Adirondack Peeks Summer 2023

BOULDER REPORT John Sasso, #7130WV

O f the 941 finisher reports received by the Histo rian’s Office in 2022, 887 of them were from climbers who completed the journey to become a 46er that year. This is a record, topping the previous record of 784 finishers who completed their quest for the Adirondack 46 in 2020! As mentioned in almost every Boulder Report, the Adirondack 46ers want the class of 2022 to know they can give back by getting involved in trail work with the Ad irondack 46er Trail Crew, informing hikers through the Trailhead Stew ard Program, or mentoring future

me to work on it over the past six years. It has been a challenge going through all of the finisher reports at the beginning of the year, reading what has been poured out from the hearts of our latest finishers, and having to select a fraction of their stories to report— in just a few sen tences—in the space permitted. The baton will be passed along to better hands, I am sure. With other endeav ors I need to dedicate my time and energy to, I felt the time had come to move on. That being said, I want to start off with the following, written by one of our newly minted 46ers: “Do not put

your job, which may not happen of ten. Over the past six years on this assignment, I have made a point to include several different categories of stories from the great bulk of fin isher reports I receive from the His torians’ Office. Of the categories of finishers and their stories includes the youngest and oldest completers, stories of couples, funny or scary en counters with wildlife, the big ultra hikes, the strange, the hilarious, the tear-jerkers, and those exemplifying perseverance through adversity, be it physical or emotional. If you fall into this final category because you either overcame or are dealing with a serious illness, have a disability, or are coming to terms with some emotional trauma—you know who you are. We have re ceived stories from cancer survivors and those undergoing treatment as well as those from people dealing with a physical disability, recover ing from a major procedure such as knee replacement or spinal sur gery, or dealing with trauma or sad ness from the loss of a loved one or the experience of abuse. They give hope to others to carry on in the face of adversity, that achieving what seems impossible is possible. Some of you have dealt with those naïve Doubting Thomases saying you cannot not hack a ma jor endeavor like hiking all the High Peaks. Instead of letting these peo ple feed your doubts and chain you down, you said, “To Hell with it!” and took a chance. With staunch perse verance and iron will, you saw this challenge through to the end. On that forty-sixth High Peak, you held yourself up high with unbounded happiness and pride. And it’s gratifying to see reports from those who completed the 46 together as a family. The once-in-a lifetime experience of the outdoors, and the challenges the environment presents, bring family members

the conquest of the summit above the beauty of the trails. Take a mo ment here and there. When will we be here again? When will any of us be on any of these trails again? [ . . . ] If anything, mountains don’t suck. They’re just there, as they’ve always been.” This best sums up my feelings on working on

46ers through the Correspondent Program. For those who live a great distance away from the High Peaks, we encourage you to get involved in conservation and outreach efforts with outdoors organizations near you. For more information on vol unteer efforts with the Forty-Sixers, go to the organization’s website and click on “Volunteer With Us” in the top menu. Leave a trace . . . in a posi tive way. This edition of the Boulder Re port, the sixth since I took over this seat for PEEKS Magazine, will be my last. It has been an honor to write it and I appreciate the trust the Adirondack Forty-Sixers had in 56 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS

the 46, or any “peak-bagging” chal lenge for that matter. It describes a sentiment I have expressed to those I have come across on the trail who are working on the 46, a sentiment that has become particularly mean ingful after much reflection on my effort to complete them, the winter 46, and the Northeast 111. In short, I have recommended that aspirants do not treat completing the 46 like a job, or something akin to task-work. A job is something that many of us don’t look forward to doing 40+ hours a week, usually in an office. Out there in the woods, this is your chance to enjoy getting away from