23 of the 46

The High Peaks are the 46 mountains above 4,000 feet in Adirondack, New York. It was later determined that a few peaks are not quite 4,000 feet, but the original list has remained the same.  The 46ers maintain an official list of those who have summited all 46 peaks and organize trail maintenance.

I've been away from the High Peaks for a while now (it hurts), but I am halfway through my 46! :-) I wrote a short little blurb for each experience because it's been a while since I've done some of these peaks and I won't remember enough for a full trip report.

These are some fun mountains and I can't wait to get back to climbing them.

Whiteface... 11/6/16
My first RPI Outing Club trip and first high peak!

Whiteface allegedly has great views, but the summit was socked in a cloud. Many of our group members were new and unprepared (oops), but luckily the leaders had extra gear. I wore cotton gloves in winter conditions... Lia was kind enough to give me some handwarmers.

Whiteface is the only developed 46er. This came in handy, because our group of new hikers was pretty slow. It was starting to get dark, so we decided to walk down the highway (closed to cars at this point in the year) instead of the trail. To our pleasant surprise, we were able to see Lake Placid on the way down and get a bit of a view.

My hands were really cold.

Cascade... 1/21/17
Another "good view" summit spent inside a cloud. Learned how to self-arrest though. Another Outing Club trip.

Porter... 1/21/17
The same day as Cascade, and also in a cloud.

Phelps... 2/4/17
My first view!! It was still moody, but the clouds would roll in and out to give us peek-a-boo views and it was AWESOME. Another Outing Club trip.

Street... 2/11/17
We had a lot of fun goofing around in snowshoes. Another Outing Club trip.

Nye... 2/11/17
My snowshoe straps broke and Jesse tied a square knot to hold me over (+1). MSR snowshoes are the worst. Jesse also pushed me over into a massive pile of snow (-1).

Esther... 3/25/17
There's a cool plaque on this summit, but I wouldn't know, since we did this hike in winter conditions. With Lia and John O.

Colden... 9/16/17
An amazing camping trip... and my first High Peak overnight! I love sleeping in a hammock. We stargazed at Marcy Dam and Greg C. stood really close to me (foreshadowing). The views from Colden were beautiful. Another Outing Club trip with Lia, Tucker, and Greg!

Algonguin... 9/24/17
We camped the night before at the site near MacIntyre Brook. I hiked this one as an amazing sunrise with Greg, Kelly, and Clarisse. There were a lot of rock scrambles and we would take breaks to stargaze and catch our breath. Might be my favorite High Peak.

Iroquis... 9/24/17
We hiked this one from Algonquin, and were able to see the shadow of Big Al on the valley and remaining sunrise colors in the sky as we hiked. It was wild. It's a fun hike over Boundary Peak, but the turn off is a bit confusing (we accidentally went down the super steep back side of Iroquois for like two minutes).

Wright... 9/24/17
The steepest .4 miles of my life! There was a steep descent that freaked me out. Greg told me he had something that would help, so he said c'mere, and kissed me. Our first kiss! On Wright!

Lower Wolfjaw... 12/19/17
Fun, chill hike. My first hike from St. Huberts trailhead. I did this one with Amy and we saw a fox!

Upper Wolfjaw... 12/19/17
Amy didn't need this one anymore for her 46, but I convinced her to repeat it with me. We broke trail the whole day, since it was a Tuesday. There was a section of steep icy rock that was tricky to make it up in just snowshoes so crampons or an ice axe could be helpful in the winter.

Big Slide... 1/27/18
This was a fun, easy day with great views. I did this one with Greg, Lia, and Jaiden.

Marcy... 8/27/18
Super fun day with Jaiden. Amazing views from the tallest high peak. Met my first summit steward and saw my first mink! We took a short detour to Indian Falls, which had a great view of the MacIntyre Range. We basically ran on the way out, which Jaiden did not appreciate. Last high peak before the new school year!

Allen... 10/20/18
The slide was already a bit icy (finally got to experience the infamous slippery red slime), so we wore microspikes. We camped the night before and did Allen in full packs (???). My Walmart tent only weighed 9.9 pounds. Super long, but really fun adventure. Morale boosters (commercially sold as "Starbursts") were very necessary. There are great views going up the slide and just off from the summit. Did this one with Jenn, Lachlan, Jaiden, and Taylor... and it was Taylor's first high peak!

Giant... 11/21/18
Did this as an overnight with Taylor and Clarisse right before Thanksgiving break. Clarisse was not a fan of winter mountaineering and didn't want to push on to RPR (which was unbroken). Giant was in the clouds anyways, so I'd like to go back for the views on a Giant-RPR-Bald Ridge Trail traverse.

Gothics... 1/12/19
This was a really fun trip with some Outing Club pals— Greg, Rambo (Ethan R.), Mac, Lachlan, and Taylor. It was Mac's first (successful) High Peak! We had a bluebird day and the views were amazing.  Some icy sections.

Colvin... 3/2/19
We camped Friday night at one of the Gilbrook sites, hiked Colvin and Blake Saturday, camped again, and hiked out Sunday. Super fun weekend of being outside. Got a bit cold (and mildly hypothermic) after buttsliding down Colvin. But it was nothing that couldn't be solved with a warm meal, changing clothes, snuggling, and throwing hot water bottles into the feet of our sleeping bags. Colvin was supposed to be in storm clouds, but the day started out as bluebird and we got awesome summit views instead!! Great trip with Greg. I brought along my new camera and took fancy photos for the first time!

Blake... 3/2/19
"Bleak Peak"... boring and brushy. The backside of Colvin looks pretty cool (and steep) though. There were some fun butt slides down, so the descent was speedy.

Nippletop... 3/16/19  
Another ROC trip! We ascended via the steep climb up Elk Pass and were treated to some cool views from the ridge. Two dudes ahead of us postholed the heeeck outta this trail (bad vibes). We also met two other men descending the summit and they told us we were "knocking on the door now", which became a catch phrase for the next few months. We also managed to hit Indian Head/Fishhawk Cliffs for some awesome views.

Dial... 3/16/19
Felt easy after Nippletop. Fun boulder on the summit. We passed Noonmark's burnt shoulder on the way down and saw forest fire evidence and new trees growing. Suuuupeer cool.

Tabletop... 3/17/19
Another ROC trip, and this one felt easy after Nippletop and Dial. Tabletop lived up to its name with an interesting and flat summit. There were some good views as we were ascending and a closeup of Marcy from the summit. This peak took me a few tries due to sleeping through trips and bad weather, but HALFWAY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

My trips were not always the most efficient way to group these peaks. There were a few trips (such as Whiteface and Esther) where it probably would have made more sense to climb both at once.

However, I was a freshman in Outing Club when I started hiking these peaks. I had no car and didn't know much about the High Peaks so I just went happily along with whatever trip the group leader had planned.

Happy hiking!