Range Bohemian Ranges
Two neighbouring summits above Strzegom carry a modern naming mismatch: Góra Świętego Jerzego on the west, Góra Krzyżowa / Krzyżatka on the east. Peakbagger's point is right; its name probably is not.
Range Bohemian Ranges
A barricaded start and disappearing forest roads led to a nearly invisible range high point. A 2023 terrain-model review identifies 355-metre Jedlice as the highest summit of the Strzegom Hills.
RegionMasovian Voivodeship
A spare evening in Warsaw became an unplanned walk from the Saxon Garden to the Old Town. Dinner brought the surprise: we had unknowingly chosen the same restaurant we visited about ten years earlier.
Range Rocky Mountains
A 13-day road trip from Wisconsin to Colorado linked state high points, four Ultras, Yellowstone and Utah desert parks, from Michigan’s 12-centimetre summit dispute to a 4,302 m finish on Pikes Peak.
Range Southern Rocky Mountains
After snow stopped my 2019 attempt, I returned to drive Pikes Peak Highway, meeting bighorn sheep, crowds and brake checks before finally reaching a summit I admired more as a road trip than a mountain.
RegionUtah
Four spare hours after Mount Peale became a fast Arches circuit through 43°C heat, dark storm clouds, Balanced Rock, the Windows and enough roadside geology to justify the detour immediately.
Range La Sal Mountains
Mount Peale, highest point of the Colorado Plateau and a Utah Ultra, looked like a short outing until loose scree and a fast-building thunderstorm turned the summit into a brief touch-and-go.
Range Colorado Plateau
A failed Mount Ellen attempt unexpectedly produced Capitol Reef: Waterpocket Fold scenery, roadside Fremont petroglyphs, an OHV detour into badlands and a much better afternoon than the original plan.
Range Southern Wasatch
An Ultra-prominence hike through deer and wildflowers became a judgement call under distant thunder, then ended with a parking ticket that finally explained the trailhead’s nearly useless permit system.
Range Great Basin Ranges
At 40°C, Frary Peak delivered an exposed climb above the Great Salt Lake, an accidental Class 3 ridge variation, a shade-free summit and post-hike encounters with bison and bighorn sheep.
Range Greater Yellowstone Rockies
A second Yellowstone circuit traded bison for travertine terraces, smaller geysers and the impossible colours of Grand Prismatic, which easily became my favourite stop before a crowded Old Faithful finale.
Range Greater Yellowstone Rockies
My first Yellowstone day belonged to bison beside steaming ground, Hayden Valley and mudpots, with geothermal basins steadily overwhelming the irritation of a new $100 nonresident surcharge.
Range Bighorn Mountains
A first-light start became a 40.4 km, 15-hour day of quiet lakes, endless granite boulders, Cloud Peak Glacier, one summit apple and a careful return across the same log crossing after dark.
Range Great Plains
North Dakota’s high point rises from almost horizontal prairie as a compact island of pale, eroded terrain, reached by an easy ranchland trail whose public access has its own highpointing history.
Range Great Plains
A few hundred metres of tractor tracks reached a grassy South Dakota high point whose 150 km of isolation and open Coteau des Prairies landscape mattered far more than its summit shape.
Range Midwest-Great Lakes Area
I came for 215 km of isolation and found beautiful Minnesota lake country, an old lookout tower, uncertain summit ground and enough mosquitoes to turn a 1.5 km walk into a sprint.
Range Midwest-Great Lakes Area
Wildfire smoke made the drive uncertain, but Eagle Mountain became a calm walk through wetlands, Whale Lake and forest to Minnesota’s high point, its survey history and remarkably isolated summit.
Range Midwest-Great Lakes Area
A smoky drive and disastrous forest-road shortcuts led to Mount Curwood, where a 2024 dGNSS survey placed Michigan’s natural high point about 12 centimetres above still-official Mount Arvon.
Range Midwest-Great Lakes Area
A free half-day in Racine became a Lake Michigan walk along a huge beach and quiet harbour breakwater, followed by Wind Point Lighthouse, its old foghorns and one sensible retreat from slippery rocks.
Range Midwest-Great Lakes Area
A nearly level Wisconsin summit with 210 km of isolation, two observation towers and one misread park entrance turned a 1.8 km walk into an unusually memorable lesson in topography and parking.
RegionŁódź Voivodeship
After a morning on Trójgarb, a routine drive through Poland turned into an unexpectedly good night in Łódź: Poznański’s red-brick factory empire, a mirror-lined courtyard, a silent disco, and Piotrkowska still warming up close to midnight.
Range Bohemian Ranges
Crossing Poland with a few unvisited P100s still glowing red on the map, I stopped for Trójgarb. A compact forest climb led to a modern triangular observation tower and broad views over wooded ridges, fields and the lower country beyond.
Range Southern Brazilian Highlands
We nearly abandoned Pedra do Desengano when our cars could go no farther and a late start became an even longer approach. Instead we walked the extra road, found sour wild oranges, almost stepped on a sleeping snake, crossed steep slabs and reached a Ribu summit above the Atlantic Forest.
Range East-Central Brazilian Highlands
Pico do Soares was on our route mainly for its Ribu status and 1,121 metres of prominence. After some uncertainty about access, we found a clear trail through exceptionally rich vegetation, crossed a small stream below the summit, and ended the day with an improvised pousada feast.