Douglas Butler
Author and Global Travel Photographer
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| Welcome | Photo Gallery | Contact Douglas Butler | |
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The View From Atop America - Mt. McKinley (Denali), Alaska; 20,320 feet |
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A Walk Atop AmericaFifty State Summits and a Dream to Reach Them All
by Douglas Butler282 pp., ISBN: 978-1-933251-44-8, Softcover. $24.95. Climb every mountain... or fifty state highpoints. Douglas Butler set out on a quest - a long-held dream - to hike, trek or climb to the highest geographical point of each state. His, however, was not a rushed excursion from state summit to state summit instead a journey of discovery along “blue highways” and secondary roads, exploring our nation and meeting its people. He carried a journal and camera along with an innate curiosity and love of adventure. A Walk Atop America - Fifty State Summits and a Dream to Reach Them All details that journey. In this book, author Douglas Butler vividly describes the challenges he faced trying to reach each state’s highest point, difficulties that ranged from blizzards and forest fires to obtaining permission from private landowners and forest service managers. He also recounts the people he met, the sites visited and the events that made this a life-changing adventure. Twenty-four black-and-white photographs and eight pages of color images taken by the author, an award-winning photographer, complement the text. Come, share the adventure. Radio Interviews
Listen to my WFDD NPR Radio Interview![]() Hiking and Climbing Books
Table of ContentsSample Chapter Press Release Winston-Salem Journal Article Carolina Living Book Review |
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About HighpointingThe fifty state summits vary greatly in popularity, accessibility and difficulty. Four million people stand atop Tennessee’s Clingmans Dome each year - many without realizing that this Great Smoky Mountains attraction is a state highpoint - while hundreds of thousands of tourists reach Mt. Washington’s windy summit annually. Florida’s state highpoint is a sandy knoll, Delaware’s a street intersection. Yet state summits such as Mt. McKinley, also known as Denali (20,320 feet), Mt. Rainier (14,410 feet) and Mt. Hood (11,239 feet) challenge even the most experienced mountaineers.Thousands of “highpointers,” as these hikers and climbers call themselves, are members of the The Highpointers Club. However, reaching all fifty state summits is not easy. Since 1966 when John Hoeman became the first “completer,” fewer than 170 individuals have stood atop each of the fifty states. |
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About the AuthorDouglas Butler is an adventure travel writer and award-winning photographer whose hiking, trekking and climbing journeys have taken him to five continents. A love of people, sensitivity to native cultures and joy in exploring remote and pristine areas are shared through his prose and photography, work that has appeared in numerous regional and national publications. He has also published Ashe County - Discovering the Lost Province, a book about the North Carolina mountain region he calls home. An emergency and family medicine physician, Dr. Butler continues to work with underserved populations on American Indian reservations. |
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Other Books by Douglas Butler
North Carolina Civil War Monuments |
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Appearances and Events
Lecture and Book Signing:After Appomattox: North Carolina Civil War Monuments NC Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy Koury Convention Center 3121 Gate City Blvd Greensboro, NC 27407 336-292-9161 Friday October 7, 2016; 8:00 p.m. Lecture and Book Signing: After Appomattox: North Carolina Civil War Monuments Charlotte Metrolina Civil War Roundtable Charlotte Museum of History 3500 Shamrock Drive Charlotte, NC 28215 704-568-1774 Thursday March 16, 2017; 7:00 p.m. Lecture and Book Signing: After Appomattox: North Carolina Civil War Monuments Genealogical Society of Rockingham and Stokes Counties Madison/Mayodan Public Library 611 Burton St. Madison, NC 27025 336-548-6553 Sunday April 9, 2017; 2:30 p.m. Book Reading and Signing: The Love of Baseball: Essays by Lifelong Fans Ashe County Arts Council 303 School Ave. West Jefferson, NC 28694 336-846-2787 Thursday September 7, 2017; 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Lecture and Book Signing: After Appomattox: North Carolina Civil War Monuments Cumberland County Public Library 300 Maiden Lane Fayetteville, NC 28301 910-483-7727 x1345 Monday September 18, 2017; 6:00 p.m. Book Signing and Photography Sale: Art on the Mountain Ashe County Arts Council 303 School Ave. West Jefferson, NC 28694 336-846-2787 Saturday September 23, 2017; 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Lecture and Book Signing: After Appomattox: North Carolina Civil War Monuments BREMCO Community Room 2491 Old US Hwy 421 Boone, NC 28607 828-264-8894 Monday October 16, 2017; 4:30 p.m. |
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Memberships & Links
North Carolina Civil War MonumentsHighpointers North Carolina Humanities Council Speakers Bureau Muddy River Art Blue Ridge Media Web Design Blue Ridge Vacations Associated Artists of Winston-Salem Photos by Meta Macro Photography Guide |
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Douglas Butler
Author and Global Travel Photographer
5754 US Highway 221 NCrumpler, NC 28617-9403 |
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| Welcome | Photo Gallery | Contact Douglas Butler | |
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©2018 Douglas Butler - Author and Global Travel Photographer A Walk Atop America-Fifty State Summits and a Dream to Reach Them All Mountaineering Books - Hiking Books - Climbing Books |
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