Highest AT points by state

[Kaptainkriz]

I use that site to track my peaks. There is a list of AT points here: http://www.peakbagger.com/List.aspx?lid=854&cid=12235

Here's a "peakbagger.com" link to a cool map showing all the state highpoints, scroll down to see it. Zoom in on the eastern USA. Basically, the little HP dots kind-of follow the AT, of course.

I realize, again, you're talking the AT highpoints in all the states, but just thought you might be interested in all of those state highpoints as well, since you'll be so near to them, or on them anyway on the AT highpoints

http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=12004

Each high point on the interactive map has a clickable link to its own web page, tons of info and pics.

[Just Tom]

Pile of rocks is still there atop Bear Mountain in CT in 2017, I was up there in September.

Actually, here is a picture from 2015 that has Gambit in it along with some of our scouts!

11947710_10206728302342426_1061632847087121682_o.jpg

[Snowleopard]

Pile of rocks is still there atop Bear Mountain in CT in 2017, I was up there in September.

Actually, here is a picture from 2015 that has Gambit in it along with some of our scouts!

11947710_10206728302342426_1061632847087121682_o.jpg

It looks like it was a LOT higher in the early 1960s.

[troutfisher!]

Here is what I have put together for high points by state on the AT using maps and internet info. I have completed GA and MD. PA hike planned for December!

ME - Katahdin 5268'
NH - Mt Washington 6288'
VE - Killington Peak 4235'
MA - Mt Greylock 3481', 3491'
CT - Bear Mountain 2316', 2320', 2323'
NY- Prospect Rock 1433'
NJ- Highpoint 1803'
PA-Methodist Hill 2100'
MD - High Rock 1893'
WV - Peters Mountain 3956'
VA - MT Rogers 5729'
TN - Iron Mountain 4248'
TN/NC border- Clingmans Dome 6643'
NC-Standing Indian 5499'
GA-Blood Mountain 4461'

[Sarcasm the elf]

It looks like it was a LOT higher in the early 1960s.

I've been told that was true of the 1960's in general.

[tdoczi]

Here is what I have put together for high points by state on the AT using maps and internet info. I have completed GA and MD. PA hike planned for December!

ME - Katahdin 5268'
NH - Mt Washington 6288'
VE - Killington Peak 4235'
MA - Mt Greylock 3481', 3491'
CT - Bear Mountain 2316', 2320', 2323'
NY- Prospect Rock 1433'
NJ- Highpoint 1803'
PA-Methodist Hill 2100'
MD - High Rock 1893'
WV - Peters Mountain 3956'
VA - MT Rogers 5729'
TN - Iron Mountain 4248'
TN/NC border- Clingmans Dome 6643'
NC-Standing Indian 5499'
GA-Blood Mountain 4461'

whenever someone attempts a list like this, there are always a few that end up on the list that potentially make the whole endeavor seem kind of sort of maybe not as cool as it sounded.

when you say "highest point on the trail in every state" it conjures images of big sweeping vistas and so forth. at least it does to me.

but on this list, we have 2 summits that are viewless unless you climb observation towers (highpoint, clingmans), at least 2 or 3 places that are non descript random places in the woods (NY, PA). and others from which there is a minimal view (standing indian) we also have several things that are close to but not on the AT, which may or may not have been what was originally in mind. and a few places that are giant parking lots that happen to be on top big mountains.

with that in mind, and mostly just for fun, what of a list of "the best views on the trail in each state"

view not necessarily meaning the top of a mountain, but for sake of argument on the trail being taken literally. i feel like maybe this is closer to a best of each state than going by highest summits yields.

i wont attempt to list ones for states i havent completed, but for the ones i have i suggest the following changes to the above list-

ME- havent been to katahdin or the 100MW, but i'm comfortable assuming katahdin is the right call.
NH- mt lafayette (take the auto road up washington if you want to see it)
VT- (why do we keep calling it VE, btw?)- peru peak, or baker peak. or just hike that section of the ridge line. tempted to say stratton pond.
MA- mt race. (again, drive up greylock if you want to see it. its even free, or practically, iirc)
CT- i have nothing against bear mountain and it probably is the best spot. but its also right next to mt race so having them both on the list is maybe not ideal, so.... rand's view? st john's ledges?
NY- striking bear mountain because of the road and counting only things right on the trail makes this rough. but i'd go with bellvale mtn or black mtn. or maybe nuclear lake.
NJ- sunfish pond. if it has to be a mountain view there are several places along the ridge that mostly arent named anything specific with awesome views as well. one of them being near the "hillel plaque." these are all south of culver's gap. if you want to see high point, just drive there and climb the tower
PA- the pinnacle. by a wiiiide margin. its not even close. this is maybe the best example of the flaw of the "highest points" theory. i'm pretty sure there is literally nothing to see but trees at methodist hill. the pinnacle, on the other hand, might be the best view for a hundred miles in either direction. 200 to the south. 300? maybe lehigh gap might be it for some, but i have a tough time calling an environmental wasteland beautiful. choosing methodist hill as THE one place to go to in PA... naaah.
MD- tough one. i wanted to say weverton cliffs but that might be slightly off the trail. there may very well be nothing cool to see literally on the trail in MD, sorry. maybe along the towpath theres a nice view of the river?
WV- again tough. crescent rock is right near the sign for the border and is probably the only thing to see.
VA- i havent done the whole thing, but why not divide it in half? or even thirds? in the north third i'd go with hogback mtn

south of that i dont have complete information

[TJ aka Teej]

Most ATers never get to Katahdin's highest point. It's not the sign. The survey disk is over at the 12 foot tall cairn.

[troutfisher!]

