White Butte
| North Dakota |
Elevation: 3,506'
Vertical Gain: 420'
Vertical Gain: 420'
Date: May 29, 2013
Time: 11:25 AM
Time: 11:25 AM
Weather: Cool, breezy
Party: Bob, Kevin
Party: Bob, Kevin
Kevin and I were up early today to the sound of a light drizzle on our little two-man tent so
instead of folding it we just threw it in the trunk of the car and were out by 6:30. We were
beginning to think we might be able to make up a day and get to the Missouri high point on
this trip. We drove through the morning to White Butte in western North Dakota. I wasn't really
expecting to see anyone at this remote high point on private land but we pulled in with an
older couple from Vermont and walked the 1.7 miles together across farmland and up the butte
(which really was whitish). It turns out the husband was retired from IBM and we knew some
of the same people. Small world! In our travels we've met many people checking off some
high points with no real expectation or intention of becoming a 48 or 50 completer.
This morning, we crossed the second time zone of this trip. The Mountain Time Zone line
drops into the middle of Montana from Canada, swings east then back south in North Dakota
where we crossed it, so although we started our hike at about 10:40, we already had five hours
of driving in. I had tried to reach the owners of the high point property with a courtesy call
about a half hour out but there was no answer. They now have a sign for where to park and a
box soliciting donations. I'll bet that the owners of the land that state highpoints are on never
expected to get so many visitors when they bought the property.
instead of folding it we just threw it in the trunk of the car and were out by 6:30. We were
beginning to think we might be able to make up a day and get to the Missouri high point on
this trip. We drove through the morning to White Butte in western North Dakota. I wasn't really
expecting to see anyone at this remote high point on private land but we pulled in with an
older couple from Vermont and walked the 1.7 miles together across farmland and up the butte
(which really was whitish). It turns out the husband was retired from IBM and we knew some
of the same people. Small world! In our travels we've met many people checking off some
high points with no real expectation or intention of becoming a 48 or 50 completer.
This morning, we crossed the second time zone of this trip. The Mountain Time Zone line
drops into the middle of Montana from Canada, swings east then back south in North Dakota
where we crossed it, so although we started our hike at about 10:40, we already had five hours
of driving in. I had tried to reach the owners of the high point property with a courtesy call
about a half hour out but there was no answer. They now have a sign for where to park and a
box soliciting donations. I'll bet that the owners of the land that state highpoints are on never
expected to get so many visitors when they bought the property.
Scenes from the approach.
Looking back at White Butte.
The car is still dusty from the
long dirt roads near the
Boundary Waters of Minnesota.
The car is still dusty from the
long dirt roads near the
Boundary Waters of Minnesota.
