Adirondack Peeks Summer 2023

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.

SUMMER 2023 | 5