Yes, it finally happened … Joel and I reached the summit of Mauna Kea for my 50th State Highpoint and his 26th. We actually reached it 2 times, just to be sure!!

We were originally scheduled to visit the Subaru telescope on 4/13/17. The tour ended up being cancelled but Joel and I decided to head up to the summit since we had already rented the 4X4 to get up the summit road. Once we parked it was a quick walk down a short slope, across the saddle and up to the summit.

The second time that we reached the summit, we reached it by fair means – we hiked up the 4,600′ from the Visitor Center. I didn’t want my last State Highpoint to be a “Drive-Up!” We were a tad optimistic as most guidebooks and documentation states that you should count on an 8 – 10 hour roundtrip … we took 7.5 hours. It was actually a much more challenging hike that either of us imagined – dry, dusty, and steep for most of the trail then add in the overall altitude gain of 4,500′ in 6ish miles.

An interesting note on the terrain which was like nothing we had seen before, Apollo missions 13 through 17 trained in Hawaii, including on Mauna Kea. Today, robots are tested on the Big Island for moon and Mars missions.

Once we got home, I reported the completion of the 50 US Highpoints to the Highpointer’s Club and here was their response … #26!

“WOW . . . that is great news.  According to our tracking you are the 26th female to accomplish this goal.  Puts you in an incredibly exclusive group.  And thanks for the status report on a newsletter article.  John Mitchler loves to see those as it makes his job as newsletter editor much easier.  Plus, that is what all of the members want to read about.  So, a very hearty congratulations.  I know that words cannot express the feeling of accomplishment that you now have.  And I know you are on to further endeavors . . . like getting 24 more highpoints for Joel . . . so . . . Keep Klimbin’“

** Note that I ended up being Female #27 (not #26 as noted above) after being bumped by Melissa Arnot (Reid) when she decided several months later to actually submit her paperwork!