Bill Schuler has an amazing story about his trip to visit the highpoint of every county he crossed in a swath from the northeast corner of Maine to southwest tip of California.
You can see his map:
http://www.cohp.org/indiv/Bill_Schuler.html
This was posted in the cohp group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cohp
Their page is
http://cohp.org
Below is the post (reprinted with permission)
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From July 31 to Aug 30, I was on a trip that encompassed 20 states, 256 poin ts in 132 1/3 counties (128 1/3 new), included 2 State summits, 2 National Park high points and 2 National Forest high points while putting 9400 miles on a rent al car.
The objective was to complete a string of counties from Aroostock County in ME to San Diego County in CA and north to Canada. I previously had a string exte nding from Canada to Mexico and east to TX. A secondary objective was to climb as many gimmes and/or twofers along the route as time and my schedule permitted.
The people I have to thank for write-ups and info reads like a Who's Who for county highpointing. My thanks go to Gary Falleson, David Galvin, Fred Lobdell, Bob Packard, Denis Hanson, Dan Case, Dave Covill, Ron Tagliapietra, Glenn Bock, Ken Oeser, Scott Surgent, Mike Beavers, Andy Martin, Hans Haustein, Jobe Wymore , John Garner, David Olson and especially Mike Schwartz. Mike, your trip mileages were exactly the same as the odometer on my rental.
Here are the day-to-day results of the trip. Trip write-ups for counties tha t have none and supplementary info for existing write-ups will follow in separat e mailings.
7/31 NY
~Herkimer County - 4 points - Saw Packard's name in the sign-in register - ve ry confusing terrain - stepped on everything that looked high - took 7+ hours
8/1 NY and VT
~Hamilton County - Snowy Mountain - fire tower on top
~Warren County - Gore Mountain via the Schaefer trail - also Bear Mountain
~Bennington County - Mount Equinox - Drive-up - also Little Equinox - out aft er dark
8/2 VT
~Rutland County - Killington Peak - gondola to top - also Snowdon Mtn, Ram's Head Mtn and Pico Mountain
~Orleans County - Jay Peak - gondola to near the top
8/3 VT
~Essex County - East Mountain - road to top - need key for locked gate - will supplement
8/4 ME
~Oxford County - Old Speck Mountain - from Grafton Notch on Appalachian Trail
~Franklin County - Sugarloaf Mountain
8/5 ME
~Somerset County - Avery Peak - also West Peak
8/6 ME
~Hancock County - Cadillac Mountain - drive-up - NP high point
~Waldo County - Frye Mountain - LO tower
8/7 ME
~Aroostock County - Peaked Mountain - Cliff, I waited till 8:30 for you to sh ow - missed your company
8/8 ME and MA
~Sagadahoc County - Whitten Hill - near drive-up
~Suffolk County - Bellevue Hill - only problem was traffic
~Barnstable County - Pine Hill - called 2 days ahead - was escorted to the gu nnery range
8/9 MA
~Nantucket County - Saskaty Head and nearby high point - hitchhiked to Siasco nset & walked the rest of the way - got a ride back to the ferry
~Bristol County - 4 points
~Norfolk County - Great Blue Hill - Green trail to road to top - also took Bl ue trail to Wolcott Hill, Houghton Hill and Tucker Hill
~Worcester County - Wachusett Mountain - near drive-up to the LO tower - out after dark
8/10 NY
~Westchester County - BM Bailey - from CT side - 2 witness posts (1 on the gr ound), no BM
~Bronx County - got permission from lawyer - was stopped by security people a nd questioned after I got down
~New York County - Fort Tryon point and Bennett Park point
~Queens County - 169th Street area
~Nassau County - 5 high points on Harbor Hill and the 1 point near Wheatley
~Suffolk County - Jaynes Peak and the western peak
8/11 NY and NJ
~Kings County - in Brooklyn
~Richmond County - both points on Todt Hill
~Union County - 2 points
~Morris County - 2 points - Desecrated Mike's home county with a small cairn and register on top of his cross rock
~Monmouth County - Crawford Hill - radar towers as usual
~Gloucester County - both summits
8/12 PA
~Schuylkill County - Bears Head - not a drive-up anymore - hiked to the fire tower
~Franklin County - Big Mountain - also 1/2 of Fulton County - raining a bit
~Fulton County - 2nd half - Peak 2,443'
~Bedford County - drove to top at Pavia ski lift
