Adirondack Peeks Summer 2023

MAGAZINE OF THE ADIRONDACK FOR TY-SIXERS SUMMER 2023 Vol. LXI No. 1 PEEKS Adirondack

CONTENTS 2

President's Report | Laurie Rankin #5525WV

4 Editors' Ramble | Sherry Roulston #12512, Kim Morse #11497 5 TALKING POINTS A Conversation with New York State Guide Mary Glynn on Her NPT Winter Finish | Sherry Roulston #12512 with Mary Glynn #9576 14 FROM THE VAULT Reflections on a 50-Year-Old PEEKS Article | Tony Goodwin #211 17 POEM Untitled | Victoria Challingsworth #8789 18 Romance Map 20 Climbing White Face | W. H. H. Murray 24 MOUNTAIN VIGNETTES Grandmother and Grandson Complete the Forty-Six High Peaks Together Our Personal Trail Angel | Joe Cascio #13893 One Man’s Fifty-Four Year Journey to Becoming an Adirondack Forty-Sixer | Bob Hartheimer #14140 Becoming a Forty-Sixer | Maija Igbo #14795

Between the Mountains | Megan (Betteridge) Soja #14692 I'll Pick the Trail Less Traveled | Rob Van Avery #10248W Never Too Late | Carson Sorrell #14098

34 2022 Finishing Class & Sketches 56 BOULDER REPORT | John Sasso #7130WV

57 DEC NEWS 58 CLUB NEWS 62 IN MEMORIAM 63 IN THE PACK 64 POEM

Cry for the Land | Andy Caruso #5822

64 LETTER TO THE EDITORS

Front cover and inside cover photo credit: Sébastien Provost #14679

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

AdirondackPEEKS Volume LXI No. 1, Summer 2023 OFFICERS Laurie Rankin, President Brian Sutherland, Vice President Siobhán Carney-Nesbitt, Immediate Past President DIRECTORS Carla Denn, Winn Rea, Brant Schneider, Greg Sodaro, Becky Swem, Sheila Young APPOINTED OFFICERS Treasurer Philip Corell Recording Secretary Bill Lundy Outdoor Skills Workshop Coordinators Bill Lundy, Dan Auwarter Office of the Historian Lee Nesbitt, Siobhán Carney-Nesbitt Archivist Jane Meader Nye Trailmasters Michele Mccall, Brian Hoody, Mary Lamb, Mark Simpson, Curt Snyder, Doug Varney Website Liaison and Content Manager Joe Ryan Manuscript and photographic submissions for PEEKS should be mailed to Sherry Roulston at 24 Layman Lane, Plattsburgh, NY 12901 or emailed to peeks@adk46er.org. Orders and Payments Jim Houghtaling, Membership Coordinator, P.O. Box 4383, Queensbury, NY 12804 E-mail: treasurer@adk46er.org Outdoor Skills Workshop P.O. Box 126, Lake Placid, NY 12946 Volunteer Trailwork adk46ertrailwork@gmail.com For additional information on club activities and to register to become a 46er visit the club’s website, adk46er.org, or send an email to officeofthehistorian46 @gmail.com. Adirondack PEEKS is published twice a year by the Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc., a nonprofit organization. PEEKS is free to members in good standing. To receive a copy, register to become an Aspiring/Contributing member of the 46ers by creating a website account at adk46er.org. Adirondack PEEKS is printed by Walsworth Merchandising Dave Freeman Membership Jim Houghtaling Editors Kim Morse Sherry Roulston Editorial Offices

Experience/Sustainability/Generosity T hose three words exemplify what the Adirondack 46ers organization's purpose is and what our membership does. We gain important skills and experience while climbing the peaks. That experience results in a great love for the mountains and the communities that surround them. That love and experience encourages us to think about sustain ability on the trails, summits, and parking areas and as it pertains to the communities we live in and visit. The joy of summiting a high peak is equal to the joy of building up the treadway on a trail, cleaning up the roadside, or educating new users. Through the experiences we have, our desire to think sustainably turns into generosity both in terms of the amount of volunteer time our members provide and in terms of the generous monetary donations our members give to the organization. We turn those generous monetary donations into donations to other organizations around the area. In 2023 we are donating over $86,000 to various organizations who do work in the Adirondacks. It can be a formidable task to climb all 46 of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks and yet many have done so. In this issue of PEEKS you will see that we had a record year in 2022 with 887 finishers. That is our largest class ever and it sounds like a lot, but consider a few other numbers, please. Our Trailhead Stewards are stationed at two locations from mid May through Columbus Day, three days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In other words, we are not at all of the trailheads every day, 24/7. Yet at those two locations we saw over 15,000 visitors on those days alone! The stewards' generosity of time to provide accurate and appropriate educational information to visitors so that the trails, summits, trailheads and communities can sustain their visit is what we do. As you can see by the numbers, 887 finishers yet over 15,000 visitors in just the time we are at the trailheads means that many who visit are not ever planning on being 46ers. That does not mean that we cannot encourage them to recreate sustainably when they visit. Many visit iconic locations such as Indian Head and Fishhawk Cliffs, waterfalls, swimming holes, climbing areas, ski centers, bike trails, and museums or, perhaps, drive up Whiteface. We hope they are supporters of Adirondack communities and outdoor spaces and work toward sustainability, too. Finishing the 46 is a great accomplishment and we congratu late those who finished in 2022, but there are still formidable tasks to be done to protect those High Peaks that you love so much and the Adirondack communities that you either call home or visit often. Please give some thought to what you can do as a 46er and as a visitor; we have made every attempt to provide options so that you can contribute to being a generous 46er. There are tasks that you can do from home (Correspondent Program), at a trailhead (Stewarding), along a roadside (Adopt-a-Highway), at an educational workshop (OSW) or out on the trails (Trail Crew). Perhaps you can make a monetary donation over and above our $10 annual dues. All of these items contribute to the ongoing task of protecting the places we love. With your help, Experience, Sustainability, and Generosity will continue to exemplify our organization for years to come. Thank you. Laurie Rankin, #5525WV

