When I visited the Sawtooth Mountains last fall, I decided that we should save our last day to climb the highest point in the range – Thompson Peak. I printed trip reports off of the internet and it sounded fairly…
Climbing Star Dune in Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes! Ever since he first saw the dunes in a book when he was five or six, one of my group members wanted to visit. Unfortunately, that first visit didn’t turn out so well due to a sandstorm,…
Wheeler Peak – the Highest Peak in New Mexico!
For three weeks now, we’ve been talking about climbing Wheeler Peak. We visited Williams Lake (a worthy short side trip from the Wheeler Peak Trail), discovered Williams Falls (a little lengthier, but still worth visiting), and then up Mount Walter,…
Mount Walter – the Second Highest Point in New Mexico!
Mount Walter might well be seen as the handsome little brother of Wheeler Peak, the highest Point in New Mexico. Located only 0.4 miles north of – and 62 feet lower than – Wheeler Peak, Mount Walter is overlooked by…
Visting the I-80 High Point at the Summit Rest Area
So it’s not hard to get to, easy to miss, and maybe not even that impressive. But the I-80 High Point – also known as the Summit Rest Area or the Lincoln Rest Area at Exit 323 between Cheyenne and…
Highest Peak in Colorado: The South Mount Elbert Trail
While we’re on the topic of State High Points, let’s go for one more: and this one has some real claims to fame! At 14,440 feet (4,401m) above sea level, Mt. Elbert holds the record for the highest peak in…
Visiting High Point State Park, NJ, for Free
After hiking to the highest point in Oklahoma in May, we all decided that the highest point in the state of New Jersey was “high” on our must-do list when we visited that state in July. High Point State Park…
Black Mesa: The Highest Point in Oklahoma
Some “highest points” are impressive, and others are not. Some seem to have nothing interesting to recommend them, and some have very nice scenery around them. Black Mesa, the highest point in the state of Oklahoma, isn’t exactly impressive, but…
Highest Peak in Big Bend: Emory Peak
One of Big Bend’s claims to fame is that it is the only national park in the US that has an entire mountain range inside of the park. The Chisos Mountains stick up out of nowhere, ascend to a height…
My First 14er – Grays Peak
In late June, I visited Colorado and decided that we had to do a 14er. I realized only later that we’d never been above 13,000 before in our lives (except in airplanes, and that doesn’t count), and if I’d known,…