ANTHONY GETTINO
Assistant Sports Editor
Fun fact: there are 46 high peaks in the state of New York.
Another fun fact: we here at Fredonia have a student who has hiked them all.
Mickie Wadsworth, a senior Music Composition major, is the only person I’ve ever heard of who’s accomplished this feat, but they say that if you’re able to, it should be on your bucket list.
“If the person is in shape and prepared with the proper gear, the views and journey are amazing,” they said.
“There are smaller challenges like the Lake Placid 9er, Fire Tower Challenge, Saranac 6er and Lake George 12ster for people who want to get more experience before tackling the 46er challenge.”
“Er” after a number indicates how many peaks the total of the group of peaks is, with a 46er being the entire grouping of high peaks in New York State.
Wadsworth is originally from Lake George, where they started this expedition with a friend.
They only started by hiking around the surrounding area of Lake George, then decided to try a few high peaks and see how they were.
From that point on, Wadsworth and their friend were hooked, and decided to go for all 46 in New York.
However, it isn’t all easy climbs and beautiful views.
“I would say that there isn’t necessarily a ‘most difficult’ peak,” said Wadsworth.
“Everyone has their one or two that they really hate and the reasons are different. They are all challenging, but I personally thought that the Seward Range was the hardest. It was three high peaks and over 20 miles. The day I did it, it was super hot and the bugs were insane. That’s why I personally found it the most difficult one. Allen was also really hard because you have to climb up a rock slide that’s covered in very slick, red slime.”
As is with life, there are certain things that come easy for some and harder for others, just like these high peaks of New York.
But with the challenges come rewards as well.
For Wadsworth, one of the best rewards was the last peak of the journey: “ I was so excited when I made it to the top of the last peak. It was bittersweet because it’s something that I had worked on over three summers, and to have such a big goal finally be accomplished, [it] left me thinking about what to do next. I saved Big Slide Mountain for my last peak. I ascended via The Brothers which offered amazing views along the way.”
Another one of these spoils was Wadsworth’s favorite peak: Grace Peak.
The reasoning why wasn’t just because of the view at the top, either.
“It [Grace Peak] is part of the Dix Range, which consists of five high peaks. I hiked Grace by going up the Macomb rock slide, over the summit of Macomb and the summit of South Dix. The trail then leads to Grace Peak. It was recently renamed from East Dix after a person named Grace Hudowalski who was the first woman 46er. I really liked Grace Peak because the views from the summit were beautiful. It was a large summitt and there were a lot of different outlooks and places to explore.”
According to Wadsworth, hiking is great motivation to do some pushups and situps in your dorm room when you’re about to watch another episode of Avatar or Riverdale.
“It’s a great motivator to stay in shape when I’m at school because I can’t go hiking at home if I haven’t been physically active during the semester.”
If you too want to start hiking high peaks but don’t know which one to start with, visit this site to learn more details about each and every one of the 46 high peaks in the state of New York.