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Photo credit: Sébastien Provost #14679

. . . the enjoyment of solitude, complete independence, and the beauty of undefiled panoramas is absolutely essential to happiness. —Bob Marshall #3 (Centennial Edition of The High Peaks of the Adirondacks, 2022) EDITORS' RAMBLE Sherry Roulston, #12512 Kim Morse, #11497

H appily, we write this column, Editors' Ramble, because it means we are ready to send our first issue off to the printer! Editing the magazine has been comparable to climbing the high peaks: joyful, educational, and challenging. Thankfully, having a reliable coeditor partnership has made all the difference. Finding ourselves working together has been akin to that chance encounter on the trail when you meet a hiker who becomes your steadfast companion. We’ve met weekly to ramble, inspire, and at times rope up and tackle challenging terrain or a steep slope on our way toward Learning Curve summit. We’ve explored so many insightful Adirondack stories from members—a mesh ranging from articles past to recent tales that represent the vast history of the Adirondack 46er organization. In a world of eight billion people, 14,800 46ers hold a unique perspective—one that comes with responsibility. When President Laurie Rankin reached out to see if we had a theme for the upcoming issue, it was no surprise to tell her that it was the same old theme that’s been weaving its way through the Forty-Sixer organization for over five decades—conservation. Preserving the mountains through responsible stewardship is our goal and our responsibility. Each of us has our personal story of finding the Adirondacks; however, a common thread among 46ers is our willingness to work hard in our personal pursuit of knowledge and happiness. No one knows these mountains like a 46er nor can anyone educate on and preserve them better than us. The best thing each of us can do is keep our membership active and contribute in a way that makes the most impact. The size of our diverse band of hikers combined with our authentic resources makes us a formidable force for the preservation of this pristine park which continues to draw us back to nature and to ourselves. Through the carefully selected contributions that make up this issue’s contents, we share others’ experiences as reinforcement of this strength across our membership. Although summer is finally here and the tomato plants are in the ground, we are excited to share a winter hiking tale with you. In Talking Points, New York State licensed guide, Mary Glynn, #9576, shares insights from her winter trudge over the Northville Placid Trail. Her takeaways provide guidance spanning all Adirondack

hiking seasons. In From the Vault, we flash back fifty years to a milestone in the history of the 46er organization when the group considered disbanding. A view from the perspective of hindsight is always educational, and Tony Goodwin, #211, offers an updated perspective on his 1973 PEEKS article, The Future of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers. Speaking of the past, a special thanks goes out to Terry Dwyer, #1226, for donating his library of past PEEKS issues dating back to 1973! Although these historical documents are available digitally on the 46er website, nothing compares to reading them in the sunlight versus on a computer screen! Are you crazy about maps? How about drawing them? Does your inner compass seek direction or desire to map a story? Illustrated maps creatively identify important and exciting landmarks, wonders of nature, historical features, and general points of interest. This issue shares three illustrated maps from the Adirondack region, one designed and drawn by Alice Morgan Wright—suffragist, animal welfare activist, and sculptor—along with Edward C. Hudowalski, #6. Please consider sharing your illustrations with PEEKS . Our compilation of Mountain Vignettes, which includes poems as well as Adirondack Murray’s 1877 short story, Climbing White Face, exemplifies the meaning of Bob Marshall’s quote above, and we’re sure you’ll agree that “undefiled panoramas [are] absolutely essential to happiness.” The sense of accomplishment that has come with completing this first issue has been as emotional as completing a 46er’s journey and we hope you enjoy it. Douglas Bradford, #13932, from Brooklyn, NY, sums up our feelings perfectly in his finisher’s essay: “Sitting on Giant looking out over the sea of peaks, it felt more like I was starting something rather than finishing it, like a thorough introduction.” Ramble on, Sherry and Kim

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TALKING POINTS Sherry Roulston, #12512 with Mary Glynn, #9576

Winter, as you know, is not an easy time, nor is it expected to be. One has to gear one’s mind to Winter and accept that she’ll have to try harder to think she can, then go for it! —Grace Hudowalski, #9 (Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc., 2011)

All photos courtesy of Mary Glynn.

