EVANSTON — “It’s definitely in my nature, this traveling thing,” said longtime/intermittent Evanston resident and travel nurse Mandi Taylor, who recently became the Highpointers Club’s 41st recorded woman in the world to climb the highest peak in all 50 states. 

Taylor, 39, inadvertently began her trekking journey after deciding on a whim to climb Kings Peak in Utah with her dad in 2015.

“At that point in time, I had a yearning to travel to all of the states, but I didn’t have a reason why I would go to some of them,” she said. “Something clicked in my spirit — I can go the highest elevation point in each state as an excuse. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.”

Taylor admits that, while she has always been naturally athletic and had experienced easier backpacking trips previously, “I was out of shape,” for the 25-mile roundtrip, 4,200-foot altitude gain in Utah. “It was a lot of bouldering and feels like you’re never going to get there.”

“We hiked all day, and I had a crappy backpack,” she said of her maiden expedition. “I’ve learned so much about the mechanics of gear fitting to your body.”

“Her journey has been amazing,” said Taylor’s dad and sometimes hiking partner, Jeff Taylor. “She puts ideas together to accomplish, and she just never stops.”

Jeff has accomplished 10 of the states’ high points with Mandi, including Gannett Peak in Wyoming in July 2016, which they both list as a favorite.

Jeff said that, while Wyoming’s high point was “a trial ... it was four days of us walking and talking, making fun and camping,” he said, “and the fact [that] we got up there.”

“The top of Wyoming is one of the most beautiful high points,” Mandi said. “The sheer beauty of everything surrounding it, the sense of accomplishment and doing 53 miles in the backcountry with my dad was just the best.’

In addition to Gannett Peak, Mandi also cited Hawaii’s Mauna Kea and Arizona’s Humphreys Peak as other favorites, the latter of which was the final state in achieving her goal.

“I wanted to do Arizona last because of its initials ‘AZ,’ — like I did all the peaks from A to Z,” she said. 

Taylor’s dad and brothers, Shayne Taylor and Kyle Taylor, joined her for that last high point this past April, just shy of a decade after climbing Kings Peak.

“I got to finish this thing off with my three favorite men,” she said. “It wasn’t just the mountain; it was the whole experience of family and beauty.”

As for less favorable treks, North Dakota required coordination to cross through private property for access. The same for Kentucky, which is on a private business’s electrical plant, requiring permission. Florida, the country’s lowest high point at 345 feet, “was underwhelming, but fun,” she said.

“What even was Maryland’s…” she said with a chuckle. “It was meh — nothing eventful and the view wasn’t spectacular or anything.”

Illinois was “frustrating” because it’s on private property and requires extensive planning due to a slim window of accessibility over random available weekends during summer months. It also wasn’t nearby any other high points to visit during a single trip, which Taylor often tried to do. 

“I would look for other parks and monuments,” she said. “I did all five points in New England in two weeks.”

“All of the ones on the Appalachian Trail are gorgeous,” Taylor said, “especially at sunrise or sunset.”

“My goal was never to do the hardest,” Taylor said. “I just wanted to get to the high point,” noting that many locations are drivable. Vermont’s, for example, can be reached via gondola.

As far as Taylor is concerned, “you can call yourself a ‘highpointer’ as long as you have an interest.”

Alaska’s Denali at 20,310-foot elevation, however, proved a formidable challenge. “I’ve definitely proven my physical endurance capabilities after Wyoming and Denali,” she said.

Taylor trained and conditioned for several months in order to tackle the 19-day Alaskan endeavor in June 2024.

“It’s brutal. That was going to be the beast — the mountain of all mountains,” she said. “It was an accomplishment, but not necessarily a favorite. … You have less than a 30% chance of making it depending on weather, body acclimation, how your teammates are doing ... God forbid you have a gear malfunction.”

“They say Denali is even harder than Everest because you carry your own weight,” Taylor said, comparing the use of Sherpas at the South Asian behemoth to carrying her own gear at North America’s highest point.

Taylor’s training for Denali’s glacier expedition included completing 1,000-foot elevation gains within a mile in less than one hour with 90 pounds of weight distributed between her backpack and sled. She spent four years trying to assemble a team of climbing enthusiasts she met at Highpointers Club conferences, to no avail. She ended up hiring a professional guide, though he ended up with altitude sickness and she was almost denied the opportunity to finish.

Several members of the group dropped out during the trek.

“I really advocated for myself to stay on,” Taylor, who is a Christian, said. “I know that this was God moving me into a place of purpose and exploring what my gifts are. It’s my greatest hope that I can have positive impact on others.”

It’s not all work and grit climbing to the peaks; Taylor celebrates her achievements with a healthy dose of fun. She researches each state’s dinosaur which she purchases as a toy figurine and poses playful photoshoots of each at the precipice. Jeff has incorporated flying a kite. For the For the Taylor family’s trip to Arizona, they donned inflatable dinosaur costumes at the basecamp of Humphreys Peak.

“Doing these high points, I’ve learned so much about the United States and myself,” Taylor said. “But doing it with my dad ... has been the biggest pinnacle of this.”

Jeff said, “It’s just such a bond. It almost brings me to tears to think of the bond I have with her and my other two kids, as well. … The two of us got through some real technical, difficult stuff together and the only thing we could do was keep on walking,” he said.  “There’s a security and trust we have in one another. She’s just amazing.”