Adirondack Peeks Winter 2024

MAGAZINE OF THE ADIRONDACK FORTY-SIXERS WINTER 2024 Vol. LXII No. 2 PEEKS Adirondack

Front cover photo credit: Johnathan Esper #3187W, Roaring Brook Falls

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CONTENTS President's Report | Dave Pawlick #12803

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Editors' Ramble | Kim Morse #11497 with Sherry Roulston #12512 TALKING POINTS A Conversation with Phil Corell | Sherry Roulston #12512 with Phil Corell #224WV

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FROM THE VAULT The Recreationist in the Postwar | Guess Who? Winter Hiking | Dave Pawlick #12803

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MOUNTAIN VIGNETTES A Winter Camping Primer—Vintage 1960s | Phil Corell #224WV Climbing Armstrong from WolfJaw | Richard Andrews, #15942

A Different Kind of 46er | Jonathan Kronstadt The Varney Indirect | Brian Hoody #4410WV

Early Hiking, Lessons Learned | Mike Becker #1889W A Journey of 50 Years | Richard Andrews #15942 46 While Still 64 | Randy Unterborn #11169 Climbing the County High Points of New York State | Frank Sutman #8900 Ode of an Adirondack 46er | Charlie Reller #6359W Monday, February 21, 2011: Haystack Retrospect | Ken Held

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IN MEMORIAM CLUB NEWS IN THE PACK

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

Inside cover spread photo credit: Jonathan Zaharek #11171W, sunrise from Algonquin

W hen I was first approached to consider stepping into the role of President of the 46ers, I was certainly honored, but I was also intimidated by being a relatively new per son to the hiking community. In 2016, our youngest son left for college and my wife and I began to fill our empty nest by hiking in the Saratoga/Lake George area. Prior to that summer, neither of us had ever owned a pair of hiking boots or any gear. Later that year, a friend took us up Cascade. Coming off the summit, she said we could go over to Porter to get #2 of 46. We had no idea what she was talking about. Giant was #3. As we came off that summit, we saw some one headed off on a side trail. When he told me he was going to Rocky Peak Ridge, I asked, “What’s that?” So, yeah, we were newbies then, and I’m still a newbie in all that the 46ers do. But, I did know this: The organization has an amazing membership base and is filled with people that generously share their time and talents because of their passion for the Adiron dacks. I can relate to that, and I am committed to doing my part to help the organization continue the good work it is doing, such as: • Our Trail Crew has done their usual miracle-working this year with blowdown sweeps and significant trail improvements on the Calamity Brook and East River trails, along with sev eral other projects. Ninety volunteers contributed over 2,400 hours for these projects. • Our Trailhead Stewards were at Cascade every Friday, Satur day, and Sunday from Memorial Day through September and also at South Meadows many weekends. Our stewards inter faced with 12,000 hikers to help ensure they were properly prepared for their hike. • Adopt-a-Highway volunteers contributed over 500 hours, logged 64 miles along Route 73 and removed over 40 large bags of litter. • And we also have a hardworking Board of Directors, appoint ed officers, and other volunteers who spend many, many hours on 46er membership, merchandising, historian record keeping, correspondence, education, PEEKS magazine, trea sury, outdoor skills training, and many other committees that keep the organization going. PRESIDENT'S REPORT

AdirondackPEEKS Volume LXII No. 2, Winter 2024 OFFICERS David Pawlick, President Brian Sutherland, Vice President Laurie Rankin, Immediate Past President DIRECTORS Bob Harvey, Brent Pierce, Winn Rea, Brant Schneider, Sheila Young APPOINTED OFFICERS Treasurer Philip Corell Recording Secretary Bill Lundy Assistant Secretary Felicia Neahr Outdoor Skills Workshop Coordinators Bill Lundy, Dan Auwarter Office of the Historian Lee Nesbitt, Siobhán Carney-Nesbitt Archivist Jane Meader Nye Trailmasters Michele Mccall, Brian Hoody, Mary Lamb, Mark Simpson, Curt Snyder, Doug Varney Website Liaison and Content Manager Joe Ryan

Merchandising Janet Thomas Special Orders Coordinator Wendy Kurlowicz Membership Jim Houghtaling Editors Kim Morse

Sherry Roulston Editorial Offices

Manuscript and photographic submissions for PEEKS should be mailed to Sherry Roulston at 24 Layman Lane, Plattsburgh, NY, 12901 or emailed to peeks@adk46er.org. Correspondent Program Kristen Peek, adk46ertrailswm@gmail.com Orders and Payments Jim Houghtaling, Membership Coordinator, PO Box 4383,

Judy Pawlick, #12804, and Dave Pawlick, #12803, at their finish in 2020

Queensbury, NY, 12804 treasurer@adk46er.org Outdoor Skills Workshop osw@adk46er.org Trailhead Steward Program Joe Ryan, trailheadstewards@gmail.com Volunteer Trailwork adk46ertrailwork@gmail.com

For additional information on club activities and to register to become a 46er visit the club’s website, adk46er.org, or send an email to officeofthehistorian46@gmail.com. Adirondack PEEKS is published twice a year by the Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc., a nonprofit organization. PEEKS is free to members in good standing. To receive a copy, register to become an Aspiring/Contributing member of the 46ers by

creating a website account at adk46er.org. Adirondack PEEKS is printed by Walsworth

All of these contributors are volunteers, as the Forty-Sixers do not have any paid employ ees. And our membership base is amazing! The vast majority of people that became 46ers since the year 2000 have continued paying dues and making contributions because they believe in the mission of the Forty-Sixers. Since 2000, member contributions have allowed the Forty Sixers to make contributions to Adirondack ini tiatives of over $1 million! More than half of that has gone directly to trail work and most of the remainder has gone to education initiatives. We all know that significant progress is possible when a lot of people have the same vision and work together to make that vision a reality. It sure feels like we have members and volunteers pulling in the same direction . . . thank you! I wish all of you a happy and healthy hol iday season!

