Mount Mitchell, North Carolina 6,684 feet

Climbed 9/02/2015

Mount Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River; in fact, it's the highest point east of Harney Peak in South Dakota. But that doesn't mean it's a challenging climb — like most of the southeastern highpoints, it has a road to the top.

In the case of Mount Mitchell, the road is the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway. We approached from Asheville to the south. The Parkway climbs out of the valley to the top of the ridge and through the Great Craggy Mountains. We had to slow down at one point to let a black bear cross the road; a few miles later we saw a white-tailed deer and her fawn grazing at the edge of the trees.

The Blue Ridge Highway winds toward Mount Mitchell
(taken from Craggy Pinnacle)

We were happy to find clear skies at the summit, in contrast to our fogged-in visit to Clingmans Dome a few days earlier. We had views in all directions.

The highest point in the eastern United States

The view to the south