Great ideas tdoczi... you make many good points. I got going on the "high points" idea as an alternative to a friend's suggestion to summit Mt. Rainer. Which is just too much for me to undertake. Fourteen or fifteen day hikes and overnights is more my style. I look forward to the variety you mention (towers, random woods, big mountain tops, etc). The goal would not to just "be" at the high points (drive up, get out, look around), but to "hike to" the high spots to get a feel for the AT. I don't plan to hike the entire trail, so this seems like an enjoyable goal. Best views are also in the plan as are short side trails to reach high points. There are a zillion ways to get enjoyment from the trail.

[tdoczi]

Great ideas tdoczi... you make many good points. I got going on the "high points" idea as an alternative to a friend's suggestion to summit Mt. Rainer. Which is just too much for me to undertake. Fourteen or fifteen day hikes and overnights is more my style. I look forward to the variety you mention (towers, random woods, big mountain tops, etc). The goal would not to just "be" at the high points (drive up, get out, look around), but to "hike to" the high spots to get a feel for the AT. I don't plan to hike the entire trail, so this seems like an enjoyable goal. Best views are also in the plan as are short side trails to reach high points. There are a zillion ways to get enjoyment from the trail.

some of the hikes to get to the highest points you are going to find to not be good hikes either.

again, the PA high point jumps out as the most obvious. i just dont know how much feel for anything one gets for much of anything by walking a few miles (or further? where would one even begin or stop such a hike?) through pretty standard, typical woods, doing a mostly flat hike with little change in elevation, to get to a specific point that i dont think is even marked.

the thing most of note about the above notion is i dont think very many people have ever travelled to PA from far away to hike to the "top" of prospect hill.

also, if this an AT centric list, i would think you want to hike on the AT. so if you take, for instance, mt washington, to climb it directly is not a hike on the AT at all.

[tdoczi]

the thing most of note about the above notion is i dont think very many people have ever travelled to PA from far away to hike to the "top" of prospect hill.

meant methodist hill, i sort of created a fictional amalgam of NY and PA there i guess

[troutfisher!]

Everybody goes to Disney. Everyone goes to Vegas. Not me. I go to Methodist Hill.

Yes, some states "high point" may not be worth it. But who can say? Some hikes are just a walk in the woods. But each of these would be an AT hike to the high spot, or there-abouts, or a short spur off the trail. (80 miles to The Pinnacle is too far, but it is on my other to-do list now).

Part of the fun is checking the map and figuring out how to make this happen. Here is the PA trip plan.

Pennsylvania AT hike plan SB
from Big Flats AT Parking Lot - Shippensburg Road
1.3 to Birch Run Shelter
2.3 to Milesburn Cabin
4.9 to Quarry Gap Shelter
2.4 to Caledonia State Park
10.9

[Kaptainkriz]

I try to get photos of the survey disks when I get near the top of a major peak. It would make me sad to go all that way and not find the top.

Most ATers never get to Katahdin's highest point. It's not the sign. The survey disk is over at the 12 foot tall cairn.

[peakbagger]

FYI, survey disks do not necessarily have to be at the actual high point of a mountain. Sometimes they are located at a point with a better view of the terrain that the survey is concerned with

[troutfisher!]

I try to get photos of the survey disks when I get near the top of a major peak. It would make me sad to go all that way and not find the top.

The last few feet of distance or inches of elevation would not be too critical for me. No one really will challenge when you say you "hiked to the top" of Katahdin, would they?

[troutfisher!]

opps. now I see there is a "Pinnacle" on the AT as well.

[Sandy of PA]

In Maryland the original Washinton Memorial is a wonderful view just a few feet off the AT. Also a great view from PennMar park.

[tdoczi]

In Maryland the original Washinton Memorial is a wonderful view just a few feet off the AT. Also a great view from PennMar park.

but one doesnt have to hike to see either of those. i guess in my thinking i always tend to feel that places that can be driven to arent the best places to hike to.

NH is the best example of this i think. if someone asks me for a recommendation of 1 single mountain to hike to the top of in NH i dont say mt washington. i say one of the countless other very impressive ones that someone cant just drive to the top of, and say that if you really want to see mt washington then just drive it.

so sure, stopping to see those views by car is probably a fine idea. it doesnt meet my criteria of a good place to hike to though.

thats not another issue with these lists. why one per state? MD is only 40 miles long, VA is over 500. the best way to "get a feel" for the trail may very well be to not hike in MD at all and hike in 2 or 3 places in VA.

[troutfisher!]

For me, a list helps to delimit the goal. I just read an article that mentioned an AT hike that was the highest point in that county... I wonder how many counties the AT goes thru?? Then I could add the other "nice to see views" and the "challenging hikes" and, and ... Well, I could just hike the whole thing. At age 61, I'll stick with the plan and add more as time permit.

I hiked in the Porcupine Mountains, Upper Michigan this summer. A premier Midwest hiking destination. There were some nice views and drive-up overlooks. The hiking was a sloggy mess with poorly maintained trails. Next day, we hiked the Trap Hills area of the North Country Trail. It was fantastic! with great views and well maintained trails. They're all just places on the map until you go there.

[Kaptainkriz]

Yes, that's where it gets fun...reading the data sheets for the survey and offset markers. I like this site to research them: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/NGSDataExplorer/

FYI, survey disks do not necessarily have to be at the actual high point of a mountain. Sometimes they are located at a point with a better view of the terrain that the survey is concerned with

[Starchild]

Most ATers never get to Katahdin's highest point. It's not the sign. The survey disk is over at the 12 foot tall cairn.

Then shame on Baxter State Park (again), the sign then incorrectly states it is the Northern Terminus of the AT, which is really the summit of the greatest mountain.