Photo credit: Joe Bogardus, #3342WV Neil Luckhurst, #5706W, on the Gothics snow cornice

Dave Pawlick, #12803

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EDITORS' RAMBLE Kim Morse, #11497 W hen a person gets hooked on spending time in the Adirondacks, every thread of their life be comes interwoven with their experiences there. Job changes, having a child, losing a family member, or simply feeling the feelings that come with witnessing the changing of the seasons—each of these can be connected literally or figuratively to our walks in the woods. I began my Adirondack journey in 2015. Prior to

periences as a Camp Pok-O-Moonshine attendee to 46ers president, pulling in other important waypoints that led him to where he is today. We are grateful for Phil’s experience and knowledge; we hope to draw from it for many years to come. In From the Vault, we have intentionally repub lished a piece withholding its author’s name. We did so that readers might take its message at face value, drawing conclusions on its contents without the context of time or author. At the risk of giving away too much, it’s our thought that this practice will encourage readers to make connec tions across the decades, allowing them to see that while time continuously moves forward, certain themes prevail. In “Winter Hiking,” Dave Pawlick shares the thoughts of seven 46ers who have earned their W, asking various questions of them ranging from fuel and gear to struggle and motivation. In the article, Dave shares hiking stats for each interviewee and encourages those interest ed in pursuing winter hiking in the high peaks to seek re sources that can help guide you toward hiking successfully in the winter. We hear from several hikers in this issue’s Moun tain Vignettes: Phil Corell shares his perspectives on winter hiking as it was experienced back in in the 1960s, two 46ers express their journeys in verse, Brian Hoody describes how hiking a mountain from a new—perhaps previously un hiked!—trail can lead to a new appreciation for a peak, and we have the opportunity to learn from Frank Sutman, who is pursuing all of New York’s high points in each county. Says Frank: you better be ready to bushwhack! Get updated on our various committees in Club News. It can never be overstated: we need your help! Vol unteering with the Adirondack 46ers provides a new level of connection with not only the region but with a group of people whose passion for life is a direct result of their in teraction with other hikers. Please consider reaching out to any of the folks listed in Club News (or me or Sherry!) and we’ll help you find the best fit for your specific interest. Finally, special thanks to Johnathan Esper for pro viding this issue's cover image, taken from the top of Roar ing Brook Falls. As hikers of the high peaks, the minute we take our first step onto Adirondack soil, our future is forever changed. The connection to the region and the connection to those we meet along the way will never be broken. As we move into 2025, Sherry and I wish that you experience the best of bluebird days, the safest of lessons learned, the longest-lasting headlamp batteries, and the joy of knowing that our camaraderie as 46ers will always be. Ramble on!

that time, the Adirondack wild was a foreign, yet coveted place that I longed to have familiarity with. With my partner, I traveled to Keene Valley from Rochester, New York, enam ored with the ascent into the mountainous region. Moving across the Finger Lakes, through the Mohawk Valley, and up into the Adirondacks, I was, at first, intimidated by the adventures that lay ahead—as I should have been. After hiking my first high peak, Big Slide, I re member my partner pointing out toward the north face of Gothics, noting its slides and expressing excitement over its notorious cable-laden route. I had two thoughts at that moment: First, “$%*#! He’s going to make me climb that!” Second, “$%*# (yeah)! I get to climb that!” From that moment, every season of my life has been filtered through a lens of its relationship to the Adiron dacks. At first, peak-bagging the high peaks was my goal; I finished within three years. Since then, I’ve expanded my reach across other well-known and less well-known sum mits; I’ve through hiked the Appalachian Trail, leading me to pursue the NE 115; and I’ve added a child to my life, a child with whom I hope to nurture the passion that led me to conquer not only miles of tough terrain but that small voice that whispers insecurities in my ear when life gets difficult. In the pages of this edition of PEEKS , you’ll find the voices of those longing to connect with others on their own journeys in the Adirondacks. While many of our stories fol low similar trajectories or describe similar lessons learned, each author carries with them a unique set of experiences that has led them to develop the particular relationship with the region that they have. We feature the first President’s Report written by newly elected Dave Pawlick, who shares his own introduc tion to hiking the high peaks, tying the newness felt when first stepping onto 46er trails to beginning a new journey as he steps into the role of president. We welcome Dave with open arms and already know that he’ll guide the organiza tion to even greater heights. Sherry Roulston interviews Phil Corell for this edi tion of Talking Points, highlighting his expansive career, which touched so many people in so many different ca pacities. In his responses to Sherry’s thoughtful questions, Phil carefully describes the trail linking his childhood ex

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TALKING POINTS Sherry Roulston, #12512, with Phil Corell, #224WV

Give a boy address and accomplish ments and you give him the mastery of palaces and fortunes where he goes. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

