What "counts" for peakbagging state high points?

[somers515]

When I was working on my NH48 there was a very clear definition of what "counts". The AMC Four Thousand Footer Club has a FAQ page and it clearly answered what counted, ie you could bag more than one peak at a time and you can't use auto roads etc. etc.

Even though I just finished the approach trail of my AT thru hike yesterday . . I'm already planning a trip back down to the southeast in February or March 2024 and I wanted to grab a few peaks (NC's Mt. Mitchell, SC's Mt. Sassafras and a few others). I'm having trouble finding guidance and from what little googling I've done it appears Highpointers appear to be ok with just driving close to the top and strolling over and reaching the top where there are autoroads to the top. Is this right? Is there another definition that people use to actually hike these peaks? I know there are probably no right or wrong answers just looking for some tips on what others have done. I hope I'm being clear. Thanks in advance!

[Daybreak]

I looked into it sometime after my PCT hike early this century after including the side hike up Whitney. I found about the same as you. Decided thru hiking local peak bagging (NE 100) was more to my liking. You have to decide your own ethics. goals, rules and if necessary modify them as circumstances change. The same as you did on the AT. The world is HYOH and don't ask questions of others. Their hike (or drive) is different. People claim many things that in no way hold up to any scrutiny. It is said that Earl Schaffer yellow blazed 20 miles. Who cares. It appears now that many who climb the fourteen 8000 meter peaks don't actually climb the peaks. Flyin' Brian passed me on the PCT when he completed the first triple crown in a single year. He backpacked a continuous route of his choosing from end to end on each trail and that was his hike. Although an amazing accomplishment, he freely talks about taking alternative routes especially to hike through towns rather than hitching.

Remember that high pointers are not hikers. Many people just go to the highest places they can get. If you don't rock climb or mountaineer, there may be some issues in the west. I thought about doing the Colorado 14er's until I realized it can be a zoo at times and average Joe doesn't actually climb to the real summit in many cases. This is what I decided.

1. You don't have to climb antennas.

2. Skyscrapers don't count.

3. If the highest point is covered in rocks, don't move them e.g. Katahdin.

4. Some points used to be (still are?) on private property in which trespassing is enforced. Go as high as is legal.

5. Who cares about RI, Delaware, Florida... Drive to the nearest place and hike to highest legal spot.

6. Don't hike/drive while high.

7. Celebrate only after you return.

8. If you can see over the summit then you are high enough and except for #4 this is required.

9. You don't need cell phones or GPS but maps and skills help.

10. You probably need to learn some new skills and go with a group for some.
10,1 Avoid weekends.

11. You must start from a road or an ocean. No planes, bicycles etc. allowed.

12. After climbing Whitney (shout out to George, I think we shared rides to/from Lone Pine '99 and the hike to the "trailhead"), I decided to hike the highest peaks in order of the size of the states starting with largest. I still haven't summitted the Montana peak (4th largest state) so I didn't far. YMMV HYOH

I climbed Denali with NOLS in '86. I started at Wonder Lake, summited and returned via the Muldrow Glacier on foot. It was about a month without a shower or even a faucet. The usual route is to fly in to 7000' or so. If my math is correct, this is same year Lucky Luke did his grand traverse ending at Wonder lake. On Youtube you can search NOLS Denali 1986. Doubt if I'll ever digitize my slides. Another climber posted the video about a year ago which I recently found. I used my blue Camp Trails external frame backpack with extender bar from when I was in Scouts.

[somers515]

I looked into it sometime after my PCT hike early this century after including the side hike up Whitney. I found about the same as you. Decided thru hiking local peak bagging (NE 100) was more to my liking. You have to decide your own ethics. . . .I climbed Denali with NOLS in '86. I started at Wonder Lake, summited and returned via the Muldrow Glacier on foot. It was about a month without a shower or even a faucet. The usual route is to fly in to 7000' or so. . . .

Thank you Daybreak - your entire post is very informative. I probably will never visit all the State highpoints because driving long distances to touch the highest point in say Kansas doesn't appeal to me. I saw Mt. Mitchell from the AT and thought it would be neat to hike/climb it but then I heard there is an auto road to the top. I'm not sure what I'll do when I visit the area but I certainly won't claim to have hiked it if I drive to the top! : )

Oh and your Denali trip sounds amazing - what an adventure that must have been! Thanks again for the response to my question.

[HankIV]

FWIW, growing up in NC, I never heard the term “peakbagging”. I bet it is confine to areas with peaks worth bagging, also close to a leisure class with a “healthy body - healthy mind” ethos. So Whites-Boston, maybe Cascades-Seattle.

