Wild Country

[peter]

Just after noon, on a perfect crystal clear and cold Saturday, atop Cheoah Bald, I finished a quest I had been working on for almost 5 years.

I first climbed Thunderhead Mountain, my first 'fiver', on May 16, 2003. Yesterday I climbed my 198th, and final, 5,000 foot summit in the southeast. While this list is unquestionably less known and less popular than other challenges, it is by far the hardest and most difficult that I have accomplished.

We hiked up the Bartram Trail, climbing over 3,000 feet in 5 miles. For some reason it didn't seem very hard. Maybe I just have a lot of perspective.

Here's Allison working on one of the many crossings Ledbetter Creek.

Up high there was a lot of snow, and in the gap below the summit, over a foot of snowdrift.

Tracks going right up this fallen log.

Allison at Bartram Falls.

We spent 3 hours on the summit, resting, remembering, celebrating. We talked to this thru-hiker, trail name “All Good”, for well over an hour, about his journey to Maine. That bandanna he’s holding up is his only map. We saw him passing through Beech Gap the previous Saturday, and it was pure coincidence he arrived at the summit minutes after we did, a week later. Someday, I'll follow in his footsteps on that journey.

A cool tunnel on the hike.

She’s real happy that I’m done with the peaks. It’s hard to believe she’s put up with me the whole time.

Contemplating a lot of memories....

[brian]

Congratulations Peter! That really is an incredible thing to do. I think most people would probably consider a challenge like that as sort of a lifetime goal. Not something to do in a few years. I was glad to join you on a few of them and get a taste of the excitement of peakbagging. A few weekends in a row of that would really run me ragged. You must have a topographic map of western NC in your head by now.

I've got a couple photos from our trip to send you when I find the USB cable for my camera.

[Whitebeard]

Peter:

Congratulations!!! I admire your dedication and persistence.I hope you are as proud of yourself as you have a right to be.
_________________
The greatest danger in communication is the illusion that it has been achieved.--GBS

[yellowhammer]

Congratulations! You saved one of the best -- and of the best routes -- for last. That's a great spot.

[SloWalk]

Congratulations Whippersnapper. I love the photos and report of your last peak

Are you after the "900" now?

[Joey]

Congrats big guy!! Well done.

[griztrax]

Man, I can't believe how fast you managed to knock 'em out. I agree that the 5,000 footer list is harder than the 6,000, not only because there are a lot more of them. but because so many are so hard to access.
It's been a lot of fun watching you go after them, and now we'll be looking forward to you joining us on more trips before starting the next run. Of course, if you do start on the Pisgah trails, you're always welcome to stop by and use our place as a basecamp. We really enjoyed the visit Friday night.
I'm really proud of you - that's one heck of an accomplishment!

Mo pix!!! Mo pix!!!

[Crawldad]

That great.

Probably was a really good feeling when you sat out traveling to the mountains that day. And another good feeling with a lot of thoughts going thru your head after you'd made it to the top of the final peak. Great job. It's really a lot of work for folks like you when you got to drive so far, make a hike up and down some mountain, then drive back to take care of all the petty crap, like school and work.

One other note: you gotta go to school if you wanta work, and you gotta work if you wanta have anything, but completing the 5000 footers and finishing the 900 miler will be some of the things you remember most years from now. It's those memories that you'll have and they will be everlasting.

Take care. Great job!

[peter]

I wholeheartedly appreciate everyone's kind words. And everyone's help during my quest. I think that I am the first person to complete this particular list. Someone from the northeast is only 30 peaks from finishing it as well. I was quite surprised to learn of another soul crazy enough to work on it.


This was the finishing moment. Actually, I think the highest ground may have been in the blackberry and trees a few feet north, but I like this 'obvious' spot better. Oh, and after shredding his, Brian was surprised to know that those pants made it to almost all 198, believe it or not. I can't really explain it, but they deserve recognition too.

To clarify, this list is the 5,000 foot peaks with 200 ft. of prominence. Much debate has been made, including with my own wavering opinion, about what constitutes a mountain. Some favor a 300 foot prominence rule. I once did as well, and at this point I'd probably prefer a 250ft. rule to be honest. But this list is all inclusive. It's not debated by anyone I know that a peak with less than 200ft. rise is an individual mountain. And by the way, I'm certain about the number 198.

Gretch, yes, the Smokies 900 is my next goal for sure. I hope to finish in about a year from now. I'm about 2/3 done, but the remaining trails have a lot of logistical challenges and a lot of repeats. I've considered finishing at the intersection right by Leconte Lodge after hiking up the Trillium Gap Trail, and then heading on up to Cliff Tops to celebrate. Allison and I have discussed a stay at the actual lodge, which we haven't ever done, though with reservations, and uncertain time of year of the completion, might be difficult to arrange.

In the next few weeks, I'll do my best to post up some of the trip reports from the past couple of months. I made a considerable amount of trips recently to finish these off, and I have a lot of pictures and reports to share. I saw a lot of wild, infrequently visited places. While a list can be restrictive and dictating to your destinations and routes, it was quite a journey, and I got to explore all over western North Carolina as well as in Tennessee and Virginia. I wouldn't have gone to many of these wild and remote places without it.

[brian]

Ha! Well, I'm not normally one to complement another guy on his pants, but there must be something unusual about them. I had to throw out my pants and shirt just from that scratchfest going out to Horseshoe. My theory is I have a more manly style of bulldogging through brush that is harder on clothes than some people's evasive ducking and weaving about