All photos courtesy of Phil Corell

Photo credit: Sherry Roulston, #12512

I t’s a beautiful August morning. Driving Route 87 I spot the fire tower on top of Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain and soon I’m driving parallel to the mountain’s stupendous granite cliffs. I lean forward and gaze up through the wind shield looking for rock climbers. I’m meeting Phil Corell and Kim Morse in Willsboro. Exiting the highway, I pass Rattle snake Mountain trailhead parking lot; it’s a busy morning with only a few spots left. I pull onto a wooded road, take a ninety-degree left turn that goes up a small hill, and spot a sign that says “Corell” on the right! Upon opening my car door, the invigorating smell of balsam fir hits me, and the silent, majestic woods greet me. Phil meets us outside and gives us a tour of his property. He’s owned the land since the 1980s and eventually built the cottage; he recalls the numerous bundles of shingles he, his wife, Mary, and their friends stained and hung. Long Pond spreads out before us in the back. I see no signs of life on the other side of the 400-acre tranquil lake framed by Sugarloaf Mountain. Phil informs me that the Long Pond Conservancy purchased forty-nine acres on the western shore and succeeded in keeping it forever wild! Phil’s been a member of the Adirondack 46ers for 62 years. He climbed his first high peak at the age of 10 and became 46er #224 in 1962 at the age of 16. He’s been involved at the grassroots level for 52 years volunteering in numerous roles from leader of the Outdoors Skills Work shop committee to president. Phil has been the treasurer A Conversation with Phil Corell, #224WV

for 23 years and has streamlined the membership process online, allowing the Forty-Sixers to become a major donor for other organizations with the same goal of preserving the Adirondack High Peaks. He’s completed 27 rounds of the high peaks including 6 rounds in the winter. He’s climbed Mount Marcy 67 times. He’s written extensively about hiking in the Adirondacks and about the 46ers and the changes he has witnessed over his lifetime. Phil’s Ad irondack journey started as a summer camper on this very lake in 1956. * * * SR (Sherry Roulston): What inspired your parents to send their ten-year-old, only child from Mount Kisco, New York, to an Adirondack summer camp for eight weeks? PC (Phil Corell): They were older parents. My dad was 40; my mom was maybe 38 when I was born. As a child of older parents, I think they were looking to get me out of a bor ing summer while trying to find alternatives to Little League baseball and swimming lessons. They read the advertise ments for all the summer camps in the New York Times and that's where they learned about Camp Pok-O-Moon shine for boys. Once they met Colonel Swan and his wife, “Aunt Sarah,” who visited my parents’ home, any concerns about sending me to camp were put to rest immediately.

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Colonel Swan was an impressive in dividual. He was the mayor of Terry town, New York, and a colonel in the Army, serving in both World Wars. His wife was the daughter of the camp’s founder. Next thing you know, I’m at the Harmon train station heading up to the Adirondack mountains for the summer. SR: Did you know any other kids who were going? PC: No, absolutely no one and, sud denly, I’m living in an army tent, sleep ing on a cot, with four other people for the next eight weeks. After an initial adjustment, a feeling of indepen dence began. It was great and every thing just grew on me. SR: Did your parents come to visit? PC: There was one parent visit about three weeks into the session and naturally I received a number of very positive letters from Mom asking me what I’m doing and if I am having fun. SR: What are some of your favorite memories from that first summer? PC: I remember how great it was mak ing friends, learning to swim, and passing the swim test, which was a quarter mile swim in Long Pond. I learned to canoe, and I climbed Giant, my first high peak. I actually climbed eight high peaks my first summer. SR: Tell us about your climb up Giant. PC: The slides impressed me. Of course, the big ones hadn’t come down yet. We camped at the top of Roaring Brook Falls where there was a campsite with a wood frame struc ture that we spread a tarp over. We gathered wood for the fire; it was my first time cooking in the woods. We got smoke in our eyes and all that good stuff. SR: I read in Heaven Up-h’isted-ness the six new slides that formed on Gi ant’s west face were named Bottle, the Question Mark, Eagle, Finger, and Tulip. Apparently, it happened after a

heavy downpour in June, 1963 when the saturated landscape just slid down in huge sections and buried a number of cars on the road below. After Giant were you hooked and officially pursu ing your high peaks? PC: In the dining hall at camp there was a big mountain chart on the wall and once you climbed five high peaks you could sign your name on it and start recording your climbs. After ev ery climb, the minute I got back to camp I would run to the dining hall and check off the mountains that I climbed. SR: What did it feel like to go back to school after a summer like this? PC: My life back home and at camp were two different worlds because the kids back home didn't even know about the Adirondacks and hadn’t done the things I did all summer. It was a more personal experience. I think the biggest thing I noticed was that my Boy Scout program never in cluded any camping in the woods. Once we went outside and cooked hot dogs over a fire, but that was about it. Scouting is supposed to be about the outdoors. What I did at camp Poko dwarfed what I did with the Boy Scouts.

SR: Did you keep in touch with your camp friends during the school year? Write letters? PC: No, I'm a guy, Sherry; guys don't write letters. My parents got one a week because it was mandatory on Sunday. SR: It sounds like a kid’s dream sum mer vacation! So, you got to sign up again the following summer? PC: What really cemented my sec ond year was an offer to participate in the reenactment of a “Super Marcy.” Camp Pok-O-Moonshine was es tablished in 1905. During the camp’s first twenty years there was no trans portation available to take the boys out on climbing trips—vehicles were not available yet—so all trips left the camp on foot to their destinations. A trip to Marcy involved hiking over seventy-five miles in four to five days, hence the term “Super Marcy.” In 1957, the camp decided to reenact a Super Marcy, which involved seven campers and two counselors setting out from Willsboro, hiking through the Jay Range, over Whiteface, and crossing through Lake Placid to the top of Marcy and heading back over the Upper Range to the Garden. I was big for my age, and at the time, the se nior section didn't have a large group

1957 Super Marcy, Age 11

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of interested hikers. They asked me and another intermediate to join. I was eleven and hiking with fifteen- and sixteen-year-old kids. That was a real turning point for me. I thought if I could do this, I could do anything. I climbed another eight peaks in my second year at camp, so I had 16 and was well on my way. SR: What memories do you have of the Super Marcy hike? PC: One memory that sticks out is getting a boat ride from Whiteface Landing across Lake Placid to the vil lage. This required us to walk from the boat launch to the Fish and Game Club where we camped the second night. Here we are covered in dirt and smelly and walking down Main Street with all the tourists and our clanking pots and pans strapped to our back packs. The tourists just stared and gave us a wide berth. SR: Did you know about the 46er or ganization? Were you writing to Grace Hudowalski? PC: No. I didn’t know about the orga nization early on. What you have to understand is I was the first camper at Pok-O-Moonshine to become a 46er. My finisher group was the first to finish the forty-six in 1962. And again, we're guys—writing letters wasn’t our thing. However, you were considered an as piring 46er when you reached thirty peaks, so at that point, I wrote a letter

to Grace and she began looking for my name in the canisters and in the books, and when I finished, I sent my application in. My boys never wrote to Grace either—only at their finish. She mentioned to me how disappointed she was that they didn’t write. You know, in one breath she complained about how many letters she had to an swer, and in the next, she'd berate you because you weren't writing enough. SR: Congratulations on becoming the first 46er at Pok-O-Moonshine. At the time there were only 224 46ers. How did you celebrate your finish on Pan ther Mountain? ther. I had a hiking hat, a blue base ball cap with a turned-up rim that had been up every forty-six, and I buried it in the cairn. I wouldn't repeat that to day because environmentally it's bad, and can you imagine if everyone did that? SR: No! You wrote a chapter about the changing role of the Adirondack 46ers based on the growth of out door recreationists and the changes in values related to mountains and to wilderness preservation in the book Of the Summits, of the Forests (1991). You begin by detailing long-held hik ing practices that ultimately became extinct such as burying camp trash, PC: It's funny, but we're sixteen years old and we made a flag and left it on top of Pan

cutting balsam boughs to fluff up the lean-to’s mattress, leaving extra canned goods, and cutting firewood in preparation for the next hikers com ing through. Summit canisters, which were up for fifty-one years, also be came a thing of the past and were re moved from all peaks in 2001. What is your memory of the canisters? PC: Just for the record, there was noth ing better than sleeping on a cushion of balsam boughs and dead needles. You could scoot your hips into them and make a hip hole or a shoulder hole and the smell was great. Now it's the Therm-a-Rest mattress on the hard wooden floor. The canisters were a huge part of the hiking experience not only because it was proof you climbed but also because everyone was able to keep tabs on each other’s running battles: who was going to get to 46 rounds first and who’s bragging be cause they’ve got 32 peaks, while someone else writes they’ve got 17 and they are on their fourth round—so there! Or a new name starts popping up in the books and all the sudden you bump into that person on the trail and it’s, “Hey, I know you!” For ex ample, Pin Pin always signed in green ink. People would watch to see where others had been in Winter so that they could “vulture” the broken-out trails. The climb that took you ten hours the day before on snowshoes was a two hour walk up the next day with micro spikes on a hardened path. Winter climbing was like a fraternity, all shar ing a common goal and experience. SR: It sounds like Facebook in a canis ter. I’ve never heard the term “vulture” used this way before. There’s a lot of vulturing happening on social media, that’s for sure! How did your parents relate to all this hiking? PC: The only way my father related was through his experience in the Na

Camp became my grounding point, my rock, the consistency I needed in my life . . .

Phil Sharing a Word with Grace

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up with fun things to do. Peter and his fam ily were legends at Poko —his father, Gillett “Toots” Welles, Jr., #179, and his brother Tim, #120. Peter was a three-sport star at Yale: cross country, track, and wrestling. I was a high school wrestler at this time and impressed with Peter’s attitude and deter mination while completing his goal of hiking the forty-six high peaks in eleven days. SR: In Peter Welles’s article, “46 Mountains in 11 Days”, he describes each day of his challenge in detail. On day 6, Peter and his father arrived at Camp Pok-O-Moonshine to solicit help from fellow Poko campers in assisting Peter in the remaining five days of his challenge. His father was replaced by members of the Advanced Section with a plan of using one camper each day to hike alongside Peter while the others provided the necessary support of cooking meals

1961 Advanced Section

tional Guard. He had spent some time on maneuvers, but hiking mountains was all new to them. They were very sup portive. SR: I understand at the age of 15 your mom passed away from cancer. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been navigating life while a loved one battles a terminal illness. How did camp play a role in your life during this period? PC: Camp became my grounding point, my rock, the con sistency I needed in my life because, when mom passed, my dad was working in New York City, commuting back and forth, and he didn't get home till 7:00 o'clock at night. Because he was older, he was able to retire and care for me, and eventually he remarried, sold our family home, and moved to Florida. So, during college breaks my grounding place became summers at camp.

and carrying gear: dry clothing and food.

You also wrote about your remembrance of this hike, “Personal Recollections of Peter Welles’s Epic Jour ney.” You were sixteen years old and hiked alongside Peter on two of the five days: day 8 and day 11. On day 8 you climbed the McIntyre Range: Wright, #26; Algonquin, #27; Iroquois, #28; and Marshall, #29. I took excerpts from each article to highlight your involvement in this hike as well as to capture the lessons learned and challenges faced. I’ve quoted both of you on your personal observations of this experience. * * * Phil’s Recollection: Those reading these accounts need to remember in 1962, there was no Gore-Tex, no backpacking stoves, few had hiking boots, and cotton blue jeans and sweatshirts were common. When your clothing got soaked, you were wet all day! If you couldn’t get a wet wood fire go

ing, you didn’t eat. Rain gear consisted of rubberized jackets, light plastic cov ers that ripped easily, or bulky army surplus ponchos. The year prior I had hiked in Chuck Taylor high tops; the canvas had rotted away from the rub ber sole by the end of the season.

For all of us, our participation remains a life lesson in meeting and responding to a personal challenge and reaching deep when things get tough, utilizing reserves you didn’t know you had.