A Conversation with New York State Guide Mary Glynn on Her NPT Winter Finish

I t’s Thursday morning, February 23, and Kim Morse and I are meeting up with fellow 46er, Mary Glynn #9576, a New York State licensed guide, to discuss her recent winter finish of the Northville-Placid Trail, NPT (W). Mary has been working as a licensed guide for the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) since 2019 and moved into the Education Programs Manager position in April 2022. Both Kim and I have hiked several miles on the NPT; however, these treks were not during the winter, so we’re excited to pellet Mary with questions. I’ve participated in a few guided hikes with Mary over the years. She’s an unassuming guide: tall, slender, youthful, with a soothing demeanor. She is also a Leave No Trace Master Educator, a Wilderness First Responder, a Certified Interpretive Guide, and certified both in Mental Health Wilderness First Aid and by the American Canoe Association. I highlight her accreditations to emphasize the level of her training and experience as a preface to this interview. Mary is not here to encourage hiking the NPT in the winter. In fact, she discourages the idea

and cautions us not to think of it as a fun, magical hike, however beautiful the pictures look. She says there is a lot of misery and danger, which could lead to life or-death consequences if a hiker is inexperienced or unprepared. There’s no room for error. For those of you who are not familiar with the NPT, it’s a 134-miles-long trail connecting the town of Northville to the village of Lake Placid through the most remote parts of the Adirondacks encompassing West Canada Lake, Cold River, Spruce Lake, and the Cedar Lakes area. The trail crests the ridge to the east of Blue Mountain and Tirrell Pond at its highest elevation of 3008 feet. George D. Pratt, the first president of the ADK and an officer of Standard Oil, was the principal funder of the trail, which began construction in 1922 and was completed in 1924. ADK later donated the trail to the State of New York in 1927 and today the trail is overseen by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) with help from numerous volunteer efforts.

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* * * SR (Sherry Roulston): Mary, tell us about your career path which led you to become an Adirondack guide. MG (Mary Glynn): I started working for ADK in 2014 while still in college. I was a seasonal member of the Loj crew, so I was making salads, changing beds, taking drink orders at dinner, and loved that experience mainly because I was living on the Heart Lake property. After finishing college, I worked for a wilderness therapy program in Vermont for four years. It was through this job that I began backpacking and some winter camping. While I was living in Vermont, I also became a volunteer trip leader for the Northville Placid Trail Chapter of ADK, guiding trips on sections of the NPT. And then in May of 2019 I came back to ADK to be the Outdoor Skills Coordinator as a New York State licensed guide and currently I’m the Education Programs Manager. SR: When did you start hiking mountains, and what or who influenced you? MG: I got started on this all on my own. I ran cross country in high school, which got me into the woods. And a funny story is I went to a running camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid when I was in high school. There were a couple of days while at camp that we would go hiking in the high peaks. Those were my favorite days! I just loved those hiking days so much that I probably should have gone to a different camp where we hiked every day. I just didn’t have anybody in my life that got me out in the woods as a kid. I didn't grow up hiking or camping; it's something I discovered and grew into on my own. And I like that; it's something about myself that I know to be the most true. At this running camp, they split up the sixty kids into four different groups. I was assigned to one

something and wanting to prove I could. SR: Well you have climbed the high peaks and a lot more! I’m glad the running camp motivated you to do more hiking and prove your capabilities. Anne LaBastille wrote that the day she began to rebel against the unfair standards and prejudices against women was the day her mother told her that she couldn’t go hiking in the woods! MG: I loved reading Anne LaBastille’s Woodswoman books. Her personal story of building her own cabin in the Adirondacks with the help of two local carpenters is inspiring. It had no electricity or plumbing so she bathed in the lake, chopped logs for her wood stove, and carried groceries from town in her boat or her sled if the lake was frozen over. I’ve started reading Martha Reben lately. She is near and dear to my heart. I went out to Weller Pond this fall to find her campsite and had a magical weekend there. I live in an old cure cottage in Saranac Lake too. These women didn’t get me started but they've gotten me to love the Adirondacks more. SR: I love Reben, too! Her book, The Healing Woods, is a favorite. I discovered her while I waited for a ride after hiking Seward and was sitting on a bench beside Flower Lake. I saw the bright blue historical sign in her honor: Wilderness Lady, Martha Reben! I took a picture and later bought her book! MG: I’m fascinated with Adirondack history and thinking about what the mountains looked like long ago. What was it like to summit mountains wearing a dress or a leather suit or without Gore-Tex or trails? I would love to go back in time and see the woods before the logging and fires and clear cutting. The Adirondack history is rich, and it’s protected because people saw what was happening to it. I also like to think of Herb Clark, the first 46er, and guiding the Marshall brothers. I would love to see what those trips were like and just how different they were compared to today.

I didn't grow up hiking or camping; it's something I discovered and grew into on my own. And I like that; it's something about myself that I know to be the most true.

coach’s group who told us we would be hiking some big mountains. After he overheard me telling another camper at breakfast that I hadn't really hiked before, just Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain near Plattsburgh, this coach told me I would be better off in another group. This other group was led by an older coach who liked to shuffle up to Indian Head or some of the smaller mountains, not a high peak though. And that was it—I was moved to the “slow” group. They didn't give me a chance. I still had fun and loved it, but I was really mad. I won't say this all started out to spite that first coach, but, you know, I did start hiking more with that in mind and then it just snowballed. I guess a little bit [of my motivation] has come from being told I couldn't do

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headed northbound with my cousin Parker. It was his first backpacking trip, which in hindsight shouldn’t have been the entire NPT. We hiked the trail for nine days and it rained for eight of them—like, really rained, poured most of each day. One day he wanted to give up. I ended up adjusting the itinerary a bit and added an extra day before he could reach cell service and call his mom. We hiked just six miles and took some time to really dry out our gear and rest. It did the trick. He was fine and ready to go after that and we finished the trail. Even though it poured continuously, I still had the time of my life and immediately became a volunteer trip leader for the NPT. To this day, I’ve spent so many days and nights on it that I guess it speaks to the level of affection I have for the trail. SR: What motivated you to do the NPT in the winter and did you have a mentor? We have an outline of your itinerary and who you hiked with, so feel free to reference that if you like. MG: I had done my trip leader training with Diana Niland, the outings chair for the NPT Chapter at the time. After that we started going

