HOME

Welcome!

Back in 1999, two friends convinced me to go ‘climb a mountain’ up in the Adirondack mountains of northern New York state. While Pharoh mountain wasn’t one of the ‘high peaks’, the inspiring view from the top had an astounding effect. I was instantly hooked, and wanted more!

Ever since then, I try to get up to the Adirondacks to go hiking at least twice a year. One of my ‘life goals’ was to summit the highest 46 peaks in New York by age 40 (which I did). These peaks are all over 4,000 feet high, (or were, way back when they were measured with not-so-accurate methods).

I became one of the 46ers in 2013, so I’m no longer aspiring.

This web site shows my many hiking trips and misadventures in the Adirondacks. The pages are organized by trip. Sometimes we were able to knock off several peaks in one trip with some careful planning.

I have repeated several of the high peaks, to help friends on their quest to become 46ers themselves. But more often than not, I’m now looking at smaller, less well-traveled hikes outside of the 46. I hope you enjoy your visit! Please remember to leave no trace, and be considerate to the mountains, the trails and other hikers.

My “original” 46er hikes:
(in chronological order):

1.) Haystack, Basin & Saddleback (July, 2004)

2.) Phelps (October, 2004)

3.) Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge (August 2005)

4.) Cascade & Porter (October 2005)

5.) Upper/Lower Wolfjaw, Armstrong & Gothics (July 2006)

6.) Big Slide via The Brothers (October 2006)

7.) Sawteeth, Colvin & Blake (July 2007)

8.) Street & Nye (October 2007)

9.) MacIntyre Range, Part One (July 2008)

10.) Whiteface & Esther (August 2009)

11.) Colden & Tabletop (October 2009)

12.) The Dix Range (July 2010)

13.) Dial & Nippletop (September 2010)

14.) The Santanoni Range (July 2011)

15.) Allen Mountain (October 2011)

16.) The Seward Range (July 2012)

17.) MacIntyre Range, Part Two (September 2012)

18.) Marcy, Skylight, Gray, Redfield & Gray (June 2013)

The 46 highest peaks

in New York State

LATEST HIKE:

Pete’s big finish on Wright Peak

Additional 46er re-hikes:
(in chronological order):

19.) Street & Nye 2 — (Winter) (March 2014)

20.) Big Slide 2 — (Winter) (March 2015)

21.) Colden 2 (July 2015)

22.) Nippletop & Dial 2 — (Winter) (March 2016)

23.) Haystack 2 (July 2016)

24.) Esther & Whiteface 2 (September 2016)

25.) Phelps 2 — (Winter) (March 2017)

26.) Cascade (August 2017)

27.) Big Slide 3 plus Bonus Material (August 2017)

28.) Colvin & Blake 2 (July 2020)

29.) MacIntyre Range, Part Three (September 2020)

Other great hikes
in the Adirondacks

Pharoh Mountain (September, 1999)

Ampersand Mountain (October, 2003)

Brewster Peninsula (October 2006)

Mt. Jo (October 2007)

Owl’s Head of Keene (October 2009)

Cobble Hill (October 2010)

Baxter Mountain (October 2011)

Bald Mountain (August 2012)

Silver Lake Mountain (October 2012)

Big Crow Mountain (October 2013)

Baker Mountain (October 2014)

Belfry Mountain (October 2015)

Panther Mountain (October 2015)

Copperas Pond (August 2016)

Cobble Lookout (October 2016)

Henry’s Woods (October 2017)

Catamount Mountain (October 2018)

Snow Mountain (October 2019)

Mt. Marcy

Algonquin Peak

Mt. Haystack

Mt. Skylight

Whiteface Mt.

Dix Mt.

Gray Peak*

Iroquois Peak

Basin Mt.

Gothics

Mt. Colden

Giant Mt.

Nippletop

Santanoni Peak*

Mt. Redfield*

Wright Peak

Saddleback Mt.

Panther Peak*

Table Top Mt.*

Rocky Peak Ridge

Macomb Mt.*

Armstrong Mt.

Hough Peak*

Seward Mt.*

Mt. Marshall*

Allen Mt.*

Big Slide Mt.

Esther Mt.*

Upper Wolfjaw Mt.

Lower Wolfjaw Mt.

Street Mt.*

Phelps Mt.

Mt. Donaldson*

Seymour Mt.*

Sawteeth

Cascade Mt.

South Dix*

Porter Mt.