SR: I’ve read that you started your first round of winter for ty-six when you were sixteen years old. During your high school winter breaks your dad would put you on a train and send you up to the Adirondacks to hike with your former camp counselor and friend, Jim “Beetle” Bailey, #233. Jim was president of the 46ers from 1966–1969. Was Jim a role model for you during the camp years? PC: Yes, “Beetle” and Peter Welles, #119—they were both role models for me. Jim was so creative and always coming

Peter Welles: The worst experience of the last two morn ings was the task of putting one’s wet clothes on after be ing so dry and warm in a down sleeping bag. This morn ing [day 11], it had resumed the state of down-pouring rain, which had been going on most of the night. The camp area was flooded and the trail that Phil and I must follow to the summit of Marcy was a roaring stream. . . . We reached the summit of Marcy, #38. There was a very strong wind from the south, visibility was non-exis tent, and the rain was hitting us at right angles. . . .

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At 11:14, we reached the summit of Haystack, #39. The trail off Marcy was amazing as it was as large a stream as most normal Adirondack streams. . . . We definitely needed the cairns and markers on Haystack as we could not see. The wind was even chal lenging beside having rain arrive from the horizontal. Phil had done a good job in keeping the spirit up by getting the two of us to sing “rock and roll” songs. . . . The idea of finishing is my only thought. Being cold and wet really attacks one’s mind. At 12:21, we reached the summit of Basin, #40. . . . We hadn’t dried out at all. At 1:10, we reached the summit of Saddleback, #41. All was still miserable, and this day seemed just a question of moving. After twenty-five minutes we reached the Gothics lean-to where a party was waiting for the weather to break—good luck. . . . I now had doubts as to our leaving for Gothics due to the elements and the exposed ridge. At 2:32, we reached the summit of Gothics, #42. . . . The rain had returned coming in its horizontal fash ion. My thoughts are that it is a miserable day. At 3:15, we reached the summit of Armstrong, #43. It was still raining and blowing. . . I wished only for the end. At 3:37, we reached the summit of Upper Wolf Jaw, #44. There was no change in the weather or way of travel. Twenty minutes later we reached the col between the Jaws where we dropped our packs and ate some “GORP” (peanut butter and raisin mix ture) and candy. At this point, I was the coldest that I’d been that day, which was obviously due to the lack of food and slow travel off Upper Wolf Jaw. At 4:25, we reached the summit of Lower Wolf Jaw, #45. . . . I’m just starting to hike well for the first time today although Phil has had no trouble at all. The day decided to clear as we were ready for my last mountain. At 7:00 p.m., we reached the summit of Big Slide, #46, after only sixty-five minutes for 2.45 miles uphill. I had a great surge of adrenalin all the way up and we really moved. We lost the trail at first but were not slowed down much. Phil has done an excellent job, especially during this last push. Phil’s Recollection: [Day 11] We sang some rock and roll songs, but I remember also singing some of the old Sunday vespers songs that had been part of our Camp life. We didn’t have Aunt Sarah on piano or Colonel Swan on the sax, but we could belt out “Abide with Me” and “The Old Rugged Cross”—at least the first verse. . . . I do remember the 65 minute “sprint” up the 2.45 miles to the Big Slide summit. No packs and the final goal in reach. About two-thirds of the way up with my lungs bursting, I doubled over and told Pete to go ahead. He quickly said “no” explaining that basically I was the pace setter, and he wasn’t going to let me lose him. My job was to get to the top as quickly as possible and his job was to keep up with me. What an emotional “rush” to finally top out and witness Pete’s achievement.

1965 College Winter Break Trip

Peter Welles: The great extent to which these individuals helped me is difficult to express in words. However, the extent they helped me should be obvious in reading what they climbed and how it was done. Phil’s Recollection: Specific details can be followed in the official account, but my involvement remains ingrained in my memory. Recently I had lunch with Don Boyce, #260, and have shared emails with Hap Latham, #230, who par

Phil and Jim “Beetle” Bailey

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ticipated in the adventure with me. For all of us, our participation remains a life lesson in meeting and responding to a personal challenge and reaching deep when things get tough, utilizing reserves you didn’t know you had. Ultimately, it took him [Peter] eleven days, but that did establish the new record at that time. * * * SR: What a feat! Summers at Camp Poko were filled with adventures be yond just hiking. In a tribute for Jim “Beetle” Bailey in 2021, you wrote: Later he [Beetle] would become the first tripping head at Camp offering special adventures each week. An example was his “Op eration Cool Bovine”—carrying an ice cream maker and all the ingredients into the Scott Clear ing lean-to to use ice from the In dian Pass “ice caves” to make ice cream while baking a cake with a reflector oven. Your tribute also shares the origins of Jim’s quirky nickname, “Beetle,” which was naturally bestowed upon him while a counselor and when Bee tle Bailey comic books were popular and circulating around the camp. How did Beetle influence your start with the 46ers? PC: In 1966, while Beetle was presi dent of the 46ers, there was such an upsurge in hiking the trails that a camporee was sponsored by the 46ers, designed more for local sum mer camps. The two-day event was

Phil Corell, #224WV; Jimmy Kobak, #1791WV; Sharp Swan, #566WV; Eddie Bunk, #3052W; and Don McMullen, #244WV

held at South Meadows and was in tended to provide insight into the For ty-Sixers traditions. The next year, due to the suc cess of the camporee, the first 46er Outdoor Leadership Workshop was intiated. I immediately signed up to attend the first workshop as a partici pant. All these people you've heard about were running workshops. Orra Phelps, #47, was teaching about plants; Marguerite Kingsbury, #153, about birds; Judy Cameron, #605, about photography; and Father Larry Cotter, #229, on geology. Ditt Dittmar taught a class on camp cooking but there wasn't anything on backpacking equipment. Many say that the present day Outdoor Skills Workshop (OSW), which started out as the Wilder ness Leadership Workshop in 1972, was a product of that camporee. Jim handled equipment for the OSW and asked me to be on the staff, and that was my foot in the door. The following year I ran a workshop on campsites and backpacking equipment, and I’ve remained on the committee for over fifty years. I started attending all the 46er meetings. Then, in 1978, when Wally Herrod, #750, the acting vice president for Ed Ketchledge, #507, moved into the president’s position, Jim Dawson, #890, asked me to be the vice president, and the rest is his tory.

SR: You were president for three terms: 1981–1984 and again from 1993 to 1994. On March 10, 1984, at the age of thirty-eight and while president, you became a winter 46er. Which mountain was it? How did you cele brate your last winter high peak? PC: It was Hough. We needed to do four: McComb, Grace, South Dix, and Hough. The funny thing was Sharpie had climbed it with his wife without telling me, so he was finished. When I got to the top of Hough and pulled out the book, there it was: “Congratu lations Phil, on finishing your winter forty-six—Sharpie!” We took a couple of pictures, ate our sandwich, and you know the rest. SR: Yes—ran to the car! Had this been a big goal of yours? PC: Not really. I had done some ran dom winter climbs but didn’t really have an interest in the winter 46. It wasn't common. Then again, that de sire to get certifications and badges drew me in. First, ADK Winter Moun taineering Committee had created the V-Badge, so I got that. Then there was a Wilderness Leadership winter pin that required you to climb more win ter peaks as well as get advanced first aid training. While they didn't offer ad vanced first aid training, I became an

Nye, 1965

10 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS

top of the cliffs, Mark, my 17-year-old son, was waiting for him. Mark didn't think Don should go down alone. That makes you feel good as a parent that you've imparted that responsibility on your son. SR: How were the winter peaks differ ent from today? PC: The biggest thing is the use. There were times that my group was the only one to sign the Emmons register dur ing the whole winter climbing season. That doesn't happen anymore. Equip ment has gotten better. People never have to find a route for themselves or break out a trail today if they don’t want to. When there were no routes and no herd paths you would fall into a spruce trap over your head and ex haust yourself trying to get out. That just doesn't happen too often now if you stay on the broken path. SR: Your yellow index cards meticu lously note extensive detail on every hike you have made: mountain stats, the timing at each intersection, arrival time, weather conditions, trail condi tions, hiking companions, and overall hiking time. Your three-ring binder details each of the 46 mountains and your every summit date. When did you begin recording this information? PC: I started in 1970 because it made sense. It was interesting to me and became helpful for others. The re cords help me know so many things. Like when I climbed Giant this week, I knew what my target times were be tween checkpoints and those tell me if I’m on schedule or if I’m behind. On a longer day you can say, you know, we're not going to get Redfield or Cliff today, or we're probably only going to get one today. People call and ask me, hey, how long's it going to take me to get to this mountain via this trail and I can give them specific times and such. SR : What have you learned from these hikes? Does each new round provide new insight into yourself or into the mountains?

What's a Spruce Trap?

emergency medical technician (EMT), which I ended up doing for nine years. Suddenly I realized, “Gee, I've got this many peaks, maybe I should get my winter forty-six.” SR: I read the V-Badge was created in 1948 to encourage college-aged groups to climb the high peaks in win ter. There were several high peaks that supposedly had not yet been climbed in the winter. You could earn the badge by climbing five. Besides Beetle, who was in your hiking crew? PC: Well, let me turn around and look at the pictures on my wall. I hiked with Sharp Swan, #566WV; Don McMul len, #244WV; Kenny Ryba, #1661WV; Jim King, #2304W; Jimmy Kobak, #1791WV; Eddie Bunk, #3052W; Mark Gibson, #225; and Bob Heins, #4492W; Gary Koch, #1137W; Dave

Dresser, #2306W; and there were others who would come and go. The beauty of traveling with a steady group is you know each other’s ca pabilities and you don’t have to worry about them. If I invited someone new, they’d become my responsibility— are they keeping up, do they need a break, are they warm. However, one time I hiked with Patty McCormick, a division one runner from the University of Maine. It was funny because she never broke a sweat, never added or removed clothes, and barely ate or drank all day. I certainly didn’t have to worry about her; she obviously didn’t find the three Sewards in Winter as much of a challenge. Another time I was hik ing with a group and Don McMullen stayed back getting his crampons on to come down the backside of Sad dleback. When Don came over to the

One of Phil's Many Yellow Index Cards

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in the second match I stayed off my back and saved the team two points. I never got pinned again and wound up winning a few matches. SR: What were your plans after college? PC: My plan was to enlist in the Air Force; however, things changed on the way to the recruitment office. It’s August 15, and my buddy has an in terview at Saranac Central for a teach ing job, so we stop there first. During the interview, they told him they need two physical education teachers, and they are also looking for a wrestling coach. He informs them he’s a basket ball man, but he’s got a buddy who's looking for a job who wrestled Divi sion One in college, and he’s out in the waiting room. I'm in a dirty t-shirt, an old pair of shorts, and I’m dragged in for an interview. Within the week I’m hired to teach elementary physical education and coach wrestling. This immediately prompts me to apply to Plattsburgh State for my master’s in education and where I earned my CAS in administration. SR: You began a thirty-three-year career at Saranac Central School— initially as a sixth-grade elementary teacher for twenty years—and even tually moved into the administration side of education as the Pupil Person nel Director and Director of Special Education. How long did you coach the school wrestling team? PC: I coached wrestling for fifteen years and officiated for twenty-four years. It was at Saranac Central that I met Mary, my wife, and the rest is his tory! SR: Mary, your wife of 52 years, was the school dental hygienist and a hik er; she is 46er #2343. Your sons, John (Jay), #2344, and Mark, #2345W, are also 46ers. Did Mary hike all the high peaks with them, or did you climb to gether? PC: We climbed as a family. Mary claims she went along to protect the boys from their father—but she likes the mountains too! They became