SR: I've read that Bob Marshall was persistent in correcting history and wanted it known that Herb Clark was more than just a guide, he was their friend. I think about the guides I’ve hiked with, and friendships do tend to grow while exploring nature and working as a team. I would imagine as a guide you’ve met lots of people and made lots of friends. MG: Oh yeah! That's one of the most rewarding parts of this job: seeing them grow as hikers and finish their 46 or the NPT. I guided 23 of the 46 peaks for one man and was with him for his finish. We went out to dinner after to celebrate. SR: And you are embedded in their memories forever too! It’s a special relationship. So, when did you start climbing the 46? Was it after that running camp? MG: Yes, it would have been sometime in high school, but I didn't set out with the goal to hike all 46. I remember hiking Phelps one day and it was only later when someone referenced Phelps as a high peak that I realized I had climbed one. So, I hiked a few more without realizing they were high peaks and then in college I finally bought a guidebook and started thinking more about it. Still, I didn’t think I would hike them all. 46—that’s a lot of mountains! And then I had a third of them done and just kept going and finally, I realized that I was going to finish them all and become a 46er! SR: Do you have a fun memory of finishing? MG: I finished on Haystack in July of 2016. I was living in Vermont at the time and drove over to camp at Panther Gorge for the night and summited early the next morning. On top I celebrated with a dehydrated ice cream sandwich! Then I heard a familiar voice coming up from little Haystack and it ended up being a coworker, friend I hadn’t seen in a while, guiding a group of kids. It was great! SR: When did you first hike the NPT? MG: I first hiked in June of 2016

on hikes together and became good friends. Diana had this dream of getting a group together and hiking the trail in winter and she asked me to be her assistant and help plan it. We put out applications and had people apply. We were looking for specific skill sets and ended up with a team of six. We assigned tasks based on these skills. One person was designated communications leader, one navigation, one medical, one photographer, and so on; we all had our roles to play. Unfortunately, as my itinerary notes, that trip quickly changed course and didn’t come to completion. It took two days to retrace our trail back to the nearest trailhead. SR: Yes, and your itinerary indicates that two hikers dropped out during that first attempt, and one ended up with moderate frostbite on two toes. Was anyone with you through this entire winter challenge? MG: No one has hiked the entire trail with me. My cousin Parker has done all but one section with me. It's been a mosaic of people from that original trip or other friends that have strong winter skills. SR: There's no winter NPT patch

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for this, right? MG: No, there's not one and I really hope there doesn't become one. A winter NPT patch could encourage others to do this trip without proper skills or preparation. Winter backpacking is much more demanding than a day hike in the winter. I would hate to see someone get seriously injured—or worse—out there. SR: Let’s get into some of your planning and what it consisted of. The first attempt must have helped you identify challenges and help with planning for the next sections. MG: We spent about a year planning for this hike. There were a lot of logistics to work through. We had to acquire gear and we had to figure out how many redundancies we were going to have and who was going to have them, as far as gear goes. One of the biggest challenges we planned for was crossing West Stoney Creek, which is 90 feet wide. We had bimonthly conference calls. We planned for food and gear drops, as well as rides. We pooled all our resources in terms of who knew someone with a cabin nearby that could store our food or transport us here and there. Our goal was to go twelve miles a day. However, when we hit deep snow, we quickly realized that was not sustainable. It took all we had to do 10 miles and make camp before dark. Trail markers were often covered with snow and no longer reflective. There are parts of the NPT that aren't well marked to begin with. No one had been out there, so everything's just a flat blanket of snow. It was really hard to see and find the trail even in the daylight. SR: Did your previous guided trips on this trail bring some comfort and familiarity to you? MG: Yes, definitely! I can't imagine hiking the trail in winter without having passed through each section many, many times before. Often, I would schedule a group trip in the fall before I planned to do that section in the winter. So, I could scout out the recent conditions and plan accordingly. Even since my first thru-hike in 2016, a lot of the trail has changed. There's been some small reroutes, and some sections have been flooded.

of the reasons we chose to start from the South. We decided our best option was to just strip down and cross in old sneakers. We departed from the arch in downtown Northville with the goal of reaching Woods Lake campsite, which is right by the road. So, when we got to the crossing, we all took our pants off and hiked across in our underwear. We got pretty lucky. It was like 34 degrees and sunny, so it was about as good as it was going to get. We had some spots where it creeped up above our knees, just high enough where a moving water source gets to be a little more dangerous; high enough to knock you off balance carrying heavy packs.