~Cambria County - Round Top area - hiked about 1 mile to it then to the Oglet own area and quartered both sides of the road - level showed another area that l ooked higher near the Hollow Road/Skyline Drive junction - backtracked and climb ed it - leveled back and it still looked higher but not conclusive - is this an area that should be in Andy's book? - showers made for a muddy drive and a beaut iful rainbow
8/13 PA
~Clearfield County - Chestnut Ridge then Bloom Hill (supplement to this will follow)
~McKean County - high point near Allegany - had also planned Forest County fo r today but since I got it earlier, I met my sisters in Olean for dinner
8/14 PA and MD and WV
~Somerset County - Mount Davis - drive-up - State high point - my 2nd time
~Allegany County - Peak 2,880'+near the PA border then a near drive-up to Dan 's Rock - saw a bunch of county HPers names from 2 weeks earlier
~Grant County - Bear Rocks area and the Bell Knob LO - beautiful country
8/15 MD and VA
~Montgomery County - near the Mt Airy Full Gospel Church - also 1/2 of Howard County
~Howard County - 880'+ - 2nd half near the microwave tower
~Winchester City - near the County High School - quartered the ridgeline - no t sure just where the city line is but went down, then back up so got it for sur e
~Harrisonburg City - Sherman hill and 1 other area
~Highland County - Little Ridge - I got this from the WV side
~Bath County - Paddy Knob LO - near drive-up after a few road misses
~Rockbridge County - Rocky Mountain - also 1/3 of Amherst County - will send supplement to Fred Lobdell's trip report
~Charlottesville City - high point along a road - I did this one after dark a nd after dinner - walked up one side of the road and down the other - no county/ city line marker - 8 1/3 counties today (most so far) with a lot of driving
8/16 VA
~Louisa County - high point by the tree
~Fluvanna County - western point in a field - also eastern point near the gre enhouse - got 2 counties before 7 a.m.
~Prince Edward County - Lyle Mountain - intermittent showers - 2 BM near the church - nice
~Halifax County - high point in a field - will send write-up on this one
~Roanoke City - Mill Mountain - off the Blue Ridge Pkwy - big cross on top - drive-up
~Roanoke County - Poor Mountain - poor road
~Montgomery County - Poor Mountain LO - drive-up - near twofer
8/17 VA and NC
~Pulaski County - Walker Mountain Ridge and 2 other areas - will send supplem ent
~Wythe County - Comers Rock - nice walk to the high point
~Washington County - Whitetop Mountain - also a nice area
~Carroll County - Fisher Peak North - near drive-up
~Surry County - Fisher Peak LO - along the ridge from Carroll County, VA
8/18 NC
~Iredell County - Fox Mountain - 350' gain to the tower on the rough jeep road
~Davis County - high point - will send trip write-up on this one
~Rowan County - Young's Mountain - tower on top (they're everywhere) - will write up this one, too
~Stanley County - Morrow Mountain - in State Park - little gain
~Watauga County - Calloway Peak, Watauga East Peak sliver and
~Caldwell County - also got McRae Peak, Attic Window and Raven Rocks, all on Grandfather Mountain and Linville Peak after getting down - spectacular area and trails that really give you a workout - spent the rest of the daylight hours in the park
8/19 NC and TN
~Yancey County - Mount Mitchell - near drive-up - my 3rd time up here - always nice
~Avery County - Grassy Ridge Bald over Round Bald and Janes Bald on the Appalachian Trail then back over the Balds to Carvers Gap
~Mitchell County - Roan High Knob - going over Cloudland Peak from Rhododendron Gardens - Roan High Knob is also the high point of Cherokee NF
~Carter County, TN, a twofer - the rhodys must be beautiful in the spring
8/20 TN
~Sullivan County - Holston Mountain and 2nd point
~Roane County - Mount Roosevelt - drive-up to the LO and the star shaped lights
~Smith County - Walnut Knob and 2nd point nearby - lots of blackberries to supplement lunch
~Macon County - Russell Hill - near drive-up
~Sumner County - Wolf hill - more blackberries - short hike
~Cheatham County - Sullivan Ridge - near drive-up
~Dickson County - another near drive-up by a water tank
~Hickman County - Bon Aqua LO fire tower - it's not Tower Road, it's Blake Road - the landowner was proud of the fact that he lives on the county high point
~Perry County - high point in a field near the Wayne County line - went also to the south of the road but it is obviously lower - 9 counties today, all easy - my most productive day
8/21 TN
~Decatur County - 2 bumps then went to the Ponderosa area (no gravel pile, anymore) - will send supplement
~Henderson County - climbed the 4 points near the HQ bldg. in Nachez Trace SP then drove to the Reagan area and got the 2 points on either side of the road
~Chester County - Sand Mountain - nice walk
~Madison County - 2 points on Crawford Spring Road
~Heywood County - high point is near Cedar Chapel
~Weakley County - in the Austin Springs area
~Obion County - Old Fremont area
~Lake County - got BM 322 and 2 areas east of there - there is only supposed to be 2 areas total, but all three were about the same height according to my level - comments anyone? - 8 counties today (18 in TN) without trying too hard
8/22 MO and AR
~Madrid County - got the 2 points west of Rte 6, then the 2 points east of Rte 155 and finally drove to Morehouse and the RR crossing - had to wait for 4 trucks to go by before Martinizing this man-made one
~Dunkin County - went up the 4 points on Crowleys ridge - will send supplemental road directions - found Andy's V8 juice can with a chewed up Ziploc bag and no papers
~Clay County - again, on Crowleys Ridge, but in AR - climbed the 3 high points from a locked gate - found the Witness BM but not Andy's can
~Baxter County - 4 points climbed from Advance Road (unlocked gate)
~Marion County - went to the Tar Kiln non-lookout and it's nearby bump then got the point on Pine Mountain
~Van Buren County - got the northern high point - I agree with Hans Haustein that it is definitely higher than the southern area - I went over there anyway, since I was there - it can be dropped from the "possible" category
8/23 AR
~Went up Lookout Mountain and Smith Mountain, then climbed Yates BM and the 2 southern points of Newton County - drove to Salas and went up County Road 71 to a junction and locked gate and walked up to the LO tower on Devils Peak - real nice views - this whole area, Rtes 7, 16 and 21 are in beautiful Ozark country and was a pleasure to explore
~Johnson County - Garlands Ridge - did the 3 points after getting advice from a local farmer who even led me to the correct road - in Ozark NF - very brushy and brambly and buggy - still a few blackberries to quench my thirst
~Newton County - Buffalo LO and adjacent point - my car didn't like the last 3/4 miles of road, but my legs did - again, beautiful views in all directions
~Madison County - did the 2 eastern points near the county line (on either side of the highway, then drove to the Pettigrew area for the other 2 points - an enjoyable day
8/24 AR
~Pope County - from the Sandy Gap area, I got BM 2,205, then over to Coleman's Knob and up the 2 points off Hwy 16
~Van Buren County - from Una, climbed both points
~Pulaski County - Shinall Mountain - back to traffic - found the LO foundations and roamed around a bit - lots of construction going on - looks like new housing and roads going in on the south side like on the north
~Hot Springs County - drive-up to the LO - also did Music Mountain, the Hot Springs NP high point via the Sunset Trail and Hot Springs Mountain, a drive-up to a spectacular 216' high observation tower
~Perry County - Deckard Mountain - poor road and nice hike
8/25 AR and OK
~Yell County - Petit Jean Mountain - poorer road - nicer hike
~Montgomery County - Slatington Mountain - still poor roads - found the Witness post, no BM
~Polk County - Rich Mountain - via Skyline Drive - this is also the Ouachita NF high point
~Scott County - Poteau Mountain - also 1/3 of Sebastian County then hiked to the other 2/3 of
~Sebastian County along the ridge road - finished with AR for now - got 17 counties in 4 days
~Adair County - Workman Mountain - 4 points starting from the AR side - will send write-ups for most of the OK counties I did
8/26 OK
~Cherokee County - Beaver Mountain - write-up to follow
~Wagoner County - 3 points climbed - write-up to follow
~Creek County - high point and Cain BM - write-up to follow
~Lincoln County - 7 areas but not as bad as it sounds as all are off the road that runs along the county line with tracks heading to them - all within a mile of each other - the 1,206' BM seemed highest but who knows?
