Adirondack Peeks Summer 2024

TALKING POINTS Sherry Roulston, #12512, with Laurie Rankin, #5525WV

All important ideas must include the trees, the mountains, and the rivers. —Mary Oliver

All photos courtesy of Laurie Rankin

I n early March, Kim and I met up with Laurie Rankin, the president of the Adirondack 46ers. Laurie tells us she’s recovering from a cold she caught while on a sledding date with her five youngest “grand baby girls,” ages 2 to 11. Although the kids were sick, they were undeterred and came to visit anyway. Laurie says they were very deter mined, and all had a great day: “We take them out all the time.” Obviously, visiting grandma means special times outdoors! Laurie is the thirty-second president of the orga nization and the ninth female to hold this position since it was founded in 1948—May 30 to be exact. If you search Google, you will discover that Laurie is featured on sever al mountaineering podcasts and has been the subject of articles recognizing her community service and volunteer efforts. She’s not your average grandma; she’s more like a grandmother on steroids. Laurie is a Northeast 115er and among the first to become a Winter NE 115er. She is also a Rip Van Winkle gridder of 420 mountains, a director of the New York State Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Asso ciation, a New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Famer, and A Conversation with Laurie Rankin, #5525WV

a summer/winter Catskill 3500 Club member—in fact, she is currently a Catskill 3500 hike leader and was the Club’s secretary for 17 years. Laurie’s hiking accomplishments also include having completed the Northville–Placid Trail, the Cranberry Lake loop, the French Louie loop, and at least 27 rounds of the 3500 mountains. Laurie was a trail maintainer, and lean-to maintainer for 15 years for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. Finally, let me not forget to mention that Laurie is a winter 46er! Laurie’s story begins as a girl growing up in Mar garetville, NY, in the center of the Catskill Mountains. She was one of five children, second from the top. Laurie’s father, Larry Baker, was a fire tower observer on Balsam Lake Mountain from 1958 to 1972 during which time Lau rie indulged in nature, exploring the forest and spending most of her time outdoors. We were excited to chat with Laurie about her life, becoming an avid hiker and a dedicated advocate for the conservation of wild places as well as her role and vision as the president for the Adirondack 46ers.

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