[Slugg]

Sadly, the high points in GA, NC, SC, and TN are all road-accessible and thus don’t have much luster.

I am working on bagging all 32 4000 foot peaks in GA - you don’t hear people talk about it much: https://www.georgia-atclub.org/georg...000-foot-peaks

[garlic08]

FWIW, growing up in NC, I never heard the term “peakbagging”. I bet it is confine to areas with peaks worth bagging, also close to a leisure class with a “healthy body - healthy mind” ethos. So Whites-Boston, maybe Cascades-Seattle.

It's sport unto itself in Colorado, with the however many 14ers there are now (the list keeps growing). A young woman just set the record for her gender, doing them all in 14 days, an incredible feat of logistics and athleticism. It took me three seasons and that's pretty fast for us mere mortals.

There are two different standards to even define a peak, the US's (English units) and the rest of the world's (metric units). Some of the Colorado 14ers don't meet either standard, but they're on the list anyway, just because they're notable peaks. One previously unnamed point on a ridge was named Challenger Peak after the shuttle disaster, so it became a new peak.

[Traveler]

FWIW, growing up in NC, I never heard the term “peakbagging”. I bet it is confine to areas with peaks worth bagging, also close to a leisure class with a “healthy body - healthy mind” ethos. So Whites-Boston, maybe Cascades-Seattle.

As a bit of trivia information, the term "peak bagging" came about in the the late 1800s when Sir Hugh Munro created the Munro List of the highest peaks in Scotland circa 1890s. Summiting the peaks on Munro's List soon after it was published became known as Peak Bagging. The term came to America when Robert and George Marshall published the term and was quickly was adopted into standard use within the mountaineering community.

[lucky luke]

...

6. Don't hike/drive while high.

...
I climbed Denali with NOLS in '86. I started at Wonder Lake, summited and returned via the Muldrow Glacier on foot. It was about a month without a shower or even a faucet. The usual route is to fly in to 7000' or so. If my math is correct, this is same year Lucky Luke did his grand traverse ending at Wonder lake. On Youtube you can search NOLS Denali 1986. Doubt if I'll ever digitize my slides. Another climber posted the video about a year ago which I recently found. I used my blue Camp Trails external frame backpack with extender bar from when I was in Scouts.

may i add my opinion to #6, please? i totally agree, but this is what i do:

6. hike/climb to get high!

i´ve never again been nearly as high as i was on the summit of denali. nothing will ever beat a natural high created in the bottom of your heart realeased by the hard work to fullfil a big dream.


unfortunately we did not meet as we were the last team to summit (7-11-86) that season. we passed your campsite on karstens ridge 3x, and i took the yellow flag with the asian writing from the summit with me.


@somers515:

never mind not bagging all of them. being outside and enjoying is what counts, not checking figures on a piece of paper.

[Prov]

I’ve done 34 high points, and a lot of us seem to agree that we walk at least one mile to the high point.

And while I love all of the big peaks, some of the completely dumb one have been AMAZING adventures. Somehow I’ve always ended up meeting crazy characters and having the best stories from the lowest “peaks”.

[One Half]

Several of the highest peaks in the east are road accessible - Mt Washington (Nh's highest), Mt Greylock (MA highest), and several down south that I can't remember.
But there is a huge difference between hiking to those points vs driving to them

[Odd Man Out]

There are complexities in Michigan
For years, Mt Curwood (1978 feet) was considered the highest point, and you may still see references to that being the MI high point.
But not that long ago it was discovered that Mt Arvon was one foot higher than Mt Curwood. Sorry Curwood.
But Summit Peak, which is 27 feet shorter than Mt Arvon, has a 50 foot observation tower on top, so that gets you 23 feet higher if you count observation towers.
But the waste pile of the Tilden Mine near Marquette is sometimes higher than the Summit Peak observation tower, depending on how much waste they pile up.

You choose.

[Deadeye]

I've bagged the Adirondack 46 high peaks (above 4,000 feet) and am working on the New Hampshire 48. The hiking clubs have definitions for what constitutes a peak, and how you have to get to the top to qualify for the club. Regardless of how you qualify a "bagged peak" or whether or not you join the clubs or get a certificate, there are some great benefits to peak bagging:
- it gets you outside
- it gets you places you might not otherwise bother going to (not all the peaks have great trails or expansive views)
- it tests your limits sometimes
- yada, yada, yada

It's a lot like deciding to thru hike a long trail - it's a challenge.