The Peak Bagging Bragging Threar

“the Alum Cave trail climbs 3000 feet to the top, however you are already up in the mountain when you get on the trail. Gatlinburg, TN is the base of LeConte and its elevation is less than 1,200 feet. I am pretty sure I can find plenty of sources that support LeConte having the highest face in the east.”

“when I say face, I do not mean cliff, I mean mountain face.”

“The other Mt. LeConte is much higher though, our poor eastern mountains are puny.”

“that pic is awesome Roam”

“I think Wallface's clam as biggest is in regard to area. It is 800+” high, but it is much wider than it is high. Here is a picture.

Wallface
”

“The real Mt. LeConte puts any mountain in the east to shame. Shame on you puny eastern mountains, why are you so old and tiny. Mt. LeConte scoffs at you.”

“LZ, I have climbed Wallface. It is a challenge just getting to the face with the house sized boulders stacked at the base.”

“the tiny eastern mountain at one time dwarfed todays medium western mountains.”

“Yeah, but they're still growing, give 'em a few million years.”

“So are the Adirondacks. They grow about 3mm a year. Which is faster the Himalayas.”

“LeConte northern face

http://community.webshots.com/photo/124518074/124527442NkvfqI”

“Idaho Bob...I gotta agree with you...Mt. Terror has to be the best name ;-)”

“I'd like to get out west and climb Borah Peak. I'm not sure when I am going to do it. Probably next summer.”

“[IMG]http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/v197/roamaround/Shining%20Rock/Picture_134.jpg IMG]”

“I can't remember how to post an img in the thread”

“

View toward the summit of Tennent, not but about 500 yards away.”

“EarthNsky: make it out here the weekend of July 17, and you can climb it with me and a friend.

I don't know how big your Mt. LeConte is, but if you stand at the foot of El Cap in Yosemite, and look up, it seems more like a planet than a mountain. It is HUGE!! Actually, you have to be half a mile or so away to really see it.

here is a good article on Yosemite climbing:

http://outside.away.com/magazine/200010/200010elcap1.html

enjoy.

It sounds rediculous to say "the north ridge of grassy knoll" or the "east face of Turner's Knob". But the north ridge of Mt. Stuart, or the east face of Mt. Whitney has some meaning. We do have a Dome Peak out West, but it is definitely not dome shaped. Spire Point is a good name, as well as Sinister Pk.”

“I know what you mean about the eastern mountains and I agree the west dominates America in mountaineering. I just like to say that not all of the eastern mountains are whimps. There are tons of buttkicker hikes here. Lots. I am looking forward to getting out to the west though. I have yet to trod on that ground. I will see if I can pull off July 17th. It maybe hard because I no have vacation time.”

“Hiking in the East is definitely more difficult despite the lower elevations. In the West they have these amazing things called switchbacks, and nice high altitude trailheads, and nicely graded trails. Back here we generally go right up a mountain and right back down.”

“Switchback? Graded Trails? What are those?”

“Alot of the trails in the Smokies are pretty nice.”

“I think you could say that no area is better than the other, just different.”

“Cadaver Gap!

I'm dying to hike there!!

You're forgetting the Catskills, where every other locale has "devil" or "kill" in the name. Yeah, we can be scarey too!



BOO!”

“Cadaver Gap is a break in a ridge on Mt. Rainier, and the name of the route that uses that gap. I'll take the easy routes, thank you.”

“Idaho Bob, dont forget Forbidden Peak. Icy Peak. Mt Fury.

Hell, we call an 11,000 foot jagged peak "Little Tahoma".”

“I don't understand why people keep trying to compare East vs. West. They're two completely different experiences.

If you're just looking for elevation and nothing else, then yes, the east will disappoint you. But I gotta tell ya, I have yet to see a westerner backpacker come out to, say Maine, and honestly be so disappointed as to never want to come back.”

“And as for weenie mountain names in the East: How about:

Knife's Edge/Katahdin (ME)
Killington (VT)
Sawteeth (NY & NC (I think))
Slide (NY)
Gothics (NY)
Greylock (MA)
Indian Head (NY)
The Pinnacle (PA)”

“I added Mt.Leconte to my list... hiked it June 17

http://community.webshots.com/album/155469922EqSFae”

“good going Rox. What did you think of that mountain?”

