Topping out on the highest point of each State is becoming a popular yet extremely challenging endeavor. When this cache was published, about 200 people had successfully reached the summits of all 50 of our States. Geocachers have also discovered these “High Points“. At this time, 49 of the 50 State HPs have some type of cache associated with their summits or along their principal climbing or hiking approach routes. Twenty nine State High Points have EarthCaches at their summits or close to them.
The lowest-elevation State High Point is Lakewood Park in Florida. It’s elevation is 345 feet above sea level, and reaching it from the parking area takes only a minute or two. The highest is Denali (Mt. McKinley), in Alaska. It’s elevation is 20,320 feet, and attaining it takes an expeditionary effort of 15-25 days if weather allows any summit success at all. It took me two expeditions totaling 40 days on the mountain to reach the top of North America! The 48 State HPs between these extremes range from easy drive-up endeavors to difficult multi-day backpacks and climbs.
This Challenge Cache requires having logged 15 of the 29 EarthCaches that have been placed in association with the State High Points. No date restrictions apply, so your past cache finds all count toward this total. Your 15 qualifying caches must come from the 29 caches listed in the following table.
Have An Earth “High”
| State |
High Point |
Elevation |
GC # |
Cache Name |
Diff/Terr |
| AL |
Cheaha Mountain |
2,407 |
GC25M9T |
Mount Cheaha EarthCache |
1.5/1.5 |
| AK |
Denali |
20,320 |
GC4C79N |
Big Denali |
5.0/5.0 |
| AR |
Magazine Mountain |
2,753 |
GC5FN7H |
Highest Point in Arkansas |
2.5/3.0 |
| CA |
Mount Whitney |
14,494 |
GC3RQEW |
Sierra Nevada Mountain Range Geomorpholgy |
2.5/5.0 |
| CO |
Mt. Elbert |
14,433 |
GC8AP6N |
From the Basement to the Roof |
1.5/4.5 |
| FL: |
Lakewood Park |
345 |
GC4BF1C |
Florida's Highest Point |
2.5/1.5 |
| GA |
Brasstown Bald |
4,784 |
GC17WXM |
Brasstown Bald EarthCache |
1.5/3.5 |
| HI |
Mauna Kea |
13,796 |
GC2Y6MA |
Mauna Kea–The Land of Fire and Ice |
2.5/3.5 |
| IL |
Charles Mound |
1,235 |
GC19A9Q |
Illinois High Point |
1.5/2.5 |
| IN |
Hoosier High Point |
1,257 |
GC19A9K |
Indiana’s High Point |
1.5/1.5 |
| IA |
Hawkeye Point |
1,670 |
GC22YW8 |
Hawkeye Point EarthCache |
1.0/1.5 |
| KS |
Mount Sunflower |
4,039 |
GC1XGR3 |
Kansas High Point–Mount Sunflower |
1.0/1.5 |
| KY |
Black Mountain |
4,145 |
GC19A99 |
Kentucky’s High Point |
1.5/1.5 |
| LA |
Driskill Mountain |
535 |
GC2BKN3 |
Driskill What? |
1.5/3.0 |
| ME |
Mount Katahdin |
5,268 |
GC1TR00 |
Maine’s Highest Peak or Not? |
5.0/5.0 |
| MN |
Eagle Mountain |
2,301 |
GC2XXZG |
Eagle Mountain |
2.5/3.5 |
| MO |
Taum Sauk Mountain |
1,772 |
GC1A5DX |
Missouri High Point–Taum Sauk |
1.5/1.0 |
| NC |
Mount Mitchell |
6,684 |
GC1QMR3 |
Mount Mitchell Summit |
1.0/1.5 |
| ND |
White Butte |
3,506 |
GC5ZJRN |
White Butte |
2.0/4.0 |
| OH |
Campbell Hill |
1,550 |
GC15CQN |
The Top of Ohio |
1.0/1.0 |
| OR |
Mount Hood |
11,239 |
GC2MNZA |
Eliot Glacier EarthCache |
4.5/5.0 |
| PA |
Mount Davis |
3,213 |
GC1YTYN |
Top of Mt. Davis |
1.0/1.5 |
| SC |
Sassafras Mountain |
3,553 |
GC8ENR2 |
Sassafras Mountain EarthCache |
1.5/2.0 |
| SD |
Harney Peak |
7,242 |
GC27A96 |
Black Hills High Point |
3.0/3.5 |
| UT |
Kings Peak |
13,528 |
GC19165 |
Kings Peak |
2.0/4.5 |
| VA |
Mount Rogers |
5,729 |
GC1NBE3 |
Mount Rogers–The Summit |
2.0/5.0 |
| VT |
Mount Mansfield |
4,393 |
GC21N9M |
Mount Mansfield Tundra |
1.5/2.5 |
| WI |
Timm's Hill |
1,951 |
GC3MY0Y |
Wisconsin's Highest Point |
1.5/1.5 |
| WV |
Spruce Knob |
4,863 |
GC19AXJ |
Spruce Knob–West Virginia High Point |
2.0/2.0 |
This tabulation will be updated in the event other EarthCaches are placed on any of the HPs where EarthCaches do not currently exist. Where more than one EarthCache occurs near a HP, the one closest to the summit is the specified cache. In some instances, Physical and/or Virtual caches may also be associated with the same HP. For this Challenge, they do not count, so don’t use them! Document your 15 finds by either providing a publically-viewable Bookmark that includes your qualifying EarthCaches, or by listing the caches in your Found Log. If you use the latter procedure, provide the GC number, the cache name, and the date of your find.
The challenge cache is located at coordinates within Roosevelt National Forest, and is accessible by following an excellently-maintained trail system in the Bobcat Ridge Natural Area. Because it is placed on National Forest land, instead of in the Natural Area, it is a legally-located cache. Look for a Small container that is hidden in a crack between two rocks and concealed by a long, thin, flat rock. A fallen log is directly above the cache container. Expect a round trip hike of about 8 miles involving approximately 1,300 feet of elevation gain—so be prepared in terms of needed time, food, water, and clothing. The Difficulty/Terrain rating for the cache is based on the challenge of meeting the requirements. Reaching and finding the cache container has a rating of 2.0/4.0. And yes, I have qualified for this cache, and have been to the summits of all of the 50 State HPs.
Have fun on your hike to this final location. Your real challenge was logging the 15 State HP EarthCaches required for this endeavor!
CONGRATULATIONS TO RBMAN FOR THE FTF!!