Normally in the summer you can either step on the rocks and keep your feet dry or wear Crocs and cross in ankle deep water—even then it’s pretty wide and takes some coordination. A friend met us at the road near the campsite and took our wet sneakers. It was one of the scariest aspects of hiking the trail in

One night, the stars were out. It was so clear and bright. We were getting ready to go to bed and we stood outside the lean-to and saw the stars. . . . We turned our headlamps off and just stood there staring up at them all. What a view.

the winter because you’re four miles from the nearest road, in your underwear, and it’s cold—exhilarating, but very cold. SR: Once in late fall, I took my boots and socks off, tied them together, and put them around my neck to cross the floating logs while headed to Gray and Skylight. Don't you know, one foot did go down, all the way and I touched the muddy bottom. I realized later

Bridges have fallen in and bridges have been built. So, it was good to scout in the fall and identify the challenging areas—like the flooded area north of Carry Lean-to. I would not advise anyone to do the NPT in the winter without doing it at least once in the summer. SR: How did you plan for the West Stoney Creek crossing? MG: So that was on our first day of the hike and one

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MG: Every night we were exhausted. A typical day was highs in the 20s and lows in the single digits or teens, which was what I hoped for, so things weren’t melting or unbearably cold. We did get a couple of days above freezing, which was nice. During one section, we had a forty-eight-hour period that didn't get above 5 degrees. We had a couple of nights that were -10, and another close to -20. I was warm in my sleeping bag, but everything else is so hard to do when it's that cold. It was mostly, get to camp right at dusk, set up your gear, eat your food, get in your sleeping bag, and stay in it for about 12 hours. There was no hanging around, no drinking whiskey by the fire. SR: What were your meals like? MG: Mostly dehydrated dinners just so we didn't have to do dishes. I didn't really care what it was as long as it was hot, and I could eat it. Hot chocolate was nice to have and a cup of coffee in the morning, something warm to get me started. You know other trail staples no matter the time of year, chocolate, cheese, salami, summer sausage, something that will provide protein, salt, and makes you happy. A big favorite of mine is a Stewart's apple fritter. SR: Is there any concern with bears or protecting your food? MG: There are no bear can requirements in the wintertime. However, that doesn't mean they still might not wander through. A more prominent concern in the winter is the mini-bears, or the squirrels and chipmunks, that might like to nibble on your food and contaminate it. You still want to protect it somehow; I used a bear can or an Ursack. Last winter, hiking through the West Canada Lake section around West Lake and across the bridge to South Lake, we spotted very fresh bear tracks crisscrossing the trail. It was dusk, with snow gently falling, and the tracks hadn't been filled in yet. Bears are not true hibernators. They're winter sleepers, so they will wake up and wander around looking for a little snack on a warm winter day. The risk is significantly lower, but it's still there. I definitely slept with one eye open that night thinking of my food. SR: What wildlife sightings did you have and were there any differences between summer and winter? MG: We saw tons of moose scat and tracks around Moose Pond heading towards Duck Hole Lean-to. Between Shattuck Clearing and Long Lake there was more moose scat and all kinds of critter tracks. It looked like a city sidewalk covered in various imprints in the snow; however, none of these were human tracks. The trail was a critter highway. Sometimes, for miles at a time, I would follow bobcat tracks right down the middle of the trail. They'd cross the bridges and follow the trail just like us. They know the path of least resistance. I love seeing that! We saw huge piles of yellow snow, which I imagine was the moose, and we saw where a moose had bedded down for the night, but we didn't see a moose. They're out there though! In the summer, you see less evidence of animals unless you actually

that I could have seriously cut my foot and should have planned better. That water was cold! MG: We decided sneakers were better than barefoot because you could slam your foot on the rocks and your feet could go numb. The sneakers gave us a little extra grip too. We figured it was too deep to wear trash bags and too wide. The bags would rip by the time we made it across. SR: Is there anything else you want to comment on regarding other sections that were extremely challenging and took more planning? MG: The crossing at Ouluska Brook, right by the lean-to, where the trail crosses, was a mixture of snow, ice, and high water. It was pretty serious, but we were able to go upstream and find a spot to cross with trash bags over our boots. Also, when it was my turn to cross the ice bridge over Jessup River, the bridge collapsed, and I flooded one of my boots. Luckily, we were close to camp, and I was able to get a dry sock on and a plastic bag over my foot and get my boot back on. Another challenge was near Spruce Lake in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness; we swam through hip-deep snow. I was breaking trail on that section. And I’d pop up on an icy crust of snow and then take a step and sink in, up to my hips. It was like swimming while getting blasted by thirty-mile-an-hour winds off the lake. That was a miserable, rough period. SR: Did you sleep good on those nights? What was the average temperature?

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other. Not knowing each other and each other's communication styles became an issue. You know it’s one thing to go on a day hike with someone you don’t know; however, it’s entirely different on a hike like this. So, I wish we had done some team building hikes before setting out on the NPT. SR: That is great advice. What was your hiking schedule like? MG: We tried to be on the trail by daybreak and off at sunset. So, we typically were up by 5:30–6 having something hot to drink, packing up, and hitting the trail by 7. If the goal was to be in camp by 4 p.m., I compared the distance we traveled that day to the distance for the next and factored in the upcoming terrain conditions to calculate how long it would take us and what time we needed to start. That's where it was helpful knowing the trail so well and knowing which sections were going to be tough, because some days we did sleep in some and that was really nice. SR: Do you have a favorite section, maybe different for summer, winter? Or are they the same? MG: My favorite section is the West Canada Lakes Wilderness. I love going through West Lake and South Lake. It's so beautiful. I loved going through there last year too with the snow falling—I was just nervous about the bear prints! However, this past year when I did the Cold River section, it took the prize for the most beautiful winter section. It helped that we had two days of abundant sunshine. Being at Duck Hole with the frosted mountains in the background and bright blue sky overhead, first thing in the morning was amazing. And then to follow the river the whole day and watch the light reflecting off the water and the snow is beautiful. It's also the most remote section, too, which was scary, but also satisfying, too. SR: Tell us about your equipment and gear. Any takeaways you might have? MG: I am not a gearhead, so I have gear that works and that’s good enough for me. I’ve used a couple of

