Highest Peak

“What is the highest you have climbed? I don't mean total altitude, but total continuous distance up on foot.”

“My highest was 14,500 feet White Mountain....Not sure about the total up and down gain, didnt keep track of it.”

“Could ask for two responses: Full pack or Day pack!!

Most elevation gain for me in one day was Mt. San Gorgonio (Southern CA) on the Vivian Creek Trail: 5500 ft gain (day hike)

Highest peak was Mt. Whitney, but I did it from the backside, so I didn't have the full impact in one day.(Full pack to 13500 ft., day pack to 14,500)

I am not sure what the altitude gain was for Shepherd's Pass to Anvil Camp. It was a long day. (full pack)

Another long day with full pack: Timber Gap in Sequoia NP.”

“5500 feet Is a long hike up.”

“I'm not sure I understand this right.. but I never let that stop me before. ;-)

I think around 2,000 feet. That was up to near 12,000 elevation in the Collegiates. Was a day pack, but probably 25 pounds with the amount of photo stuff I had.

But then there was that pretty flat day of 14 miles on Cumberland Island... day pack.

So is the point here you want the hikes above a certain elevation??? Please explain, oh gender-confused packer.”

“Well if you start at 10,000 feet elevation and go to 12,000 feet elevation. Your total would be 2000.”

“not high”

“Vivian Creek Trail: Start around 6000 ft, end at 11,500. Used quite extensively as a training hike for Mt. Whitney.”

“I gained 15 feet in elevation after 14 miles at Cumberland. Sooooooooo... are you looking hikes ABOVE a certain altitude??”

“Well above 15 feet, I guess.”

“Anything in Florida is out then.”

“Mount Shasta is one of the tallest peaks, in terms of elevation gain, in the world.

Starting at Bunny Flat and going for the summit is about 7,260 feet of elevation gain. I've done that a few times.

Once we started from Lower Sand Flat because they hadn't plowed the road all the way, that was over 7,690'.

Pico de Orizaba in Mexico is 18,405', I've been up that...but we started at the hut which is around 14,000'

Mount Everest, from base camp to summit is 12,500' of elevation gain.”

“lol, OK, now for another "qualifier"... do you want this all in one haul, or are you including camps on the way to the top?”

“5,000 down and 5,000 back up. Started and ended at 9,100. It was one long damn day. Oh yeah day pack.”

“Tango, where did you hike at Bryce to get that kind of elevation loss and gain?”

“Riggs Spring Trail”

“5,000' down and 5,000' back up...

Thats impressive as Hell.
How long did that take ya.


How about longest continual climb, Amy and I went close to 20/22 hours once.”

“I'm looking that up. I know Bryce is around 9,000 whatever at the south end. But I didn't realize it was 4,000 feet to the bottom even at the south end -- nd I've driven on a road a bit south of Bryce's southern elevation; have viewed it from there. I wouldn't have guessed it at 5,000 feet... maybe 2-3,000. Anyhoo... you have me curious so I am checking out Topozone right now.”

“I started 8ish in the AM and I dragged my butt back around 3-3:30 if I remember correctly. I was proud of myself on that one.”

“As you should be.”

“Most gain I have had in a day was about 4400 ft was over 7 mile round trip going up Giant Mt over to Rocky Peak Ridge and back out.

The highest elevation I have ever been was 5344 ft on the summit of Mount Marcy.”

“So now I'm curious, I'm going to check my trip report.”

“OK, it gets as higher than 9100 outside the park. It looks like at Rainbow Point it's around 9,091, which is the southernmost overlook accessible by road.

I'm looking at my Utah DeLorme's Atlas & Gazetteer.

If you go away six miles below that area, elevations are around 6400. Go away another 20 miles, where I traveled on Skutumpah Road, and it's around 5400 ft.

I don't mean to be a pain, but I don't see where you'd get 5,000 elevation loss and gain at Bryce. Is that including a long trail into the equation?

I'm curious.... wanna find out how you did that.

I went down into Bryce on the Navaho Trail, which is no big deal. That is probably around 7,000 to 7,500. And I'm guessing the "bottom" I went to was probably around 7,50 to possibly 1,000 ft. down.

I just checked the town of Tropic, too, which seems to sit way below Bryce. It's at 6295.”

