Mount Arvon

Kellisa's 21st State Highpoint

Mount Arvon, MI

1,979ft.

September 2011

Elevation Gain on Hike: 160ft.

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 1 mile

I was fortunate to have Matt with us for the Michigan highpoint. You need to follow a confusing network of logging roads to reach the trailhead and I knew I could use his help with navigation. Also, having Matt along provided extra confidence to attempt these roads because it had been raining all day. I was worried about the condition of the roads and the thought of getting stuck far from help might have caused me to skip Mount Arvon on this trip if I was alone with Kellisa. Thankfully, we had Matt to support our trip.

Matt pushing Kellisa in the rain:

I took over as we neared the summit:

Summit photos:

Headed back down through the mud after a short summit visit:

Kellisa receiving water by g-tube back at the car:

Next on our list of goals was a backpack trip on Grand Island. I was not looking forward to the long drive ahead as we would have to backtrack along the log roads before a long drive around the Huron Mountains to the Grand Island area of the Upper Peninsula. Shortly after leaving the trailhead parking area, we noticed a homemade sign pointing deeper into the North Woods with the simple words: Big Bay. I knew Big Bay was a small town on the other side of the Huron Mountains. I also knew from studying maps that Big Bay could not be reached from the Mount Arvon area on marked roads. The weather was getting worse as the afternoon was slipping away. Matt and I looked at each other and we decided to "go for it"! 

Without any planning or real thought, I followed the sign towards Big Bay and blindly headed deep into the Huron Mountains. I can say that I would have never tried this uncertain route, especially in the wet conditions that we were facing without Matt. We did have plenty of food, water and camping gear, so I knew we would be OK for a few days if we got stuck. 

Old logging roads crisscrossed the woods and most junctions were marked with a version of the homemade Big Bay sign. Whenever we had to make a decision without the benefit of a sign, we would select the road that looked right. We were trusting the signs to be accurate. There were many spots where the road was near impassable. When in doubt, I would speed through the deep mud hoping to make it to the other side before getting stuck. We were slipping, sliding and even went airborne more than a few times. Of course, Kellisa was laughing from excitement as it felt like we were riding a rollercoaster. At the time, it was hard for me to enjoy the ride because I knew there was a good chance of something bad happening on this road.

Fortunately, we made it through the roughest stretches of road in a couple of hours. As we neared Big Bay, the road improved a little and we were able to stop to take the following photos to document what would be a true highlight of our trip:

Timms Hill

Kellisa's 20th State Highpoint

Timms Hill, WI

1,951.5ft.

September 2011

Elevation Gain on Hike: 121ft.

Round Trip Hiking Distance: 0.5 miles

Road leading to the summit trail:

The trail was a little steep, but was adequately wide and flat which made it fairly easy for pushing Kellisa:

The highpoint sign under the large observation tower:

The actual summit marker under the tower:

We had "lofty" plans for the summer of 2011 that included our cousin, Matt. Unfortunately, everything had to be cancelled because Kellisa had two surgeries (July and August) and is still suffering for complications (March 2012). With a lost summer behind us, we decided to take a quick Labor Day weekend trip with Matt to the upper Midwest. 

The next two photos are pictures of Matt at the top of the observation tower while he is taking a picture of me and Kellisa at the bottom. I might have been able to carry Kellisa to the top of the tower, but it would have been a dangerous struggle to say the least and not worth the risk in my opinion. I could have easily left Kellisa with Matt to climb the many stairs to the top to enjoy the views. However, I have a self-imposed policy when traveling with Kellisa: if we can't do it together, I don't do it alone. It's not always easy, but I followed my policy. 

With 40% of the states summits below us, we headed back down the trail:

Sassafras Mountain

Kellisa's 19th State Highpoint

Sassafras Mountain, SC

3,560ft.

Elevation Gain: 50ft.

June 2011

Guidebooks and online trip reports all agree, Sassafras Mountain is wheelchair accessible. The path is nice and wide,  but a little steep and rough. I would agree that the trail is wheelchair accessible, especially with help if it weren't for one little fact. When we visited Sassafras Mountain, we found a gate completely spanning the trail and beyond. Wheelchairs don't tip easily because they have anti-tip bars. The bars can be removed, but I doubt a wheelchair could be tipped enough to make it under the gate. The only option besides settling for "close" would be to lay the disabled person on the ground and lifting the wheelchair over the gate (probably a 2 person job, maybe more for a power chair). Then you would have to drag the person on the ground under the gate, lift them back into the chair. All before even staring the short ascent. This would have to be repeated on the return hike. Trust me and not the reports written by the able bodied trip reporters, this is NOT a wheelchair accessible trail, although it can be done with the right help and planning.

Luckily for us, we had Kellisa's "off-road" disability stroller and I was able to tip it back enough to pass under the gate:

Summit pictures:

Back at the parking lot, a beautiful view awaits at the end of a short walk:

I can't help but wonder how many people make the drive to the trailhead parking lot and walk to the overlook and believe they reached the summit of South Carolina? The path to the summit is not marked and without a guidebook, this could be an easy mistake.

Fort Reno

A bonus Highpoint for Kellisa:

Fort Reno, Washington D.C.

429ft.

August 2010

A tree at the top of the hill:

The highest point in Washington D.C. is near the tree pictured above:

Geologic Marker:

We had a little time before our flight home, so we stopped at: Theodore Roosevelt Island National Monument to hike the trails and visit the monument dedicated to Roosevelt's conservation legacy:

Spruce Knob

Kellisa's 18th State Highpoint

Spruce Knob, WV

4,863ft.

August 2010

Driving through the clouds to the summit::

Trailhead sign:

Summit picture:

Backbone Mountain

Kellisa's 17th State Highpoint

Backbone Mountain, MD

3,360ft.

Round trip Hiking Distance: 2 Miles

Elevation Gain: 700ft.


July 2010

Heading up the old logging road towards the summit:

To date, this is the hardest highpoint with Kellisa. Most would think it's because the trail gained 700ft. in only one mile. They would be half correct. The other part of the answer would be leaving the guidebook in the car. This error caused us to miss the correct turn 2/3 of the way to the summit.

Before we knew it, we were completely off the trail and surrounded by featureless forest:

After a few minutes, we followed Kellisa's wheel prints back to the trail. We quickly found the correct turn in the trail and headed back up in the right direction. The trail was steep and rocky from the start. At this point, the trail got even steeper, rockier, twistier and to add insult to the situation- narrower. With the summit no where in sight, it got to the point where I could not get the stroller up another foot.

I left Kellisa for a minute as I scouted the trail up ahead. It did not get any easier and I still did not see the summit. I returned to Kellisa defeated. I knew we had to head down without the summit. I turned the stroller around, but knew we had to be very close to the summit.

Since this would be our only chance, I decided to leave everything except Kellisa right there. I picked Kellisa up, flung her over my shoulder and asked her to help with her 70+ pounds as much as possible. We headed up the trail. I was frustrated, tired and it was hot as we ascended. I fell to my knees several times as I had to set Kellisa down a few times to catch my breath. It seemed like forever, but after about 15 minutes of torture, we reached to top of Maryland.

There were two couples relaxing on the summit and one of the men offer to take our picture:

Limited view from the summit:



Mount Davis

Kellisa's 16th State High Point

Mount Davis, PA

3,213ft.

July 2010

No snow in July:

Summer view from the summit road:

A short trail leads to the summit boulder:

Summit picture: