Adirondack Peeks Summer 2024

on top of a mountain. What’s your fa vorite memory of that day in 2007 on top of Whiteface? LR: That was a fantastic day. We chose not to hike up because we didn’t want to risk an injury on our wedding day. We had hiking friends that came up the slides and others on trails and then of course we had fam ily that drove up. My brother’s family from West Virginia had never been in the mountains of the Adirondacks before. They just loved the views. It was a beautiful, clear, cold day. Crisp! We wore our 46er t-shirts but had to have thermals underneath. It was so nippy! I have many great memories [of that day]. SR: Oh, yeah, it’s still cold in June on the mountain tops! How did you meet Tom? LR: We first met on a group hike to Southwest Hunter Peak with the 3500 Club in the Catskills. At the time we were with other spouses and were all hiking together as a group. I would never have remembered that hike if Tom hadn’t shown me a pic ture of all four of us years later and confirmed it was me. Years later, I was a hike leader and leading hikes in the Catskills when Tom and I hiked together again. SR: Together you and Tom are rais ing a blended family of five children and nine grandchildren. Did you ever imagine you would have nine grand children? LR: No way! I remember when the first one was expected, I called [be coming a grandparent] the “G-word,” and I didn't want anything to do with it. Then, I witnessed her birth, and just fell in love with her. She’s awe some. They are all awesome and they all call me Grandma. I love it. SR: When your boys were young, did you take them hiking and camping? LR: I did. Being outdoors was a pri ority. I will take responsibility for ru ining my younger son’s love of the woods for a few years though. When

the boys were about 6 and 8 years old, my older son was work ing on a merit badge for Boy Scouts and needed to hike a cer tain number of miles to earn the badge. So, of course we went to the Balsam Lake fire tower and took little brother along. At some point during the hike, little brother refused to go any farther. He had had enough. Well, fine, I told him. You just stay right here while we go to the top and when we get back you can tell us how many bears you saw. That got him moving all right; how ever, I really scared him. He loves hiking now, though! I still remem ber taking my older son to the Adiron dacks to hike for the first time when he

Tom and Laurie Rankin Winter 48 Finish on Mt. Adams in NH

back and climb the high peaks again for a few years, but then I really pur sued the 46. Camping was also a big thing in my family, so when my oldest son turned 18, he wanted to go camping for his birthday. Camping for us is the deep woods country kind of camp ing and I wasn’t feeling well at the time, but I went anyway. I was up all night long. It was fall, there was a full moon, and it was the noisiest night I've ever spent in the woods. Geese flew over all night long, honking, and the owls screeched and hooted over our heads continuously. There was so much noise and activity. That was how we spent my son’s eighteenth birthday. SR: An owl perched directly over my tent while camping on the NPT. I was just falling asleep when I heard the loudest HOOT, HOOT, HOOT! It sounded like it was sitting on top of the tent. It was glorious. I loved it!

was a teenager. I had started work ing on the fire tower challenge, so I was a little familiar with the area; however, I had never climbed a high peak before either. My son’s boss had climbed several and invited my son and me up to climb Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge. The boss’s mom lived on the road to the garden park ing lot. It was February. As we drove up that morning and across the Route 73 corridor, I looked up and saw Chapel Pond cliffs and basically told my son flat out, “Oh, no! If this is where we're supposed to go, I am not going.” We only finished Giant that day because of our condition ing but I’ll never forget the view from on top and the clear blue sky. I have always been somebody who prefers winter hiking, and as far as tackling that very first high peak in February, to me, it was almost more intimidat ing to drive there than it was to hike Giant. After that, I still had to get my boys through school, so I didn't come

6 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS