The South and Outdoor Nation
Once the team wrapped Texas, it was straight from El Paso to Austin to the Sprinter and a beeline straight through all south. These was where the rubber met the road. Driving non-stop through states, the team would wake at all hours, run (literally) to the high point and then back for more sleep.
On June 19th, Matt took a break in New York City to attend and speak at the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit. The ONYS brought together more than 500 young leaders from across the country joined together to address the growing disconnect between young people and the outdoors. During the conference, Mountain Hardware broke the news that Matt was named their first ever Youth Athlete. The team enjoyed hot showers and civilization before flying down to Florida to meet up with the Sprinter to wrap up the southern belt. All in all, they hit twelve high points in six days - including the two days in New York City.
- Louisiana (Driskell Mountain)
- Arkansas (Magazine Mountain)
- Missouri (Taum Sauk Mountain)
- Mississippi (Woodall Mountain)
- Alabama (Cheaha Mountain)
- Florida (Britton Hill)
- Georgia (Brasstown Bald)
- South Carolina (Sassafras Mountain)
- North Carolina (Mt. Mitchell)
- Virginia (Mt. Rogers)
- Kentucky (Black Mountain)
- Tennessee (Clingmans Dome)
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June 16 - Louisana and Arkansas
Matt and his dad flew from El Paso to Austin in the early afternoon where they hooked up with the rest of the team. Once they were settled, they started back into their standard operating procedure: sleep, climb, eat - repeat.
Something went a bit awry with the SPOT so all I have are links. I will update with the SPOTS if we are able to retrieve.
- Driskell Mountain, LA (535 ft)
- Magazine Mountain, AR (2,753 ft)
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June 19 - Florida
After a pit stop in New York City to speak at the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit, the team flew down to Florida where they tackled Britton Hill, the lowest high point of the 50 states at 345 feet. They landed in the afternoon and by 11:00 pm local were on their way.
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| Speaking at Outdoor Nation Summit |
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June 20 - Whole Lotta States
The team was on the road - big time - and knocked off four states in ONE day. All times are Eastern. All links are the SPOT updates.
6:00 am - Brasstown Bald, GA at 4,783 feet
11:00 am - Sassafras Mountain, SC at 3,554 feet
4:00 pm - Mt. Mitchell, NC at 6,684 feet
9:30 pm - Mt. Rogers, VA at 5,729 feet
Despite their seemingly low elevations, these mountains are not all a walk in the park. Rogers was an 8.1 mile hike on the Appalachain Trail with 1,500 vertical feet of gorgeous Smokey Mountain vistas. The team
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| Mt. Mitchell |
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