Mount Mitchell--Highest Peak in Eastern U.S. (6,684')
57 Blue Ridge Mountains Soar Above Six Thousand Feet
© 2007 Gerald A. Hutchinson Jr.
If you want to get mile-high, you can do it the natural way in the Blue Ridge province. Over 55 named peaks soar higher than 6000 feet above sea level, all of them in North Carolina or Tennessee. The only other place above 6000 feet east of the Rockies (on terra firma) is Mount Washington in New Hampshire at 6288 feet.
The highest summit in eastern North America is Mount Mitchell at 6684 feet above sea level---and it is right here in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. While hardy adventurers challenge themselves with great hiking over 5 miles to the summit of Mount Mitchell from Black Mountain Campground, most folks drive their cars practically to the top, then ascend an easy 5 minute walk from the Visitor’s Center to the summit’s observation tower. On a clear day, spectacular 360 degree views abound, though the weather, even in summer, is perennially chilly or frigid air caused by the altitude and wind. You can peek at the online weather station at Mount Mitchell State Park is http://ils.unc.edu/parkproject/webcam/weather.html .
Why do so many lofty summits congregate in North Carolina and Tennessee? In geological terms, it is a coincidental intersection of continental drift, plate tectonics, and the lucky residue of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet from the last Ice Age. These conditions have scrunched, bunched and crunched the earth, forcing it to wrinkle upward to massive heights. In fact, many geologists speculate that the Southern Appalachians were---at one point eons ago---loftier than even the Himalayas, home to Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth. Though the current mountains are ancient eroded relics of peaks of phenomenal height, they still can inspire awe and command respect.
Mountain lovers who like to “peakbag” (hike/climb to the summit of a named peak) have their work cut out for them if they want to climb the “Southern Sixers.” But to help aspiring peak baggers, the Carolina Mountain Club has designated 40 of the Southern Sixers as the legitimate summits that can be climbed for an organized program which they call South Beyond Six-Thousand (SB6K).
(Why 40 summits? Well, two reasons: one summit is on private property, and thus inaccessible. The other reason has to do with how “prominent” a summit is from the terrain around it. The second r4eason is based on “prominence.” If a mountain or range has several smaller summits on it, all above 6000 feet, that does not mean that they are of equal value. Some may not “stick up” from the surrounding terrain much. Others may soar. So with this in mind, there are only 40 prominent summits worthy of inclusion in the South Beyond 6000 program. For purists, you may “bag” other named Sixers as part of the route to summit a program peak.) Those individuals that show reasonable evidence they have summited all designated SB6K peaks in the proper way---on a hike of at least 5 miles to bag a minimum of one peak---will receive a patch. But not all peaks have trails to their summits; some require bushwhacking. Some are joys to climb with spectacular views from the summits; others are just hard work.
Mount LeConte (6, 593') in Great Smokies Nat. Park
The Southern Sixers are not all of equal value when it comes to their significance or relevance with regard to the surrounding terrain. Many may not play as prominent a role in the surrounding terrain as some less lofty mountains. For instance, most of the individual 6000’ summits along the Black Mountain range pale in comparison to the dominance that Grandfather Mountain (5,949’) commands over its surrounding terrain. The entire Black Mountain range is dominant, but the individual summits along the crest aren’t. On the other hand, Mt. LeConte (6593’) in the Smokies plays a much more prominent role in its surrounding terrain than Clingman’s Dome, at 6643’. This is due largely to its northwest-southeast orientation, at cross angles with most high peaks along the Smokies’ crest.
Not all Southern Sixers have views from the top (unless you call looking at dense foliage a view). Some have spectacular views in some direction, often from a rocky outcrop (or observation tower). But most do not. If we were to rate summit views (an interesting idea) then there are some 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000+ foot summits that have more spectacular views. But they may not have the same weather, or challenge in summiting them.
In 2003 Ted. E. Keizer, a.k.a. “Cave Dog”, ran and hiked to all 40 summits, covering over 200 miles in one continuous footpath. And he did it in under 5 days (actually four days, 23 hours and 28 minutes. Although no official sanctioning body exists, he currently holds the unofficial speed climbing record for the South Beyond Six Thousand (SB6K) challenge. In a fanciful acknowledgement to the difficulty of the ordeal, he dubbed it “South Beyond Insanity Ultra-Marathon.” He was supported by numerous volunteers, who provided him with food and water when his path crossed roads, but he was the one who climbed all 40 peaks, and used no mechanized transport to traverse the route. His website http://www.thecavedog.com/Index.html reports this event.
For those who have more humble goals, you can access the Carolina Mountain Club’s SB6K program site here: http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/SB6K/SB6K%20Index.html . You can get a log and start your own peakbagging obsession.
As a point of interest, the list below shows the sequence of the SB6K summit climbs used by Ted E. Keizer in his South Beyond Insanity Ultramarathon.
| # | SUMMIT | ALTITUDE | SUB-RANGE |
| 1 | Clingman’s Dome | 6,643 | Great Smokies |
| 2 | Mt. Collins | 6,188 | Great Smokies |
| 3 | Mt. Kephart | 6,217 | Great Smokies |
| 4 | Mt. LeConte | 6,593 | Great Smokies |
| 5 | Mt Sequoyah | 6,003 | Great Smokies |
| 6 | Mt. Chapman | 6,417 | Great Smokies |
| 7 | Mt. Guyot | 6,621 | Great Smokies |
| 8 | Old Black | 6,307 | Great Smokies |
| 9 | Mark’s Knob | 6,169 | Great Smokies |
| 10 | Mt. Yonaguska | 6,180 | Great Smokies |
| 11 | Luftee Knob | 6,234 | Smokies / Balsams |
| 12 | Big Cataloochee | 6,155 | Smokies / Balsams |
| 13 | Yellow Face | 6,032 | Plott Balsams |
| 14 | Waterrock Knob | 6,292 | Plott Balsams |
| 15 | Mt. Lynn Lowry | 6,280 | Plott Balsams |
| 16 | Plott Balsam | 6,088 | Plott Balsams |
| 17 | Richland Balsam | 6,410 | Great Balsams |
| 18 | Reinhart Knob | 6,088 | Great Balsams |
| 19 | Mt. Hardy | 6,110 | Great Balsams |
| 20 | Chestnut Bald | 6,025 | Great Balsams |
| 21 | Sam Knob | 6,040 | Great Balsams |
| 22 | Black Balsam Knob | 6,214 | Great Balsams |
| 23 | Tennet Mountain | 6,047 | Great Balsams |
| 24 | Grassy Cove Top | 6,040 | Great Balsams |
| 25 | Shining Rock | 6,004 | Great Balsams |
| 26 | Cold Mountain | 6,030 | Great Balsams |
| 27 | Craggy Dome | 6,080 | Craggy |
| 28 | Blackstock Knob | 6,359 | Black |
| 29 | Mt. Gibbes | 6,571 | Black |
| 30 | Mt. Hallback | 6,329 | Black |
| 31 | Mt. Mitchell | 6,684 | Black |
| 32 | Mt. Craig | 6,647 | Black |
| 33 | Balsam Cone | 6,611 | Black |
| 34 | Potato Hill | 6,440 | Black |
| 35 | Winter Star Mtn | 6,212 | Black |
| 36 | Gibbs Mountain | 6,220 | Black |
| 37 | Celo Knob | 6,327 | Black |
| 38 | Roan High Bluff | 6,285 | Roan-Unaka |
| 39 | Roan High Knob | 6,267 | Roan-Unaka |
| 40 | Grassy Ridge Bald | 6,167 | Roan-Unaka |
© 2007 Gerald A. Hutchinson Jr.
