All posts tagged as Backbone Mountain MD

06 Oct

Backbone Mountain Trip Report Posted

In State Highpoints by Robert Danger Byrd / October 6, 2015 / 2 Comments

This is the final trip report from the East Central Trip and after 3,224.4 miles and 436 gallons of diesel fuel I’m 6 states closer to the 50 state highpoint goal. This trip included Spruce Knob WV, Backbone Mountain MD, Mount Davis PA, Campbell Hill OH, Hoosier Hill High Point IN, Taum Sauk Mountain MO. Below is a GPS track of the entire trip with each of the completed highpoints plotted on it and there is an interactive zoomable map located here.

 

The GPS track of the entire 3,200 mile trip with the 6 state highpoints flagged

The GPS track of the entire 3,224 mile trip with the 6 state highpoints flagged

The current count is at 39 states, so there are only 11 remaining now. There are 13 months before my 50th birthday so the 50 by 50 goal is on track and I intend to achieve it. The next state will be California’s Mt Whitney which at 14,494′ is the tallest mountain in the lower 48 and is scheduled for next month (November 2015).

Hanging In St. Louis
The only significant thing I did not blog about was our time in St. Louis. We had a great time there and had some cool experiences. I have posted a St. Louis Photo Gallery here and I may create  a post about it later.

We had a great spot behind the Casino Queen just across the river from the St Louis Arch

We had a great spot behind the Casino Queen just across the river from the St Louis Arch

 

The Backbone Mountain report is posted in its entirety here.

To view a sortable table of all of the highpoints with completion dates, trip reports, photo galleries, blog entries an GPS tracks, visit the US State Highpoint Progress Page.

 

Standing on Backbone Mountain Maryland
23 Sep

Standing on Backbone Mountain Maryland

In State Highpoints by Delorme InReach / September 23, 2015 / 0 Comments

Standing atop 3,360′ Backbone Mountain, the highpoint of Maryland. Took Jeep almost to the top and it was a wild ride over logs, boulders and gullies.

I was grinning all the way to the summit!

23 Sep

Headed for Maryland

In State Highpoints by Robert Danger Byrd / September 23, 2015 / 0 Comments

We have spent the last 2 days in West Virginia in secluded and heavily wooded campground with the fall colors starting to come in. Deer are walking right up to the coach and the weather is cool and comfortable.

I’m heading up to Maryland to Backbone Mountain in the Jeep, while Susan and Samson relax in the coach in West Virginia.

To get the best photos, I’m planning a Sunset summit which is around 7:15. It’s a short easy hike, so I’ll be back in 5-6 hours.

Rest Day In Chattanooga
21 Sep

Rest Day In Chattanooga

In State Highpoints by Robert Danger Byrd / September 21, 2015 / 0 Comments

We just passed the 1,100 mile mark on this trip and things are going well.  Susan hasn’t broken anything yet and has only caused me to make a single wrong turn.

9-21-15 Map

Buddy Can You Spare a …
We took a break from driving yesterday and spent the day in the historic town of Chattanooga. Chattanooga interestingly enough is the town that my good friend Rick Overholt who started me down the highpointing path, tried out life as a street bum when he ran away from home as a child.

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North Central 6 State Trip Under Way
18 Sep

North Central 6 State Trip Under Way

In State Highpoints by Robert Danger Byrd / September 18, 2015 / 1 Comment

“I like to get me summa dat essential oil n’ rubit on my elbows real good.” – A Louisianan discussing essential oils with Susan.

Susan and I are off on another adventure in “BigByrd” our 41′ motor coach. Typically we plan every leg and make reservations ahead of time, but this time we decided to go totally unscripted. This will give us the freedom to be a bit more exploratory along the way. We need to be back in town by October 5th, so time permitting we intend to visit the highest points in 6 states; West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri. We will be driving through those states in that order, so if you know of anything cool along the way, reply to this message and let us know.

 

Welcome to Louisiana
We set out yesterday afternoon and spent the evening in The Frenchman’s Wilderness Campground in St. Martin Parrish Louisiana. While exploring the area we happened upon a tiny backwoods pub called the Levee Rat. The patrons applauded uproariously as we entered which we quite enjoyed. And as we were being seated, a local by the name of Leon approached and commented on how nice we smelled. While I was basking in the glow of all of the positive reinforcement, Susan explained to Leon that it was Citronella, an Essential Oil we were using to keep the mosquitoes away. Leon who was apparently intimately familiar with essential oils said; “I like to get me summa dat essential oil n’ rubit on my elbows real good.” Susan cut the conversation short and proceeded to be seated. I never got a good look at Leon’s elbows, but I’m sure they’re very impressive.

It did not dampen our spirits when we later learned they were not applauding for us, but for a particularly clever joke, at least by Louisiana’s standards of humor. I never heard the joke, thus cannot comment on its jocularity. I was however glad that I resisted the urge to take a bow. We also are pretty sure that Leon was insane.

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