Haystack, Basin and the last snow on Marcy? 05/27/2012

Mount Marcy and its snow bowl, viewed from Haystack's summit

My wife Beth and I have a deal: when there’s an opportunity for her to get another peak towards her 46, she gets to hike. On Sunday Beth teamed up with three of the women she hiked with last summer to tackle Haystack Mountain in the upper Great Range. Haystack is often cited as having the best view of all the High Peaks, not only for its close-up perspective on surrounding peaks like Marcy and Gothics, but also for its feeling of all-encompassing wilderness. As a bonus, the view on Sunday included what may be winter’s last remaining snow in the Adirondacks.

Cliff Mountain: 08/11/2011

We had a bit of a backlog of trip reports to clear, but the following is a short fifth report in a series on women hiking the High Peaks. To keep things moving, I agreed to write this report, even though I wasn't along for the hike. -Jeff

Marcy at the Lake Colden outlet dam

The original plan for this trip was to climb both Cliff and Redfield in a day, since both peaks use the same approach. Four hikers (Beth, Marcy, Judy and Judy's friend) met early at the Upper Works trailhead to begin the long hike via Flowed Lands and Lake Colden to the Uphill Brook lean-to, located just below the start of the herd paths to Cliff and Redfield at around 3200’ elevation.

Santanoni "Express" Circuit: 08/03/2011

Following is the fourth post in a series about women hiking the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. An early start and use of the "new" Santanoni Express route allowed Beth, Marcy and Judy to complete a circuit of the rugged, trailless Santanoni Range in a 12-hour day.

Posted by: Beth Gelber

Following our Dix Range traverse last month, three of us planned an attempt at the three peaks of the Santanoni range. For Judy, with just 6 peaks to go towards finishing her 46, the Santanonis represented half of her remaining peaks. For Marcy and me, it was a chance to knock off another challenging group of trailless peaks.

Five Dixes in a Day: 07/23/2011

Following is another guest report from my wife, Beth. She is really racking up the peaks this summer! It is the third in a series of posts about women hiking the High Peaks of the Adirondacks.

Posted by: Beth Gelber

High Peaks panorama from Macomb

For years, a group of women from New Paltz, NY and their extended group of friends have descended upon Keene Valley for 2 nights in July, to share a day of hiking or other outdoor recreation in the High Peaks. What started out as a chance for a group of moms to get away for a weekend of camping and hiking has inspired many in the group to pursue climbing all of the 46 highest peaks in the Adirondacks. Now, each year, it seems that some of the women finish the 46, or at least get a little closer. I was lucky to join this group of women this year, and connect with a great group of hiking partners.

The Seward Range: 07/09/2011

The following is a guest report from my wife, Beth, and represents the second in a series of posts about women hiking the High Peaks of the Adirondacks.

Posted by: Beth Gelber

Pictured L to R on Emmons' summit: Marie, Marcy, Judy, Beth, Helen, Carol. Not pictured: Elizabeth

My husband Jeff has been an Adirondack 46er for more than 20 years, and has re-climbed them all several times over. Last summer he encouraged me to “restart” my 46 with less than twenty summits under my belt. Since he would rather be in the High Peaks, in any weather conditions, than ALMOST anywhere else, he is probably very happy that I've recently met up with an extended group of women friends who are all aspiring 46ers like me. If he can’t be out there hiking the big peaks with our young kids, then at least he can be living vicariously through my trip reports!

Tabletop Mtn: 06/12/2011

With reports of landslides, flooding and road closures in the news over the past month and a half, it's no surprise that this hasn’t been a great spring for hiking in the Adirondacks. But, despite a sketchy weekend weather forecast, Beth had a chance to hike Tabletop Mountain with two friends on Sunday, picking off another peak towards her 46.