This booklet is a sample of a full-length book. It is Chapter 29 in Ameritrekking and Highpointing: Stalking the Wild Thirteeners. Here you can read the true tale of the author's visit to New Mexico's highpoint, Wheeler Peak. A highpoint is the highest naturally occurring geographic point in a state. Wheeler Peak is the 8th-highest highpoint in the 50 states. The climb took place in the same year as the second Ameritrek, the subject of the main book. This is one chapter from that book, so you can travel vicariously to New Mexico's highest point and sample the writing at the same time. The main book, Stalking the Wild Thirteeners, resulted from an 8,000-mile, three-week road trip involving other highpoints, including the lowest of the 50 highpoints, Britton Hill in Florida. Along the way the author visited state and national parks, plus much more while driving through 21 states. Over the years Joseph Whelan drove more than 125,000 miles-the equivalent of five times around the Earth at the equator-and spent over a year on the road. He went to 45 highpoints and many other strange and wonderful places. He continues to travel and write.
