1981 July 28

Dear Grace,

We made it! Through, over the years, blisters, rain and inclement weather, and moments of dark, deep despair, we stuck to our goal. Our attempt at the 46 helped to teach me about setting a goal and sticking with it through thick and thin (and, especially in poor mom's case, blisters!). In this respect the 46 have been more than just hiking experience - they have taught me a bit about life, too. We had both good and bad times on those mountains!

It is a very satisfying feeling to know you have done something big like tackle 46 mountains which are completely covered with black ooze, mud, rocks, and roots (not to mention the blowdown, scrub spruce, or the "maintained" trails!). I suppose I am beginning to sound as if we had an awful time every time we hiked, but of course we didn't. There have been many happy moments and laughs experienced while hiking. We have also kept a mental list of a few of the 46 mountains which would really be fun to tackle again. All in all, we have had great fun hiking of the 46 High peaks.

On this last final trip we managed to put in a couple of 22-mile days. On Monday, June 29, we set out to tackle Marshall and Cliff, having gotten Redfield last year in a thunderstorm. We trudged full speed ahead past Avalanche Lake and over Hitch-up Matilda to arrive at the base of Marshall. The hike up the stream was really quite nice, but there was no view at all from the top of Marshall - a common trait, we have decided, of untrailed mountains.

While hiking up Cliff, we found how the mountain had earned its name. After coming down, the "maintained" trail we hit was so sloggy, muddy and WET that I swore I was going to write a nasty letter to somebody in trail maintenance. (I never actually get around to doing things like that, of course!). We emerged at the junction of the bad trail and a main trial to find that the bad trail had been blocked off! Now Redfield and Cliff are really "untrailed".

My feet and legs ached slightly as we emerged at Adk. Loj from our 22-mile hike. I had no specific pains or blisters, but just a general dull ache. I could tell that, even though I did hurt some, my daily 2-mile run had to condition me over the shape I was in last year.

The next day we set out to tackle Street and Nye. The herdpath going up the stream was very well-defined and the brook itself was much prettier than Marshall's. We didn't have any trouble finding Street - we just followed the herdpath that branched off to the left of the brook. Coming off of Street, though, we somehow missed the main thoroughfare over to Nye and so, with the aid of the compass and dad's directional skills and capabilities, had to bushwhack through scrub spruce until we hit a trail on the hogback near Nye which led us to Nye's summit. We cheered a lot on top because for us Nye marked the end of the untrailed peaks of the High Peaks! It turned out to be a 12 or 13 mile day.

We decided to take a day of rest so we would be fresher before tackling Colden and Haystack in another 22-mile day. We enjoyed our day of rest and relaxation, not to mention swimming, very much!

Thursday dawned cloudy; it was misty and foggy up in the mountains. When we reached the top of Colden, it was still fairly socked in, although we could see down the dike to Avalanche Lake and could catch glimpses of nearby mountains through patches in the fog.

Our spirits on a high because there was only one more mountain to go, we started the trek over to Haystack. We took a rest at Phelps junction on the shoulder of Marcy before the descent into that 700-foot last col. Out of the col, up to Little Hatstack, from which our goal was in sight. Jeff made it first, but I came in 2nd! We shouted a bit on top and had a leisurely lunch. The clouds and fog lifted enough to show us for a few minutes the fantastic view which Haystack boasts. we finally set off for the trek out, feeling triumphant and exultant that we had conquered all 46 at last!

We realized too late (after we had left) that we had not taken our customary pictures of ourselves on the Haystack summit. So, on Little Haystack, we took pictures of us grinning and pointing to the Haystack behind us. (Of course, in accordance to Murphy's Law, Haystack was almost completely fogged in by then, so it didn't show up too well in the pictures! But we did feel lucky that we had been able to see the view from the summit.)

Once we reached the Marcy-shoulder junction again, we took a slight respite before continuing onward. Spirits were high (at least mine were) - for it was all down from there on out. We psychologically had it made: all we had to do now was walk out!

The remaining 8 miles went fairly uneventfully. We did get tired, of course - we were very glad to see Marcy Dam. On the last mile out to Adirondack Loj, past the junction up to Algonquin, my right knee and hip really decided to let me know that they were ready to quit. But we all (really Mom & I) just kept plodding and hobbling (limping, too!) along. Mom and I decided to try to enter the parking lot looking fresh. We plastered grins on our faces and tried to stride briskly off the trail. I'm sure we looked about ready to collapse - it must have been awfully funny to see us!

For the first few days none of us could really believe we had done it! I think it has sunken in by now, though. We were (and are) glad and maybe a bit wistful to be done, but we felt much satisfaction, relief, victory, etc., etc., that we had finished a job well done.

To me, the Adirondacks will always remain my first big hikes, on which we all learned a lot and had great fun. I'm glad we decided to do it and stuck to it - this has all been the experience of a lifetime!

Many thanks to you, Grace, for being patient and kind not only with us, but all other finished and aspiring 46ers as well, and for writing letters back to each of us. We appreciate it vey much and applaud you for your efforts!

with love from a
now-addicted hiker,
Jennifer Wagener
age 15 1/2
46er !