MG: Historically, people tend to hike from the South so they can have a big party in Lake Placid when it’s finished. And that's obviously not what happened. We focused more on logistics, road access, where

happen to see one. One thing that was noticeably different between winter and summer was the level of stillness. Everything was quieter, not just because of the lack of seeing other

A winter NPT patch could encourage others to do this trip without proper skills or preparation. Winter backpacking is much more demanding than a day hike in the winter.

to leave a car and the terrain itself. Any sections involving Wakely Dam made more sense to start there instead of end there because there was nowhere to leave cars. Again, the plan was to go from Long Lake to Lake Placid. I wanted to have all my friends join me at the trailhead and celebrate at the end. But in the end, it made more sense to go southbound towards Duck Hole and get the higher elevation over with at the beginning so we could cruise down to Long Lake rather than have the hardest day at the end. Duck Hole was rugged. It worked better for shelters too. So, we sacrificed with the first group of six, we were focused on having a team, just a team of capable people interested in doing a thru hike. We didn't prioritize getting to know each other better before the trip. We had conference calls, but I'd only been in the woods with Diana, and I think the lack of “team dynamics” affected us a lot. On a trip like that, things are bound to happen, everyone's going to have a bad day, or a bad moment, and everyone needs to take care of each the celebration at the trailhead for the best and safest route. SR: Were there any other lessons learned from previous attempts that you would like to share? MG: I think originally,

hikers, but not hearing animals at night as much as you would in the summer. Everything just slows down, maneuvering snow and ice, water crossings, and moving more slowly. It felt intimate knowing we were the first humans to pass through the area in months. I saw my name signed in a trailhead from a September guided trip, and only a couple of people had been in there since and then it’s me signing in again. That feels incredibly special. SR: What factors helped you decide on the direction of your route? And does this change from winter to summer?

Mary Glynn and Parker LeClair

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different backpacks over the years, but I mostly used a ULA Catalyst 75L and I love it. And I really liked my down booties. I could run out of the lean-to in the middle of the night without having to get my sweaty boots on. I wore a pair of Baffin Borealis boots which I love for these trips; they’re great with a removable liner. They only make them for men, so if you have a women’s size 9, you will fit in their smallest men’s boot. I love them so much I even wrote the company a letter recommending they make the boots for women. They are great for winter backpacking. I used a bag graded for minus-20 degree—and that's the survival rating, not a comfort rating—and I brought two sleeping pads: a closed cell, accordion-style mat and an inflatable Therma-A Rest pad. Based on their R-value for insulation, I needed both. Keep in mind in the winter, just bringing an inflatable can be risky if something goes wrong and it punctures. It’s there for comfort, but also to keep you warm from the ground. Having both is security and it’s not much more weight to carry the accordion and you can sit on it for lunch. SR: Which map or GPS did you use? MG: I always carry a physical map. I love maps, and I used the National Geographic for this hike. I don't love that one because it misses a lot of the campsites, but I like it because it shows the whole picture, more than just the trail itself. SR: How about a personal locator beacon? MG: Yeah, we had a Garmin Inreach with us, so we were able to communicate with emergency contacts, ride pickups. We were strict about using it, no personal texting or anything. No one was checking in, asking what’s for dinner, are you doing well, are you cold? There was no time for that, and you can't take your fingers out of your gloves and easily type anyway. So, it was only on a need-to-know basis, mostly just where we were camping. We did turn on the tracking so people could follow us throughout the day,

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MG: In the high peaks there is close to 100 acres of fragile alpine ecosystem on our mountains. We also have lakes, meadows, wetlands, streams, and wildlife that can’t survive without our efforts to leave no trace. It’s important to stay on designated trails and not trample on vegetation, and to camp in the designated campsites. It takes planning to ensure that you will make it to a campsite and that there will be enough room for everyone. Planning ahead is essential. Although the NPT is less traveled than the high peak trails, I still see trash left at campsites and waste not properly disposed of, like pistachio shells thrown in fire pits. Sometimes things are compostable under the right conditions, but not in the Adirondack woods. If it doesn’t grow in the Adirondacks, it creates either a social or an environmental impact. If you’re just leaving your trash behind for the critters, they may get sick because their bellies can’t digest it. It also draws animals to the lean tos which is harmful for them and can spread diseases to us. Once I was hiking through the West Canada Lakes section during the spring and spotted smoke coming up from a lean-to’s fire pit. I decided to just pop in and chat with the campers and behold one of my favorite views. The smoke was billowing out of the fire pit and there was no one there. If you’re familiar with the South Lake Lean-to, the water is probably 10 feet in front of the lean-to! My friends and I put out the fire with plenty of water and couldn’t find anyone around. This is a remote section of the trail; if that lean-to had caught on fire, no firetruck would be able to get to it. Campers need to know if fires are legal where they are camping and how to extinguish them correctly with water and stirring the ashes until they are cold to the touch. In these remote areas it is even more important for us to practice Leave No Trace and help steward the land we visit. I'm so glad I was there. That year I put out two other fires just like it that were left unattended. SR: We tend to envision having fires when we’re out camping. But it can be challenging to harvest dry wood and it's just as enjoyable without it. I’ve noticed when people do start fires, they tend to wander off; they don't sit there long enough to enjoy it. So, it's a big consideration. MG: I’ll bring a few tea candles with me. They weigh almost nothing. Lighting those in the evening when you're sitting around chatting is so cozy, creates that ambience and you don't have to keep feeding it! You don't have to look for wood. You can put it out easily too. I’ll only build a fire if I really need one, which isn’t often because I always have extra dry clothes, plenty of layers, and a headlamp. SR: Do you have any last thoughts or recommendations regarding hiking the NPT or the Adirondacks in general? MG: I spent a year planning the original thru hike with several other people who collectively have

