangement of high point travels. I post a record on the
County
Highpointers site and
post more frequent updates here displayed with a county
emphasis, a state
emphasis, details of NY
State, and a separate
representation of fire
lookout tower summits.
Fuji-san was on my
to-do list even before I summitted Kilimanjaro.
Someday I hope to walk to this 12,388.45 ft (3776-meter)
summit7.
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"Keep close
to Nature's heart … and break clear away, once in
awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the
woods.
Wash your spirit clean." - John
Muir
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Notes:
1. Sir Francis Younghusband,
1921, "Mount Everest:The Reconnaissance" Francis Younghusband was
the first chairman of the Mount Everest Committee of the Royal
Geographical Society.
2.
Bruce
Scofield gave a thoughtful definition of a peakbagger in
High Peaks of the Northeast, 1993, New England
Cartographics. "Peakbagging is the activity (some would say sport,
others a religion) that involves climbing all the peaks over a
specific elevation in a specific area. It's a type of superhiking;
goal-oriented...., but also a lot like collecting. It motivates
people to do some things they might not otherwise do, and it gives
them a sense of accomplishment and reward. There are few rules to
follow and plenty of room for individual choice. The challenge is
not to defeat another person, but to meet the demands of the
mountains themselves. It's also addicting. Upon completing a list,
many hikers cannot wait to take on the next peakbagging
arena."
3. "Highpointing" refers to the activity
of reaching the highest natural elevation(s) in some specified
region. The region could be a state, geographical area, country,
continent, or the world. ... Highpointing is an excellent activity
for individuals of all ages. Planning and then traveling to state
highpoints involves healthy outdoor recreation with concomitant
learning of state and regional geography and history. It's great
fun, and can be a terrific personal, family, or group project.
Some state highpoints can be done in a car as "drive-ups," some
are easy hikes, others require cross country travel, and some
involve climbing with considerable exposure or travel on glaciers
where ropes are required." Thomas
P. Martin 1997, 2004 "
'Highpointing' -- Summiting United States Highpoints for Fun,
Fitness, Friends, Focus, and Folly"
4. scribbled in a summit register by someone else who enjoys
mountains.
5. Kershner, B and R. T. Leverett, 2004, The Sierra Club Guide
to the Ancient Forests of the Northeast,
Sierra Club Books.
6 Miki Magyar, 1974, Early Morning, summit a
mountaineering magazine 20(6): inside cover.
7. Image from Monthly
Mt. Fuji. Elevations from
"Mt.
Fuji Facts and Information".
8. Thanks to Blue
Max® for
the flags!
to SAMiller's
homepage
These organizations have been a part of our lives at some point. Each
logo provides a link to their homepage
This page created and maintained by S.A.
Miller.
Created: October 2003 Last modified: July
2009
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Highpointers Club
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NYS County Summit Club