Mt. Colvin

Mt. Emmons*

Dial Mt.*

Grace Peak

Blake Peak

Cliff Mt.*

Nye Mt.*

Couchsachraga Peak*

5,344

5,114

4,960

4,926

4,867

4,857

4,840

4,827

4,736

4,714

4,627

4,620

4,607

4,606

4,580

4,515

4,442

4,427

4,420

4,405

4,400

4,361

4,360

4,340

4,240

4,185

4,1754,166

4,161

4,140

4,120

4,100

4,098

4,060

4,059

4,057

4,040

4,020

4,012

3,960

3,895

3,820

Updated fall 2020

Round Mountain, Dix and Nippletop from Giant

Are these mountains truly being
‘Loved to Death’?
In a Fall 2017, the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper published an article about how traffic on the trails is at an all-time high, and all the positives, (and mostly negatives) that come with that situation. It made for
an interesting read, and I highly recommend you check it out for yourself: Link to web article

My opinion is that yes, to a certain degree, the mountains are being loved to death. And yes, I fully realize that this very web blog has aided in bringing awareness to hiking the Adirondack high peaks, and inspired people to become 46ers. It is not lost on me that I share guilt with all the Facebookers, Instagramers, SnapChatters etc., for popularizing the peakbagging in the high peaks region. Granted, I’m not sure I have more than a handful of loyal readers, but still, there’s some proverbial blood on my hands, too; I get that.

Conversely, I hope that these blog posts have in some small way, demonstrated good techniques and respect for these mountains, such as the all-important ‘leave no trace’ principle, hiking on approved DEC foot trails only, hiking in properly-sized groups, use of bear-resistant food canisters, use of latrines and proper waste disposal and more. When hiking, we leave nothing but footprints behind, and even pick up trash we may have encountered along our journey. Anyone who hikes with us also wear snowshoes in the winter, instead of post-holing and ruining the trail for others following us.

We never hike in spring, when melting snow and heavy rains and mud wreak havoc on the trails and lead to lots of erosion. There’s likely more we can do, no doubt, I’m not saying we’re perfect. We just hope that all who visit this amazing area (and all such trails, really), shows it the respect it deserves, by not littering, burying your waste off-trail, leaving no trace, doing your research and therefore being prepared properly for your adventures and being respectful also to other hikers. Oh, and don’t forget to have fun out there, too, obviously.

One last note on the subject: since becoming a 46er in 2013, I have certainly repeated several of the 46 again, in helping friends you see on these pages to complete their own 46er journeys. But many of those guys have finished now, and I’m finding the desire to seek out new hikes that I’ve never done before, to new areas that I’ve never seen, or maybe areas I may have been to, but from a different trailhead or viewpoint. I’m also enjoying visiting other, smaller hikes that aren’t necessarily 46er peaks, but still offer that amazing view from the top, or scenic wonder. My long-winded point is that there’s so much to hike in the Adirondacks, and my focus has been so narrowly aimed at the 46 until I finished that quest. I now have expanded my view, and realize that there’s so much more that I want to see and do up there. If you’re finished with your 46, then perhaps you’ll begin to appreciate some of the many other wonderful, scenic options that the Adirondacks have to offer, like I have. Keep checking back here every once in a while, for a new adventure. Maybe it’ll open your eyes to something other than the (wonderful) 46, and perhaps lighten the load on the 46 highest peaks and trails that service them, just a little bit. If you’ve read this far, THANKS!

Image courtesy of The Post-Standard

Photography by Jon Cammarata, Tanner Gjersvig, Andy and Karen Schweitzer, Mark Cammarata, Dave Hine, Jonathan Fitch and Zack Stephanchick. Topographic trail map images shown on the following pages are courtesy of TopoZone.com, Google, National Geographic, Garmin BaseCamp, Adirondack Mountain Club, Strava.com and mapmyhike.com

DISCLAIMER:

This website is provided for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to serve as an instructional guide, or present itself as an authority for Adirondack high peak hiking. The trails and experiences mentioned and illustrated herein are nothing more than my personal hiking archive. If you are interested in hiking mountains such as the ones listed here, GREAT, but you should not depend on the information in this website to plan any excursions. You should research a wide variety of informational sources, websites, hiking guide books and topographic maps found elsewhere. Go talk to the guys at Eastern Mountain Sports in Lake Placid or the Mountaineer in Keene Valley. Do the research, be prepared, like a good Boy Scout. This website, and therefore its’ owner/author, cannot assume any responsibility for any injuries you may incur while hiking in the Adirondack mountains, (or worse). Thank you for viewing!