Jack Longacre, the Club’s founder, was often asked, “what do we need to prove we’ve been to the highpoints?” In response, Jack formed the following response which he mailed back to inquiring folks, and still serves as our guideline …
The Witness Post
“We do not require any “proof” of climbing any of the highpoints. It is entirely by the honor system. It is my consensus that outdoor type people are almost 100% purists and are possessors of very high personal standards. Over and above that remains the simple fact that most technical highpoints, such as Rainier, McKinley, Gannett etc., are done with others, which constitutes “witnesses” and therefore proof. So why would you miss the fun of doing the other H.P’s? Moreover, if you’ve done one like Granite, why would you lie about doing Sunflower?
We do, however, recommend that you photograph each of the highpoints that you do, just for yourself, as this makes a wonderful album along with your write-up of the adventure. Bottom line: we believe you, just tell us how many you’ve visited.”
– Jack Longacre
I was a member for a couple conventions back in 2002 & 2003 and am planning to get the HPs in the Smoky Mts. in August. When I made it to top of Clingman’s Dome last May(2016) I did not see any sign-in register which goes along with this post but I did find one at MS’s HP and wrote my message in. Do the ones in the other Smoky HPs have registers to sign in? If not, I’d be glad to take some pads, pencils, and small glass jars and place them.