Mount Sunflower, at 1,231m (4,039ft), is the highest point in the state of Kansas. Located in the extreme West portion of the state, this hill is actually not too far from the lowest point in Colorado at 1,012m (3,320ft), and the summit itself does not feature that much vertical relief as compared to the surrounding land. This area has been called "America's Bread-Basket" for a reason; the flat plains provide an excellent source of nutrients for many different kinds of crops. The features that the land does have were shaped largely by precipitation and fluvial erosion.

Kansas' highpoint is located on the Harold family's ranch and farm land. They do not restrict access to Mt. Sunflower, and even enjoy talking with highpointers provided that you stop by at a reasonable hour. The sunflower display, register and picnic area located on the summit have been provided by the Harolds for those stopping by. Remember, though, that you are on private property and please honor the Harolds' rights.

The route is a drive-up, however, the approach road can be hiked if desired. Regardless of where one starts, there is minimal elevation gain on a hike to the summit of Kansas.

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2003.02.25 - I had been planning an ascent of Colorado's Mt. Elbert for about a month when I finally realized that it probably wasn't in the cards. My departure date was rapidly approaching, and Leadville had been getting tons of snowfall. Since I was planning on going solo, I didn't want to take any excessive chances with avalanche danger, so I prepared a contingency highpointing plan for Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota in case the danger on Elbert was too great. Since this is a Kansas trip report, you can probably tell that I had to go with Plan B.

The night my plane was scheduled to leave for Denver, we had our yearly snowstorm in Fort Worth; this year, though, it was much more severe. I usually go skiing on a hill near my house when it snows (yes, skiing in Texas), but I wasn't willing to postpone my highpointing trip for some slushy turns. I left for DFW about 3 hours before the plane was supposed to leave, but due to the icy roads and stupid Texas drivers, the 45-minute drive developed into a much longer affair. I finally arrived at the airport 45 minutes before the departure time only to find out that curbside check-in could only be done with more than 1 hour before departure. I hauled my bag upstairs and with the few minutes that it took me to get to the luggage check counter, they had closed off the flight. I spoke with the person working the counter and she put me on the next flight which was scheduled to leave just two hours later. To make a long story short, my initial flight had been completely cancelled, so I didn't really miss out, and the flight that I got on sat on the tarmac for 8 hours being de-iced, re-freezing and de-iced again. Whereas I had planned to spend the night acclimatizing at 7000' in Idaho Springs, I didn't even get out of DIA until 5:00 AM.

Still determined, I drove out toward Lake County and checked in with the Rangers at the Leadville Ranger Station. Apparently, a group of backcountry skiers had been buried on another Sawatch Fourteener on a similar aspect and angle as the route that I would be taking on Elbert. At that point, I realized that I probably wouldn't even be able to try to climb Elbert, but I still went out to the trailhead and dug a snowpit anyway. This definitely confirmed my decision to abort as there was about 3 feet of mostly fresh snow on top of a weak layer of facets. I barely had to nudge the block I had cut on the slope before it rocketed to the bottom of the pit. Point taken. To Kansas I would go...

The drive from Leadville to Kanorado took much lees time than I thought it would, or perhaps I just got lost in the lull of all that flat farmland streaming as far as the eye could see. Regardless, I got to the area around Mt. Sunflower with no problem in the 2wd rental car. I didn't make the drive right up to the summit, though, as I was determined to get some hiking in that day. I parked just over half-a-mile away from the summit off of a dip in the road at the lowest possible spot that I could find. I checked later and I was a mere 18m (59ft) below the summit.

The hike was short both in distance and duration. I wasn't wearing my full out cold-weather gear, so the 15mph wind combined with the 18°F (-8°C) temps ripped straight through the layers that I did have on. I hightailed it to the summit and then got my pictures and got out of there as I was hoping to make another highpoint that same day. The view was about what I expected: snowcovered farmland. Onward to Nebraska!