“Must be around 5,000 total. I found this on the Bryce Canyon web page:

Riggs Spring Trail

Total Distance:
8.5 miles
14.2 km

Climbing:
2248 feet
685 m

Descending:
2248 feet
685 m

Min/Max:
7443/9115 feet
2269/2778 m”

“Steepest trail I've been on is probably the 1.5miles from Ausable Lake to the summit of Sawteeth a little over 2200ft of elevation gain.”

“Dang link mistake!!

Riggs Spring Trail info

Like I said, I don't mean to be a pain. I just didn't think there was near the elevation at Bryce hike both up and down 5,000 ft. That's usually some mountain of at least 12,000 feet or so to get that!!”

“Tango, was that a cool trail? I think I've read about it possibly as an overnight trip, and considered it.

Would love to link it to the trails heading off to the road I was on, which gets into areas of slot canyons. And, best of all, not many people!!! :-)”

“That's where the trail started. Now depending on which sign you read there it starts at 9100 (which is at the trail head) or the map at the trail head that states 92 something. I looked at my trip report I said 3,000 so I wrote 5000 eroneously.



I was wrong about the 5000! My mistake. Sorry.”

“I've also hiked around 1,500 feet up one way to the top of Harney Peak, South Dakota, at 7,272.... and a very, very steep 1,000 feet to Hanging Lake at Glenwood Springs, Colorado.... which is around 5-6,000 ft.”

“Not what I thought it was going to be. It was pine forest mostly and thought at the bottom it would go through the hoodoos, it didn't. It was a cool trail just not what I expected. Not long enough for an overnighter I think. I hooked up with the rim trail if you would follow that out it would be cool doing it over a few days.

Thank you Lizs now I know where I got that.”

“Oh yeah... better finish the equation... The Harney trail was 5.8 miles, so a says a link I see. And Hanging Lake was around 1 mile fairly steep elevation gain.

Tango.... you go on that trip you're hoping for and you'll have some major height. What is that base camp elevation?”

“Lukla (2,805m/9,200ft) we trek up to Kala Pathar view point (5,550m/18,200ft) and then veer off the main trail to cross the Cho La pass (5,422m/17,783ft) into the Gokyo Valley. To top off this unique trek we climb Gokyo Ri (5,488m/18,000ft) for a panoramic view of the greatest mountain scenery in the world”

“The question was ambiguous. By "total continuous distance up on foot," I assume that it means "total elevation gain on foot during a continuous hike."”

“Ditto”

“my highest elevation is Mt. Mitchell, 6684 feet, elevation gain from Black Mtn campground was around 3500 feet. When you hike out to deep gap from Mitchell you are gaining and losing going over those 6500+ peaks. This was with a full pack.

Biggest elevation gain was 4250 on the Bulls Head trail to the summit of Mt. LeConte. This was with a full pack and temps in the low 0's and in a snow storm. Mt. LeConte has the highest elevation gain of any mountain east of the rockies and is competive with some mountains in the rocks. It rises 5500 above its base.”

“Mt San Gorgonio (So Calif) via Vivian Creek Trail - 5500 ft (same as Phil mentions above)

Mt Whitney/Mt Muir in one day, 6100 ft round trip in 13 hours (never gonna do THAT again!)

Mt Rainier from the Muir Hut area to the summit (about 4400 ft)

Mt Chimborazo in Ecuador - from a hut at 16,000 ft to the 20,300 ft summit in one long 'hump'

Except for Mt San Gorgonio, I'd probably never do any of the above again; age and a lack of enthusiasim to endure the exhaustion that accompanies those hikes have taken their toll.”

“I woulda thought the biggest peak bacpac bagged would've been the 3 inches between his legs!”

“Whitney as a day hike a couple times for me.”

“Mt.Washington NH, 4000 ft elevation gain, the trailhead is at 2000, the summit is 6000, a long but good day”

“Middle Teton, WY
Summit is at 12,804, Lupine Mdw TH at 6732
(all with a Egg McMuffin gut-bomb, ugh)”

“Crossing both Joyce Kilmer Slickrock and Citco Creek wilderness, NC =8900'

Gabes Mtn.- Maddron Bald -Inadu Knob, GSMNP, TN = 7000'

The highest base to summit elevation of a 14,000' mountain in the U.S. via trail is Pikes Peak at well over 8000'. (fyi)”