Trek from PS to... natural highs

By admin

California's Mt. Whitney has been measured at 14,497 feet above mean sea level (AMSL), the highest point in the continental U.S. - and only 88 miles from the lowest point, Badwater!

Here's another local favorite: the Mt. San Jacinto station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. At 8,516 feet AMSL, it's a perfect jumping-off point for some great mountain hiking.

Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet above the surrounding Wyoming terrain. You may recognize this monolith as Richard Dreyfuss' obsession from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Feast your eyes upon The Big Boy: Chomolungma/Mount Everest (29,035 feet AMSL). Its peak marks the border between Nepal and what was once Tibet.

Today's featured photo is Japan's Mount Fuji (12,387 feet ASL), courtesy of Google Maps. What a spectacular shot of this all-but-dormant volcano: