The Ozark Society

12 12, 2019

High Pointing Part 8

By Steve Heye|2019-12-12T12:23:23-06:00December 12th, 2019|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Winter 2019|Tags: Member Exclusive|

This is the eighth in a series of my adventure to visit as many of the fifty US states' highest points. Last time we looked at the odds and ends of high points I picked up as I went by. This time it's a trip I took in September of 2018 to visit 7 New England states: Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and Maine. This was a very aggressive schedule, trying to get all 7 of these states in one 12 -day trip. The number of hikes that would require all day walking, the driving, scheduled stopping spots and weather all pushed me on this journey. It all started on Saturday September 22, 2018 when I flew to Providence, Rhode Island. Rhode Island This was my first time in Rhode Island. I would explore it more when I came back to fly home. I left my hotel and drove about an hour to the west center of this small state. Just off Rhode Island Hwy. 101, near Foster is Jerimoth Hill, 810 feet above sea level. You park at a sign on the roadside and walk about a quarter mile to the marker in a patch [...]

12 12, 2019

John Muir Trail Outing, High Sierras

By Steve Heye|2019-12-12T12:27:11-06:00December 12th, 2019|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Winter 2019|Tags: Member Exclusive|

Steve Heye is organizing a multi-day backpack trip along the John Muir Trail in the California Sierras the Summer of 2020. The hike will be from the Onion Valley campground to the Whitney Portal, around 45 miles. The trip is currently in the planning stages and will require input from all those wishing to go. Because this area is high demand wilderness, we must apply for a permit to hike this trail. This is done by lottery and so dates of the trip will be dependent on a permit being issued to us. We will begin applying daily in January for permits issued for July dates and continue applying until we obtain a permit. We should know by April first if we have a permit and what the dates will be. The hike itself will probably be seven days/six nights with a day hike to the top of Mt. Whitney at 14,500 feet. The hike has several wilderness restrictions. Most of the hike is at an altitude of 9000 to 10,000 feet. Other restrictions deal with food containers, human waste, the size of the group, campsites and campfires. There has been early interest shown, so if you would like to [...]

4 09, 2019

High Pointing Part Seven – The Odds and Ends
High Pointing Part Seven – The Odds and Ends

High Pointing Part Seven – The Odds and Ends

By Steve Heye|2019-12-12T11:44:24-06:00September 4th, 2019|Categories: Fall 2019, Pack & Paddle|

This is the seventh in a series of my adventures to visit as many of the fifty US states' highest points as I can. Last time we took look at two trips to visit the southern Appalachians in 2010 and 2013. You may have noticed that most of the stories have revolved around a specific trip to visit many sites in one big trip or take advantage of the fact that I'm in the vicinity of a high point. This time we will take a look at those high points I detoured to see because I was doing something else and it was nearby. The states covered in this episode are Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana and Ohio. Arizona If you've ever traveled out I-40 west towards Flagstaff, about fifty miles out you begin to see a lone peak growing bigger as you make your way west. This is the highest point in Arizona, Humphreys Peak, 12,633 feet above sea-level. In September 2004 I was part of an Arkansas group that was headed to Havasupai. We had a second bunch on our permit from Tennessee and had to wait a day for them to fly to Las Vegas. To use our [...]

3 06, 2019

High Pointing Part Six – The Southern Appalachians

By Steve Heye|2019-07-23T14:15:15-05:00June 3rd, 2019|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Summer 2019|

Welcome to the sixth in a series of my adventures to visit as many of the fifty US states' highest points as I can. Last time we took a look at a trip of my tour of the Midwest following the Eclipse of August 21, 2017. This time its the southern Appalachians of the Southeast: North and South Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. On the first trip, my wife, Meribeth, and I went up I-40 to Ashville, North Carolina in October of 2010 to see Biltmore and the sights of the Smokies. The second was done in May of 2013 following the graduation of our nephew from Virginia Tech. South Carolina We used the town of Ashville, N.C. as our base to see the area. One day we went south of Ashville to visit the home and farm of Carl Sandburg, near Flat Rock, N.C., a stop we highly recommend. Before that however, we went just across the state line into South Carolina to see Sassafras Mt, 3560 feet, the highest point in the state. At the time we visited in 2010, the access was a rough forest road to the radio towers on its summit. You parked your car about [...]

6 03, 2019

High-Pointing the States: Part Five – The Midwest Loop
High-Pointing the States: Part Five – The Midwest Loop

High-Pointing the States: Part Five – The Midwest Loop

By Steve Heye|2019-06-03T12:08:42-05:00March 6th, 2019|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Spring 2019|

Here is the fifth in a series of my adventures to visit as many of the fifty US states' highest points as I can. Last time we took a look at a trip from October of 2014 to the southeast corner of the US: Florida, Alabama and Georgia. This time I will tell you of my tour of the Midwest following the Eclipse of August 21, 2017. My wife, Meribeth, and I went up to my Aunt's home in Sutton, Nebraska for the big eclipse. Her town was dead center on the path of totality. Nice! Following the event, we made our way towards the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. Along the way, one of our first stops was the highest point in Iowa. After the fair, Meribeth would fly home and I would continue bagging high points in the Midwest. Iowa Iowa's high point, Hawkeye Point, is outside the town of Sibley. This is one of those easy ones: drive up, get out, take the photo. There is a patio and mosaic marker at the high point and it is surrounded by cornfields and a farmstead. Even at 1670 feet, it’s got a great view of the rolling [...]

