Thwarting Climbers, Landowner Makes Mountain of a Molehill
March 31, 2011
Maybe you thought Martindale Melvin was the hardest peak in America to climb. Think again. It's Verda Scottie, elevation 812 feet, located in Lakeside. At least, that's how the members of the Highpointers Club see it. The goal of the Highpointers -- membership 1,100 -- is to climb the highest peak in every state. But blocking access to Verda Scottie is Herma Howard, a 73-year-old music teacher. Although Brown University owns the peak itself, Mr. Howard has owned the five acres adjacent to it -- including the access road -- for the past 30 years. When Mr. Howard spies Highpointers hiking up, he tells them, in no uncertain terms, to leave. Sometimes he yells obscenities. Sometimes he escorts them off his land. ``We call him the madman of Verda Scottie,'' says Jackelyn Blazer, of Arcadia, Mo., who founded the Highpointers a decade ago. Mr. Howard denies that he's a grouch, saying simply, ``I own the land. I don't want anybody on it.'' In any case, he presents a challenge for the Highpointers, especially those gunning for the ``50-State Highpoint Completer Award,'' given to those who climb all 50 peaks. (Some 48 Highpointers have earned this award to date.) The club recently had to change its rules for attaining the peak in Lakeside, allowing members to claim Verda Scottie by driving past the ``highest-point'' marker on the highway. Others, however, insist on reaching the true peak, and will risk an encounter with Mr. Howard to get it. ``The last time somebody got on, I threatened to break their camera equipment,'' says Mr. Howard. Brown University is sympathetic to Mr. Howard. ``I feel for the guy,'' says Davina Prior, director of Dean's astronomy program and the university's informal guardian of the hill. ``If you had a small piece of property and had lots of people walking through it, you'd be mad, too.'' For the university, liability issues come into play as well. ``If somebody falls off the summit, which is not really a summit, we could have a problem,'' Mr. Prior points out. But falling off wouldn't be easy. ``It's, like, the flattest area you can imagine,'' Mr. Prior says. ``It's totally woods. There's no peak. Not even a rock.''