SR: Do you use a tracking device? PC: No, I’m a social hiker. I don’t hike alone. SR: While at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, you were counseling in the summer at Camp Poko, climbing high peaks on winter break, and were a Division One wres tler. How did your wrestling career begin? PC: My Junior High gym teacher was the varsity wrestling coach and no ticed my interest in the sport in class. In eighth grade he asked me if I want ed to wrestle in the high school intra mural tournament. Well, of course I said yes! At the tournament I wrestled a senior and he was beating me, no problem, but right toward the end of the match I rolled him and put him on his back. After the match everyone was pumping me up, telling me I al most had pinned him. That was all I needed to hear, and I wanted to be on the wrestling team. As a freshman the high school team was very strong and were most ly seniors. There was one opening at the 165-pound weight class and three people were competing for the spot: a junior, a sophomore, and me, a fresh man. The coach tried the junior and he got pinned twice, and then he tried the sophomore, and he got pinned twice, and then he walks up to me and says, “Hey, can you make 165 pounds for Tuesday’s match?” I was 172 and I lost seven pounds by the following Tues day. I got pinned in the first match but

1979 Sectional Wrestling Champs

PC: It becomes a motivation to do the ugly peaks that you wouldn't other wise do. Also, it’s neat from the stand point that routes change. Let’s say there is a hurricane or something, and the mapped route is no longer viable. The nicest feeling is when somebody calls you and says, “Hey, I'm planning to do Cliff and Redfield, what can you tell me?” It's like sending somebody through the Feldspar swamp. I haven't been through there in probably five years, but I’ve heard some horror sto ries from people who have. Gary Koch is on his ninety-ninth round. He knows every little sneaky walk-around and bypass there is. He won’t be stepping on that log that sinks four feet down in the swamp and gets him soaking wet. He knows better. SR: How often do you hike these days? PC: I try to hike Rattlesnake every other day. I did Giant last week in two hours and 55 minutes with no ill ef fect; I was pleased with that. I hope to head to the lower range next week.

Haystack Revisited: Jay, Mary, and Phil

12 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS

done. I came home a den leader. Mary and I were both den leaders and then later I became Assistant Cubmaster, then Cubmaster, then Scoutmaster all the way up. We were fortunate be cause our son’s friends joined, and we had a strong bunch of parents who could help when we needed them. As I mentioned earlier, my Boy Scout troop never did things out side, never camped, so when I was a Scoutmaster, we got the kids out and we camped, and we did a lot of out door activities. With my camp back ground, Poko allowed us to use all their facilities. They had a tube hill for sliding in winter, they had a log cabin we camped out in, they had boats and canoes. How many troops can go on a canoe trip and borrow a 15-passenger van with a trailer and eight canoes? Camp Poko was wonderful. My loyalty was rewarded, and the boys benefit ed greatly. SR: You were awarded the Boy Scout’s Silver Beaver Award. Re cipients of this award are registered Scouters who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given at the council level. How did you earn this award? PC: The Adirondack Council pre sented it. It was an honor to be given the award. Our program basically ran for ten months; however, we raised

W for Mark on Cliff

46ers in 1987—Jay and Mark at the ages of nine and eleven. Mark be came a Winter 46er in 1999. SR: Following in your footsteps, both of your children went to Camp Pok-O Moonshine. Did they love the experi ence as much as you did? PC: Yes, Mark and Jay were both campers and then counselors. Both my sons made lifelong friendships that continue to endure. My son, Mark, met his wife there when she was a camper. The camp changed its name in 1974 to Pok-O-MacCready after the nearby Camp MacCready for Girls was added along with a year-round outdoor education center. SR: You continued your involvement with Pok-O-MacCready Camps for over fifty years as camper, counselor, headmaster, assistant director, trip ping director, and boating director. What spurred your desire to stay con nected and give back to the camp? PC: Lifelong friendships. The trust I built with friends at camp having lived

in a tent with them all summer, shar ing meals together, hiking high peaks together, and all the other activities we did instilled a sense of family and a sense of community. Mark Gibson’s son was my son's counselor and then my son was his grandson’s counselor. More than 457 of the camp’s counsel ors and campers have become 46ers. I’m actually headed over to fix the oar locks on some of the boats this week. SR: Like Ed Hudowalski you were as sociated with the Boy Scouts of Amer ica. You reached the Eagle Scout level as did your sons and were awarded the Silver Beaver recognition as an adult. Tell us about your leadership in volvement with the Boy Scouts. PC: I went to the Cub Scout organiza tional meeting with the full intent of registering my son in a den and being