10 12, 2018

High-Pointing the States: Part Four – The Southeast Corner
High-Pointing the States: Part Four – The Southeast Corner

High-Pointing the States: Part Four – The Southeast Corner

By Steve Heye|2019-06-03T12:09:44-05:00December 10th, 2018|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Winter 2018|

This is the fourth in a series of my adventure to visit as many of the fifty US states' highest points as I can. This time it's the southeast corner of the US: Florida, Alabama and Georgia. I did this trip a few days before my 40th High School reunion in Franklin, Tennessee, in October of 2014. Florida At only 345 feet, Britton Hill, Florida is the lowest high point in the country. The hill is located just off US Hwy. 331 near Florala, Alabama. It also tops the highest point in the peninsula, Sugar Loaf, by 33 feet. I started my trip early on October 22nd, hoping to get from Little Rock to the high point before dark. I went down to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and then went east toward Montgomery and then south on Hwy. 331. I took this route to see this area for the first time. I reached Florala just before dusk. Florala is a resort and retirement area about 90 minutes north of Panama City, that has a small lake and an Alabama State Park. I took a city street east out of town to a county road that would take me the 5 miles or so [...]

7 09, 2018

High-Pointing the States: Part Three – The Western Swing
High-Pointing the States: Part Three – The Western Swing

High-Pointing the States: Part Three – The Western Swing

By Steve Heye|2018-12-10T14:32:54-06:00September 7th, 2018|Categories: Fall 2018, Pack & Paddle|

This is the third in a series of my adventure to visit as many of the fifty US states' highest points. We've visited the six states that surround Arkansas and Mt. Magazine in the previous two episodes. This time we'll look at a trip I took in August of 2013 to visit 5 western states: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. Since I covered Oklahoma in part one, I'll just say that it was the first stop on this trip. I left Little Rock and drove over 700 miles that day to the panhandle and stayed in a state park that was near Black Mesa. The following day I got up and did the Mesa before lunch then made my way from Kenton, Oklahoma west into New Mexico, heading for Taos. New Mexico It was interesting to drive the back county and state roads in N.E. New Mexico. The high plains gullies and scrub made for an eye-opening trip. I finally was on U.S. 64 to Cimarron to make a quick visit to the Philmont Scout Ranch on my way to Taos. I arrived in Taos about 6 pm, ate dinner and decided to get closer to my target, Wheeler [...]

28 08, 2018

High-Pointing the States: Part Two
High-Pointing the States: Part Two

High-Pointing the States: Part Two

By Steve Heye|2018-08-28T14:56:35-05:00August 28th, 2018|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Summer 2018|Tags: featured|

Here is another installment of the adventures I’ve had trying to conquer the highest point in each state of the US. Last time I started showing you the highest points in the states that border Arkansas. This time we will finish the list with Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. A very diverse set of peaks. Ok, two of them are hills! Texas Like Oklahoma's highest point, Texas' high point is way out west in the Guadeloupe National Park, south of Carlsbad New Mexico. Guadeloupe Peak (8751 feet) is on the end of a long ridge running out of New Mexico south into west Texas. Around the ridge is the high plains desert. This is real “Old West” country, mesquite, cacti, hot and dry. The park is on US 62 about 25 miles south of Carlsbad Cavern. The hike up the peak is a moderate day hike on well-worn trail. In fact, you can ride a horse to a corral to near the top if its sure footed. I did this day hike as part of a trip to explore the park on September 29, 2008. My good friend, Gary Alexander did the hike with me and it became the 8th high point [...]

8 03, 2018

High-Pointing the States: Part One – Arkansas and Some Neighbors
High-Pointing the States: Part One – Arkansas and Some Neighbors

High-Pointing the States: Part One – Arkansas and Some Neighbors

By Steve Heye|2018-08-06T12:47:30-05:00March 8th, 2018|Categories: Pack & Paddle, Spring 2018|Tags: featured|

When I was 17, our family took a trip to the Smoky Mountains from our home in Nashville. While there, I happened to notice that the highest point in Tennessee was just down the road from our hotel. It was a beautiful summer's day so we piled into the car and made our way to Clingmans Dome (6644 feet). Little did I know a lifetime hobby had begun. We may have done at least one High Point of one state or another. Maybe you have been lucky to visit 5 or 10 high points as you passed by on your way to doing a trip to somewhere. Then, there are people like me: High-Pointers, people who have a few points under their belt and want more. We are the folks who purposely plan trips so a state high point can be climbed. Sort of like Pokémon for hikers. I currently have 32 high points under my belt and I am planning to increase that number later this summer. For me to cover my journey properly I am breaking the story into pieces and our Pack and Paddle Editor will print additional entries over the next few issues of Pack and Paddle. To [...]

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