We Want to be 46ers!

Kris and I have a goal. We want to be 46ers!

What does this mean?

Saying you’re a 46er means you’ve hiked all 46 of the high peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. The Adirondack High Peaks were believed to be the peaks higher than 4,000 feet. It was later determined that four of the peaks (Blake, Cliff Mountain, Nye Mountain, and Couchsachraga Peak) were less than 4,000 feet. Due to tradition, they were kept in the group despite the revised estimates.

Twenty peaks have no official trail to the top. Instead, they have herd paths or a small path created by previous hikers. Good compass skills are especially important for these trails. It’s often difficult to discern what constitutes the trail as markings are scarce.

Kris and I have done quite a bit of hiking and are up for the challenge. I must admit, though, that I have doubts on whether or not we can achieve our goal. The infographic below isn’t helping. It was taken from Adirondack.net, a great source for all things Adirondacks.

History

The history of the 46ers dates back to 1918. Brothers, Robert and George Marshall, along with a friend, Herbert Clarke, climbed Whiteface Mountain. Their quest to climb all 46 high peaks had begun. The three men spent the next eight years hiking until they conquered them all.

Later, in the 1930s, members of the Grace Methodist Church in Troy, New York began hiking the High Peaks. After Reverand Ernest Ryder and Edward Hudowalski finished the last of the 46 they formed a hiking club. This hiking club would later become the Adirondack 46ers.

Over time more and more people became interested in hiking all 46 peaks. Therefore, the club was expanded to welcome new members, and their first official meeting took place in 1948 at the Adirondack Loj.

Our Story

Let me tell you why this is a hard post to write. I’m in my mid to late 30s, rapidly approaching 40. I wish I would have realized how much I loved hiking when I was 20. I’m no math genius but that’s nearly 20 years I’ve spent not hiking the high peaks. Now don’t get me wrong, I love doing things with our kids and experiencing things together as a family. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly jealous of my younger, kidless friends out hiking those harder trails. My 24 year old self was working like a crazy person stressing over student loan bills and panicking over apartment rent. I hadn’t discovered yet that hiking could help minimize the stress.

So basically now I’m worried I don’t have enough time to hike all 46. Wah Wah Wah. But since I’m a planner, I have a plan 🙂

We created a spreadsheet of all the high peaks.

We camp in the Adirondacks at least once a year. If we tackle two of the High Peaks each year we can be done before we’re eligible for Medicare. Ha! At least hiking improves bone density. My hope is to get Cascade, Porter and Giant crossed off our list by the end of next year. We’ll keep you posted on our progress here.

Hopefully I can put this on my car some day 🙂