Adirondack Peeks Winter 2024

Adopt-a-Highway Program T he Adirondack 46ers Adopt-a-Highway Program has completed another successful volunteer season in 2024. We continue to receive positive feedback from the community. We also continue to attract both re turning and new volunteers to help with our efforts. In our 8 cleanup outings in the 2024 season we had: • 20 volunteers who gave a total of 496 hours of com munity service hours • Averaging 8+ people for each outing • A combined total of 64 miles of highway cleared • 41 bags of litter were collected and removed Our new schedule of back to back days 4 times a sea son for cleanup events has worked out well. Volunteers appreciate having the lean-tos at Heart Lake available. We’re happy to say that there will be two lean-tos avail able again in the 2025 season at the Heart Lake Wilder ness Campground. Space is available for 10 volunteers. Volunteers signing up for both days will receive priority; however, there shouldn't be a problem for whoever wants Correspondents Program B ecome a Correspondent and help aspiring climb ers along their journey. A time honored tradition of the 46ers has been our Correspondent Program. For many years Grace Hudowalski, the first woman to climb all 46 peaks and the first president of the organiza tion wrote to aspiring climbers. She shared her expertise and love of the mountains with new climbers and encour aged them in their journey. Armed with nothing more than a typewriter and a love of the mountains, she wrote to 2024 ADK 46er Trail Master Report W e need to start out with a huge thanks to those who came out and made 2024 a very successful season! Mary Lamb, #6736WV, has informed us she wish es to retire as Trail Master. We thank her for service both as a leader and approximately 600 hours on this crew! She does intend to continue coming to events in the fu ture. A total of 90 individuals (a decrease of 12 from 2023) will have worked approximately 2,400 hours (almost exactly as in 2023) over 23 work days. On the herd paths, volunteers logged additional hours. This year, in conjunction with Lean-to Rescue, we started out by constructing a new lean-to at the Lean-to Mark Simpson, #6038V Lee Nesbitt, #5931WV

to stay the night. The lean-tos will be available the night before the first outing as well as the night following the end of the first work day.

2025 Adopt-a-Highway Dates

May 12, Monday May 13, Tuesday June 18, Wednesday June 19, Thursday September 10, Wednesday September 11, Thursday October 27, Monday October 28, Tuesday Tom Armstrong (2) Patricia Artman (1) Colby Burch (6) Karen Burka (2) John Colvin (8) Paul Held (8) Michelle Kaminsky (2) Sue Kirk (8) Jeff Levitt (5) Donna Merrill (3) 2024 Volunteers each of those who were trying to climb all 46 peaks. If you would like to continue this tradition and help new climbers, please email Kristen Peek, Chair, Correspondent Program at adk46er trailswm@gmail.com.

Woods McCahill (3) Roger Meunier (2) Joe Moscatello (2) Rita Murtagh (1) Lee Nesbitt (8) David Pawlick (1) Jim Pedley (1) Brian Sutherland (2) Becky Swem (2) Denis Thibodeau (2)

Hospital in Keene to replace the existing one on Giant Mountain. Several Saturdays over the winter and a couple days over the summer, volunteers scribed and notched and constructed a beautiful structure that is now com plete. In the spring, it will be flown to its designated site on Giant Mountain and then fully (re)built next year as part of our normal schedule. This is the first fully constructed lean-to by the Adirondack 46ers. In May, we started with our blowdown sweeps and drainage clearing of our regular trails in the Dix Range and Giant and Whiteface mountains. We added blowdown sweeps on the Loch Muller-Big Pond Trail and the new Jones Hill Trail, both in the Hoffman Wilderness. Our regu lar sweeps/annual work takes four days to complete. The blowdown was similar to last year’s, but we once again made a difference and removed over 200 trees from the trails.

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