which then caused quite a concern when we started hiking south out of West Canada Creek Lean-to when we had decided to turn around on the first attempt. SR: What was your emergency planning like? MG: We always had an extra day of food with us in case we got delayed for any reason. We knew our bail points and we checked in with each other each day to ensure we were all on the same page and ready to go further into the wilderness. We had the Garmin, and just kept tabs on our itinerary, making sure we didn’t overextend ourselves. We focused a lot on stream crossings. You don’t think about them when you’re hiking in the summer. But in the winter, there’s a lot of them and they're all covered up and you have to figure out the best way to cross. Is it frozen solid? Is it deep? Is it a rock? Is it a rock covered in ice? The water levels are typically higher in the winter too, so it slows you down. SR: I've never used that trash bag strategy. I would think that stepping on an icy area would be treacherous with a plastic bag under your boot. Is that the case? MG: Oh yeah, you don't have any grip, so you're really picking your spots carefully. Most things are covered in ice and then a layer of snow. So, the snow kind of gives you that grip. You're really picking what’s not too deep, but also where you can wedge your foot, so it won't slip out. We spent a lot of time trying to cross little streams. SR: We’ve talked about wildlife tracks and the beautiful morning at the Cold River Lean-to. Do you have another favorite memory? MG: One night, the stars were out. It was so clear and bright. We were getting ready to go to bed and we stood outside the lean-to and saw the stars. They were right on top of us. It was amazing. We turned our headlamps off and just stood there staring up at them all. What a view. SR: What do you look forward to at the end of a long, hard hike? MG: Cotton! Just getting home in a climate controlled space, wearing a cotton t-shirt and climbing into bed with cotton sheets! Yeah! And making a hot cup of coffee without waiting around in the cold with my stove. SR: You can really appreciate the small things in life more. MG: Absolutely—a hot shower or a light switch or getting fresh water that I don't have to wander down to the stream and filter to drink. I think it keeps it fresh for me. SR: I know you're a steward of the woods, you're a Leave No Trace Master Educator. What were your thoughts while on the trail in winter?

I didn't enter into this lightly; it took a lot of serious planning.

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decades of outdoor experience. I personally have been guiding for seven years now within various capacities. For field days alone, I think I'm over 365 days of being in the woods. This was not my first winter backpacking trip. I came to this trip with so much experience. I'm a professional guide who teaches

When I filled in as a summit steward and folks would celebrate their 46th on the top, I'd say “Congratulations! Now what are you going to do to give back?” That’s what being a 46er is all about, isn’t it?

is all about, isn’t it? If you've got time, volunteer. If you don't have time, maybe you've got money and you can donate to organizations. If you don't have either of those things, it's pretty easy to just talk to people, talk to your friend about starting to hike and direct them to Leave No Trace’s website (lnt.org). Take a course with the Adirondack 46ers, or with me at the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK)! References Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc. (2011). Heaven up-h’isted-ness! Author. Adirondack History Museum. Anne LaBastille. https:// ahmexhibits.omeka.net/exhibits/show/remarkable-women-of the-adiron/anne-labastille

winter survival skills to people. My point is, I didn't enter into this lightly; it took a lot of serious planning. It also took me bailing on multiple sections and having to put my ego aside. This is what I want people to get out of this story. It was hard to turn around during our first attempt. I had never turned around on a hike until then. I'm someone that likes to finish what I start, and it was really hard for me to make that decision because I wanted to keep going, but I knew as a group we needed to head to safety. It was also a good experience because it made it so much easier the next year when I had to bail again. I'd already done it. The Band-Aid had been ripped off. Remember: by making it out safe and alive, you can always hike another day. That became the focus. And if I got to finish this winter hike, that would just be the icing on the cake. Lastly, I would say that it’s important to give back. The Adirondacks have done so much for me, so I want to do everything in my power to protect this place, and right now that is as an educator. When I filled in as a summit steward and folks would celebrate their 46th on the top, I'd say “Congratulations! Now what are you going to do to give back?” That’s what being a 46er

Yes, I’m a woodswoman, from my heart to my soul, to my bare feet and boot bottoms. —Anne LaBastille (Adirondack History Museum)

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FROM THE VAULT Tony Goodwin, #211

The Future of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers (Spring 1973) Below is a reprint of a 1973 PEEKS article by Tony Goodwin #211: The Future of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers. This article was written in response to a questionnaire that members were asked to complete to determine if the organization should disband after 1,000 members or continue in a new direction. Following this article are the results of the questionnaire, as well as selected responses to the questionnaire that were published in the same issue. A fter reading the Fall issue of Adirondack PEEKS and responding to the Questionnaire, I was prompted to write this article because I feel cant contribution to the preservation of the wilderness. There are two basic enemies of wilderness:

development and misuse. There are many groups in New York State who would like to see the Adirondack made more accessible to their own particular form of use, whether it be snowmobiles, trail bikes or mo tor homes. Whether we like it or not, these groups are organized and can only be fought by equal organiza tion. Because of its larger size the Adirondack Moun tain Club must carry most of the load in protecting the wilderness, but the 46ers have the capacity, as a group, to help lessen or perhaps stop these dan gers. Very often the issue becomes one of actual use of the woods by hikers. The ADK is accused of want ing to "lock up" the woods for their own select few. The 46ers can make a definite claim to wider use of the woods (can even exhibit herd paths as evidence) and thus neatly complement the activities of the ADK. Another threat to the wilderness is misuse by inconsiderate hikers and campers. Their number is bound to increase in the next few years at a great rate and the increase will consist mainly of neophytes who will have to be shown how to behave in the woods. The pamphlet Mountain Manners is an excel lent start at education as are some of the camporees the 46ers have organized. "Ditt" Dittmar in Fall 1972 PEEKS wrote of his hope that regulations such as are found in other areas won' t start in the Adirondacks, but the day may come when the Department of Envi ronmental Conservation will feel the necessity of re quiring fire permits in some of the high use locations. The issuing of fire permits in many areas is simply an attempt to get personal contact with campers and re mind them of responsibilities in preserving the woods ( carry in, carry out, etc.). Guidance given by the 46ers could make sure that these permits remain educa tional and not become harassment. Stringent regula tions are usually implemented as a result of extreme abuse. It would be greatly to the credit of the 46ers if through their educational efforts they could pre vent such misuse from happening in the first place.

that too little has been said about the possible good that the 46ers could do in the future. The emphasis recently seems to have been on expressing guilt feel ings over unleashing a monster (peak bagging) that now cannot be controlled and somehow thinking that all can be made right again if we simply cut our activi ties off at the conveniently round number of 1000. The issue of wilderness use, as all issues unfortunately are, is much too complex to yield to simple solutions. As Steve Allen pointed out at the JBL meet ing in September, the camp groups will probably just create their own club" and continue to lead large groups over the peaks, using the exalted goal of mem bership in the club to give direction to the summer's hiking program. One should not single out the camp groups, however, because the convenient numbers of "46" and "4000” ft.) would doubtless attract climb ers anyway (as the Marshalls were once attracted) and now that these peaks have been described and pop ularized, it is a game that will be hard to stop. If the 46ers were to disband tomorrow, before even reaching 1000, it would still be many years before the expres sion "Forty- Sixer" lost its magic and stopped being an inducement to climb certain peaks. It would be many more years before those rainy Adirondack afternoon explorations of cottage bookshelves would not turn up copies of The Adirondack Forty-Sixers and encour age yet another generation to take a random scoot up Redfield or Santanoni. The intent of the publication of The Adirondack Forty-Sixers was to encourage others to join our particular form of madness and now it seems that we want to call a halt just as we are beginning to attract the sort of people that we hoped to reach. The seemingly large figure of 1000 is only slight ly larger than that of the Town of Keene ( not exactly an example of overpopulation), and at our present rate of growth we will not reach 2000 members for ten or twelve years. I feel that the 46ers in that time can make signifi

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In the next fifty years all of our open spaces from the Brooks Range to Central Park will have to ab sorb a tremendous amount of use and stave off many threats to their present state. It is hoped that they remain much as they are now. Preservation will not happen all by itself though and groups like the 46ers have a real responsibility to make sure that wise decisions are made regarding our precious open land.

Discussions of the future of the 46ers should emphasize the positive contributions that we could make and not the real or imagined harm done in the past. A group of people selected by the perhaps ar tificial, but still valid, criteria of having climbed 46 Adirondack peaks can make a major contribution in experience and knowledge to any plan for the maintenance and preservation of the wilderness.

We have too many "positive" things going for us now to think of disbanding. Rather, I believe the organization should be "turned around" with a strong thrust on good conservation and environmental improvement, with an opportunity for new members to qualify - after completion of a certain number of hours of conservation work, plus their climbs, of course. Glenn W. Fish, #536 I feel there is great value in continuing the 46er organization, even though it might be necessary to make a complete about face for some purposes. There is a mental, spiritual and physical benefit to be derived from living with the mountains. The idea of there being an organization, such as the 46ers, gives to some people a reason for being, when they may have lost their other objectives. The idea of the 46 is a catalyst which produces a much wider appreciation of the mountains. Bob Starbuck, #156 All that is good in the 46er program will be carried on by others in the State. That for which we have been criticized will die a natural death. We have been guilty of loving ourselves too much, and the mountains and forests too little. Orra Phelps, #47 Selected Responses to the Questionnaire

Among the 46ers I have talked to this year at one time or another, I doubt there was a single one who seriously thought we could walk away from our responsibilities as an active recreational club that could easily add a dimension of public service in the environmental issue to our " reason - to -be." The younger members are wholeheartedly imbued with the environmental ethics and are prepared to back up their ideals with action. I suspect it is some of the older, less-active 46ers who may entertain thoughts of the Club disbanding. Similarly, when I hear that Peter Paine or someone else has argued that the 46ers should dissolve, it is the earlier 46er image they are objecting to, not the constructively motivated 46ers of the 1970s who CAN and WILL, I am convinced, be a positive force in protecting the High Peaks. [. . . ] These people, then, feel climbing the 46 is the first step; the initiation, so to speak. Then the job, once they are members, is to DO something for their beloved peaks, which now suffer from over -use and abuse. It is these people, the ones who really are the 46ers, that I want to direct into constructive activities of the sort we have only dallied in in the past. E. H. Ketchledge, #507V 46er President (1975–1978) The end of patch seeking will lighten the burden of the woods. Steven Resnick, #697

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