State Highpoint Number Twenty:

MISSOURI (20)
Date: Wednesday October 16, 2002
Peak: Taum Sauk
Height: 1772
Vertical Climb: 30 feet
Round-trip Mileage: 0.4 miles
Peak Class: #1
Height Rank: #33 of 50
Difficulty Rank: #41 of 50


Missouri's high point--Taum Sauk Mountain--is located in the southeastern part of the Missouri Ozarks and in the autumn of 2002 I made a week-long vacation driving around basically tracking down old grist mills in the Ozarks. The trees were in full fall foliage and the area of the high point was absolutely beautiful. There had been a minor Civil War battle fought in the area and I visited some historical markers and eventually found Hwy “CC” and turned toward Taum Sauk Mountain.



I knew from my Highpointer materials that another climber named Jack Longacre had founded the club years ago and was one of the first “fifty highpointers.” After retiring he had fallen in love with the Ozarks and was living on some land hear the state highpoint. He had written a couple of highpointer guides and was considered a "character" but always welcomed visitors and I planned to stop in and say hello. The organizational website had recently announced he had been hospitalized so I wasn't sure if he'd be home.
As I was driving up the mountain, I noticed a Highpointer sign on a gravel road saying “Members and guests only” and since I was a member I decided to follow the road. It was kind of spooky with strange signs posted on trees and I finally came to a mobile home with a man standing out front. I introduced myself and he told me it was Jack Longacre’s home and that the founder had passed away the day before. There was a lady inside making calls and organizing his estate but they asked me to come in and sign the guest register. The lady was especially nice and was also a highpointer and was working to get his book published when he died. We talked a while about past highpoints and they gave me a Missouri certificate before I left. It was a strange, but satisfying visit. They really wern't mourning his death---more like celebrating his life, which I guess is the way it's supposed to be.
The highpoint was an easy drive up to a parking lot and short walk to the summit where a granite marker was located. I was the only one there so I didn’t get a picture with me in it but I did shoot the marker and called Devin to let him know I’d bagged my 20th highpoint. Got a pretty good connection on the phone. As a side note, the Missouri high point is the only one of the fifty states that is classified as "wheelchair accessible."

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