~Logan County - quartered the Lakeview area to get the high point - OK is very flat at times - will send write-up
~Kingfisher County - Porcupine Butte - 2 red bumps - still flat - will send write-up
8/27 OK
~Blaine County - 4 points in hayfields - lots of quartering - will send write-up
~Dewey County - only 1 high point but flat fields made searching prudent - will send write-up
~Ellis County - both sides of the highway - The high point in this area seems to be near an old tar tank - further leveling showed that the RR bridge to the east was higher (man-made) but an area just south of the bridge seemed to be the highest natural spot - checked it out, of course - this area doesn't show on the map as being higher
~Roger Mills County - Antelope Hills - wow, real high points - did the 2 higher Buttes - I'll send in a trip supplement with clearer driving instructions
~Custer County - climbed the 2 points near the Compression Station
~Washita County - high point near Elk City was easy and quick
~Beckham County - climbed at least 10 possible high points even though there are supposed to be only 6 - will send write-up - this ended OK for this trip with 14 counties - tomorrow TX
8/28 TX
~Wheeler County - high point was obvious or I'm getting better at guessing
~Hemphill County - got the 3,005' BM then went to the north Pampas area to get the last point for this county
~Roberts County - went to the northern bump (no BM there) then drove to near the southern high point and bagged it - both fairly obvious
~Gray County - one high point near Kingsmill - nice to have trip write-ups again
~Carson County - quartered the flat area near the Pantex Plant
~Hutchinson County - 2 areas again - got the northern point, then quartered both sides of the road at the southern point
~Potter County - three areas in the Wildorado area - time consuming
~Parmer County - with help from the group, I had a map segment that took me right to the high point area - had to quarter the area as usual to be sure of it
8/29 NM and AZ
~Bernalillo County - Sandia Crest - a real mountain for a change - drove to near the top - my 2nd time up this one - great views, watched the sunrise then headed to AZ
~ Navajo County - missed this one last year with Roy Wallen but took advantage of the experience to bag it this time - after the mandatory stop in Cameron, drove up to the locked gate and hiked up and down across the plateau to the good road that goes out to the high point area - Adam's locked gate was open when I got there but I hadn't read his report yet or I would have worried about it getting locked behind me - found Andy's register - impressive group of names in it - I still fought darkness getting out
8/30 CA
~San Diego County - Hot Springs Mountain - driving most of the night and most of today, I got here in time to do this near drive-up - got both the LO and high point (been here twice before) - I only did this because I wanted to end my trip in my home county in CA
8/31 I slept till noon then verified that I had indeed completed my goal of stringing a line of counties across the country from San Diego County, CA to Aroostock County, ME - now I've got to update my map and FRL lists - I'm tired Bill Schuler - e-mail:
[email protected]
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