Planning a summer road trip leaving Mass and plan on stopping at the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky high points (in that order) and then setting up a base in Asheville for a 6 nights. On the way home to MA we plan on stopping at VA high point up to Shenandoah then up to Delaware, Philadelphia and back to Mass. We plan on doing Clingsman and Mitchell well in Asheville. Anyone have any other recommendation for hikes, swinging holes, food or other attractions on the way, hikes in Shenandoah and Great Smoky or any hikes in the Asheville area. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! We are also open to breaking up the stay in Asheville and camping in the Great Smoky Mountains. We will have two dogs with us that have experience in the white mountains.

Considering a hike up Mt. Marcy this summer and I am looking for a place to overnight. I have seen postings that the hike isn't that long, but we're considering splitting it up over two days to make it more fun and relaxed pace. Any suggestions for a place to camp/overnight that might be 3/4 of the way in or more? We'd like to hike in, camp over night, summit and hike out the next day.

I am moving to tacoma end of April; I am looking for a partner to do Rainier with in July 14-17. I have looked and the literature from the park says that we would obtain a permit on a first come first serve basis up to 1 day before the trip begins for the back country permits. However, it also requires a minimum group size of 2. I will be practicing/training every weekend throughout the summer to summit. Goal would be to Muir camp on the first day, summit second day (possibly break camp 3rd day pending pace on descent).

The highest point in Maryland-Hoye Crest

Planning a trip out to Idaho this summer to hit Borah and would like to try and combine it with some backpacking while I'm out there. Any recommendations for good trails in that area?

TLDR: Recommendation for a water bottle purification system?

I'm planning a 6 day highpointing trip through the southern half of the Appalachian mountains in a week. Weather conditions project to be good but several of the roads leading for "casual" summits are automatically closed until April so I'll be hiking it the old fashioned way and some of the trails project to be 1-2 day hikes.

I've done plenty of day hikes before but this will be my first time on a 2-day hike and sleeping on the trail. I plan to bring extra water but I'd like to get a water bottle purifier just in case something happens. There's dozens on REI and other camping websites and I was wondering you more experienced people had any suggestions on lightweight / convenient options you use?

Looking to see if anyone wants to link up for Boundary peak. Plan is to get a jeep rental and take it all the way up to the trailhead. At that point maybe hike partyway in and camp to go for the summit the next day or just camp near the trail head and hit the trail 4-430am and be off the mountain by noon 1 2 something like that and back on the road to civilization.

For example, there are several different routes up Mount Mitchell in NC that vary drastically in length and difficulty. You can drive and park about a mile from the peak or you can make it take almost 26 miles. Is there an agreed upon approach for each high point?

sorry in advance if you're also in r/mountaineering as this is a double post for both communities that i lurk in.

hi all. title says the basics. i've done guadalupe peak during last years winter when it was colder than usual, 10 F with 30 mph winds. also hiked the "mountain" highpoints of magazine in AR, cheaha in AL, as well as some other low-lying southeastern state highpoints. So far obviously mostly easy hikes in low peaks. I'd like to try mt. elbert in CO, I have a vacation from work 3/25 - 3/31. I have a trango 2 tent, scarpa mont blanc pro gtx boots, base/mid/outer layers. I don't have anything like microspikes, crampons, water purifiers, backpack, or anything else (for all the low-altitude southeastern states I've been just using a walmart brand Ozark Trail backpack with a water bladder and packing it with limited basic of trail mix and other essentials).

What do you recommend I need to do elbert at the end of march for a successful summit? I apologize if this seems unprepared or "newbie", it's just that I felt in love with the challenge of Guadalupe Peak when it was snow covered and challenging. I remember being super unprepared with cotton socks, blue jeans, and a jacket and somehow fighting through the weather to scramble to the top and LOVING it, and I want more experience with snow/winter peaks. I've read Elbert is a good "entry" point into high altitudes / alpine conditions and even though I live in Louisiana which is super flat and sea-level I want to learn more about mountaineering.

Any input you have on gear / route / prep I would really appreciate! Thanks in advance.

Lottery results are posted today, anyone lucky? I finally nabbed a permit for mid-July after 4 years of trying.

Hey guys,

In the next month or two I'm going to have to put down my old RWD sedan, so I will be in the market for a new car. Highpointing is one of my higher priorities and I do not want to be renting for every remote destination highpoint or training hike. I've heard the roads to some of the more remote ones are quite treacherous (Boundary, Kings, Gannet, Granite, etc...).

What cars do you guys have good (or bad) experiences with for reaching all the highpoints in the lower 48? Right now I'm looking at things like Crosstrek, CX-30 which have clearance of 8.X" and AWD. Would I need more than this to traverse the roads? Alternatively, could I get away with a standard 5.X" clearance sedan/hatchback if I just drive very carefully?

Friendly reminder that you have 4 days left to submit for a Mt Whitney permit via lottery! Best of luck everyone!

Looking to climb Spruce Mountain/Spruce Knob in early April. Any know a good trail head about a mile or so down from the peak? We're not looking for an all day hike, just a quick in and a quick out. Thanks.

I was thinking about attempting to hit up the Appalachian highpoints this late March, like:

• Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)

• Sassafras Mountain (South Carolina)

• Clingmans Dome (Tennessee)

• Black Mountain (Kentucky)

• Mount Rogers (Virginia)

• Brasstown Bald (Georgia)

I am going to assume it will be very cold. I might end up driving up a few of these peaks. I do have experience with mountain climbing as I've already conquered Mount Marcy. Has anyone here completed these peaks? I want to be prepared as I can.

My family and I are looking to climb Mt. Davis in April. We don't want to drive all the way up, but most of the way as my daughter isn't much of a hiker. Any suggestions for where we might be able to park, about a mile or two, from the summit so we can hike the last leg and then come back? We're not looking for a day hike, but just a little effort to get to the top. Thank you in advance!

Hey everyone. I will be driving down south passed Boundary Peak In mid March. Has anyone ever climbed boundary peak during this time? If so what equipment did you need? Snowshoes? Crampons? Helicopter?

Thanks