Highpoint #10: Cheaha Mountain, AL (2413')

I arrived that Sunday afternoon at Cheaha Mountain State Park in northeastern Alabama. Cheaha, the high point of the state, and its range are the southernmost extension of the Blue Ridge, though miles of lowlands separate it from its northern cousins. Thus despite its relatively slight stature, Cheaha stands tall over the relatively-flat Heart of Dixie.

Given Cheaha's prominence (in both the technical sense and in renown), it's no surprise that the park was still quite crowded when I got there. Cars filled the parking lot at the entrance, and families clustered along the sidewalks. I parked in an area designated for campsite registrees, then dodged through the traffic into the park office.

I'd like a campsite, I told the girl working the desk.

Primitive or semi-primitive? she asked, in an absolutely adorable Alabama accent. Semi-primitive's a bit more expensive, but it'll get you access to the bathhouses-

Semi-primitive it is, I said, for in that crowd of pleasant-smelling day-trippers I was all too aware of my mountain funk. My last shower had been three days and 24 miles of hiking ago, and it showed.

The sites are $18 a night, she continued.

More than my sources had claimed, but on par with most campgrounds I'd been to. All right, I said.

The girl processed some paperwork, then handed me a map, a tag for my car, and the bill. That'll be $23.36.