Mary on Horse Hill toward Haystack

Jay and Mark on Saddleback, 1987

Jay and Phil on Allen

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money to help some of the boys in the troop go to the Boy Scout’s Camp Bedford in the summer. SR: You were a licensed guide for about 30 years and taught wilderness recreation at Plattsburgh State as an ad junct professor. Did you ever guide hikes? PC: I only guided one person who was a prestigious bank er from Florida. My camp friend, Eddie Palin, knew I was retired and thinking about guiding, so he hired me to lead this banker. Eddie said he would pay me $150.00—I get to climb a mountain and get paid to do it! This climber loved the outdoors and was a lot of fun to hike with. It was such a great experience because of his enthusiasm. Turns out he needed to climb 17 high peaks to become a 46er and he asked if I’ll guide him, this time without going through Ed die. Eddie had no problem with it. What a party he threw on top of Whiteface when he became a 46er! He rented three bed and breakfasts and ten rooms at the Ausable Club. He supplied all the meals and a trout and filet mignon banquet for all his guests. It was neat to be part of it. SR: During your years as vice president and president what were the significant issues of the time? PC: During the late 1970s the 46ers were forced to defend their existence. The canisters were becoming an issue, membership was increasing, and there was the question of whether the 46ers were negatively impacting the woods. The first all-46er volunteer trail crew was just getting go ing. While I was vice president, Jim Goodwin, #24, made a motion at the Spring ‘78 meeting to formalize the task force that Ketch had organized, and the motion passed, which established the 46er trail crew. Jim Goodwin took over the newly created position of Trailmaster. Soon after I became president, we were faced with losing access to Allen and the Santanonis from the traditional routes because the trails were on Finch Pruyn land. The paper company leased land to private hunt ing and fishing clubs that didn’t want any trespassing. Jim Goodwin was instrumental in reaching an agree ment with Richard Nason, Finch Pruyn’s chief woodlands manager and Tom Monroe, DEC’s Region 5 Director, and ultimately flagged two new routes. One from the end of Finch property up to Panther Ridge and another from Twin Brook Lean-to to state land. I worked on these two trails. SR: The Adirondack 46ers have published four books over the last 66 years: The Story of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers (1958), The Adirondack High Peaks (1970), Of the Summits, of the Forests (1991), and Heaven Up-h’isted-ness! The His tory of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers and the High Peaks of the Adirondacks (2011). You’ve written chapters in the lat est two publications titled “The Changing Role of the Ad irondack Forty-Sixers” (1991) and “Santanoni, Panther, and Couchsachraga” (2011). In addition, you’ve written numer ous articles for PEEKS magazine. What motivates you to write?

Why We Climb!

#46 for Jay and Mark, Ages 11 and 9

Whiteface on Skis

#30 on Haystack with Jim King, #2304W

14 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS

I have the skills needed and I know I could do a good job, so I became a leader. It’s the right thing to do. I coached youth soccer and wrestling also. . . . I decided to coach because I knew I could do it and I saw value in it.

PC: I like to write about things I feel strongly about that I can get into. I enjoyed writing my last article in PEEKS , "The Foolishness of Youth," because I had photo

* * Phil’s 46er journey started when he took his first step onto the train at Harmon Station and headed north to the Ad irondacks at 10 years old. Each new trail he followed, new friend he made, new song he sang, new summit he con quered, were steps toward his destiny. Phil’s personal jour ney also recognizes organizations like Camp Pok-O-Mac Cready—the places where young people are empowered to achieve independence, create lifelong friendships, and honor and revere the natural world. Phil’s phone must have rung three times during our interview: 46er business, friends calling. I love sitting next to him at club dinners; inevitably his friends stop by the table indulging in past hiking stories and filling me in on what I’ve missed: who skied all the 46, who carried the cables up Gothic, who butt slid down Santanoni, how Phil and Mary skied down Whiteface Mountain Road in record speed. If not for the 46ers and the legacies of its mem bers, the mountains would not be in the shape they are today. Phil is the epitome of what a 46er is, what a friend is, what a role model is. He is the person you want on your team because when you’re climbing the final pinnacle and the going is rough, he’ll get you singing a tune and shaking off any self-doubt you have. He’ll be the first person to give you a hand and help, answer a question, or show you the way. I know this firsthand, as he has been a huge resource to me in my new role as coeditor. Phil talked about his heroes, the role models that inspired him: Colonel Swan, Beetle Bailey, Peter Welles, the 15- and 16-year-old hikers he hiked the Super Marcy with. He told me he tried to emulate them. I couldn’t help but think about the number of sixth graders, Boy Scouts, wrestlers, soccer players, hikers, college students, editors, friends, and family members he has inspired and motivat ed, and those who are trying to emulate him. *

graphs of the Colden trap dike from the past: me clutch ing on a rock, looking down at Avalanche Lake, tiptoeing around the corner, and inching my way up. I felt strong about the message, too, knowing that an individual I knew had lost his life while leading a group. I’ve written a series of historical articles about my experiences while at Camp Pok-O-Moonshine. In one I wrote about the history of the Super Marcy hikes, which the camp shared for the 60th, 75th, 80th, and 100th anniversaries. I've written about my years in the Intermediate Section, Senior Section, and Ad vanced Section. I’ve got so many stories of what camp was like sixty years ago. I haven't published them but I'm think ing of putting them all together and doing something with them. SR: You’ve volunteered so much of your time over the years. What motivates you to step up and lend a hand? PC: Well, when I went to sign my son up for Boy Scouts, they needed a leader. It’s a good organization and I wanted my sons to be Boy Scouts. I have the skills needed and I know I could do a good job, so I became a leader. It’s the right thing to do. I coached youth soccer and wrestling also. I never played soccer in my life, but I decided to coach be cause I knew I could do it and I saw value in it. SR: In 2001, Ditt Dittmar retired after 53 years as the club’s executive secretary/treasurer, and you took the reins as treasurer. What have been your biggest challenges as trea surer? What changes do you foresee the club having to contend with in the future? PC: As the organization continues to steadily grow, our fo cus has been to digitalize the membership process. We’ve had some growing pains with our website, and we continue to invest in it to make it better. We’ve reluctantly increased our dues recently to help with this expense and it’s pos sible we will need to increase them again down the road. Being able to maintain the 46ers as an all-volunteer orga nization allows us to channel all our resources toward pres ervation and education within the high peaks. SR: What are your hopes for the future of the 46ers? PC: I hope the organization continues to grow and that af ter a hiker completes their 46er journey, they feel a sense of responsibility to give back to the mountains that they’ve enjoyed climbing. We need people to step up and support the organization’s long-term efforts in being a major con tributor in preserving the high peaks. It’s what we are all about. Volunteer. There’s plenty to do.

A Place to Reflect

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