“The real LeConte is LeConte Mtn in Washington State, on the Ptarmigan Traverse. See

http://www.glassmountains.com/clm_ptarmigan_1999.html

About wimpy names, Phantomsoul, just joshing you. If I were back there, I'd enjoy hiking in NC or ME sometime, I'm sure. In my opinion, the area shown in the link above is the best mountaineering in the lower 48. Its called the Ptarmigan Traverse, and is a challenge because of terrain, weather, routefinding (there is no trail), and hazards like sliding off the route and over cliffs (I did that once), having cornices fall on you (I saw a big one come down on our route), falling in crevasses (I did that once), heavy packs, and possible injuries in a remote place (saw a few of those). I've known people who attempted the route several times, and were weathered off in August (snowstorms), or had injuries. I did it three times with not too many complications.”

“Camelback, Squaw Peak, North Mountain, Pine Mountain, I guess I don't brag that much, can't remember 'em all. And yup, three of these peaks are in the city, with switchbacks and part of 'em paved, so even the handicapped can go part-way up. The 3000' gain hike I did a couple months ago doesn't even count as bagging a peak, it just ends up on a FR :(”

“EarthNSky I loved Mt.Leconte, it was a wonderful hike and I was amazed at the lodge on the top. I would like to go back some time and stay at the lodge looks like another type of hiking experience.
rox”

“which trail did you take?”

“I've summitted two 14ers, Harvard and Missouri, in CO. Also over a 13,500ft pass with full pack, all of those on one trip. Great fun!
Didn't quite summit, but got to the summit camp Muir on Rainier, at 10,000 ft. That was a lot of fun, especially swooshing down the snow fields.”

“Added 4 more to the 46er list yesterday with Seward, Donaldson, Emmons, and Seymour. 19.3miles with 5849' of elevation gain.”

“Good deal zac, we should start a 46er thread...”

“16 more to go”

“oh sure Zac - bag 4 peaks when I'm not available. Sheesh! ;o)

You doing anything in the Daks this weekend?”

“added a couple sixers this weekend. Man zac, when do you want to go to Carolina? You need to do the Crest trail.”

“This from the guy who sneaks off to Alaska. As far as this weekend, I have no idea what I'll be doing. Have any suggestions.

EarthNsky - I'm not sure when I'll be heading down south, but I can tell you this much, it won't be in the summer months. I prefer cooler climates. I'll make it down that way some time.”

“well, I feel compelled to brag a little here, added hmmmm, lessee..... 7 more of the Southern Sixers this weekend. The Crest Trail ROCKS!

It'll kick your butt too!

C'mon zac, you'd love it on this one!”

“I was never too good with say ing no to peer pressure. I'll get down there at some point. I just need to find the time and money for it first.”

“Zac - I definately want to do something this weekend, be it in Pa or the Catskills, but leaning on doing some 46'ers.

Giant and Rocky Ridge comes to mind for starters. I haven't looked at the map yet to work out a possible backpack, but I'd consider dayhikes and then car camp, or just find 2 trees and stealth camp somewhere with the hammock.

Got any suggestions? I need to catch up to you and Bobo.”

“RPR & Giant sound good. I'd suggest the trip Jeremy and myself did last year, but I can't remember the exact place where we parked the one car. Either way I would strongly suggest going in at New Russia and hitting the range from that direction. What day do you plan on arriving?”

“Click here for an oppurtunity to add New York to your list of State High Points bagged.”

“I'd probably get there early Sat. Either get up crazy early or sleep in the car (or hammock) Fri night.

Starting from New Russia would be a point to point day-hike, correct?

Soul Man - I've done Marcy before, and it might be on the Buttkicker list as well, but I'll still think about your trip considering the other peaks.”

“I might actually end up going to New Hampshire the weekend of the butt-kicker -- don't know yet. I figure, since I punked out on Marshall before, this will be my first "official" peak, so I figured I might as well start from the top.”

“Here is my thought for the hike. Spot a car at the Roster Comb trailhead and head over to the New Russia trailhead. Hike in from New Russia. Hit Bald Peak, Rocky Peak Ridge, and Giant on Saturday. Hike down the backside of Giant and stay at or near the lean-to between Giant and Green Mountains. Sunday, hike over to Hopkins Mountain and Spread Eagle Mountain. Hike back over to Hopkins and down the Ranney Trail down to route 73. This will put us almost directly across the road from the Roster Comb trailhead. This will put us at roughly 14 miles, 6750' gain and 6330' loss for the weekend.”

“Hopkins and Spread Eagle are both small mountains that offer some impressive views.”

“Pennsy, come on up that weekend, and you can take your choice of peaks to bag. The immediate vicinity of Uphill/Feldspar Brooks offers Redfield, Skylight, Gray, Colden, and Cliff in addition to the planned Marcy. I'm doing Marcy because I'll be with a buddy who is collecting all the state high points. All those other peaks are the same distance as Marcy if not less, and hey, they gotta have less elevation gain, right?”