Kirk Mallory finishes the 48 State Highpts, Southern Sixers

[TeresaGergen]

After his parents retired to North Carolina, Kirk became interested in the Southern Sixers list, and worked on it during his visits there. At some point he realized that he could finish both lists on Mt. Mitchell.

Here is some info on the Sixers list:
http://www.summitpost.org/southern-sixers/171168

and there is also a custom list on LOJ for this:
http://www.listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/Co ... php?lid=38

Kirk was the person who introduced me to the concept of state highpointing, and I'm honored to have been along with him for 14 of them. Congrats, Kirk!

[lukePlumley]

Kirk,

Congratulations on both list completions! That 6ers list looks like it contains some rugged bushwhacks! Nice Work! Any recommendatiosn from that list? I see I have only hit 7 so far (the ones right near the AT).

lp

[kirkmallory]

Thanks Luke! There were a few that were unpleasant bushwhacking, but they were usually short. The ones around the Tri-Corner Knob shelter come to mind (Guyot, Marks Knob, Tri-Corner Knob, and Yonaguska). Most were nice hikes. Lots of good information at the Carolina Mtn Club's site here: http://www.carolinamountainclub.org/index.cfm/do/pages.view/id/23/page/South-Beyond-6000

The Sam Knob / Black Balsam / Shining Rock area was very nice with open grassy summits & great views. Cold Mtn & Mt. LeConte were nice hikes on good trails. I think my favorite area is the Black Mtn Crest Trail, connecting Mt. Mitchell all the way to Celo Knob. I did that in two different hikes, with my final sixer hike starting from the Mitchell parking lot & going north over Craig, Big Tom, Balsam Cone, Cattail, and Potato Hill, returning over all the peaks & finishing with Mitchell. I was far about the clouds to the east, which was very cool. The section of trail below Big Tom is so steep that there's a fixed rope in two places!

[wayfarer]

Congratulations Kirk!

[Peter J Barr]

Congratulations, Kirk! Make sure to send in your ascent log to the Carolina Mountain Club. I chair the CMC's Challenge Committee which hosts the South Beyond 6000 program. I'll make sure to add you to the completer list when I get your log!

http://www.carolinamountainclub.org/view/assets/uploadedAssets//SB6KAscentRecord.pdf

Peter J. Barr

[Jeremy Hakes]

Nice! Cool list. Thanks for the suggestions, too.