When not to visit the Blue Ridge Mountains

I often wish that I only climbed highpoints, and nothing else. Apart from probably being the coolest “job” ever, it would make scheduling climbs a lot easier. There are certain times of the year that are the best time to visit different states. For example, I would love to be highpointing Virginia during the autumn colors, I would love to highpoint Florida during July, and I would love to highpoint Louisiana around Mardi Gras. However, my travels are affected, just like everyone else’s, by money. Since raising money for Alzheimer’s is my primary goal, zipping back and forth across the country whenever I choose does not make the most sense. I also have my work back home that I try to keep somewhat happy, so I try to group my climbs into 1-2 week trips.

I really hope that my highpointing leads someone else to get out and at climb some peaks as well. As self-appointed highpoint expert, I am going to recommend right now not to highpoint any of the states near the Blue Ridge Mountains in October/November. This includes Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and so on. I didn’t know until I got there, but the October/November season tends to be rainy and foggy in that part of the country. Not good weather at all for highpointing or for appreciating views. On top of that, if you are hitting a few of these listed states on a single trip, you will most likely spend a good deal of time driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is one of the most beautiful stretches of roads in America. With that beauty comes at least 50 million turns, and for a Michigander like me who is used to straight roads, it can be a little stressful. And who wants stress when they are highpointing.

I would love to be able to point out where you should go when, but I am sort of figuring this out as I go. Take this piece of advice for now, and there will be more to come. Next week I will be reporting from Sassafras Mountain, the highest point in South Carolina. This will be highpoint 10 for me, which means I will 20% of the way done with my climbs.