Life after 46...

[ronandjon]

As my wife says, I need a Project!

She knows I'm not happy unless I am working towards some kind of challenging goal. And, she is very supportive of me, but that's another thread.

Currently, the my pursuit of the 46 has been consuming me since 1998. With 38 down and the Sewards, the Santanoni's, Cliff and Allen to go, I just might finish this year - or not.

My son Jon, who got me started on these, finished last August. He will be away this summer, and studying overseas this Fall, so while I would like to finish on Allen in August with him before he goes, maybe not.

Trying to become a 46er is, for any number of reasons, the hardest thing I have ever tried, at least physically, and while I am pretty sure I am going to make it, there are still periods of doubt. So, speculating on what I will do after I finish them all is a little premature - but I will anyway.

Like Rhihn, I find that the goal of the 46 sometimes gets in the way of doing other things. I very much enjoyed Indian Head (not Owls Head, as I mistakenly posted) last Wednesday, and I am sure there are other places I would enjoy that are not High Peaks.

There are a bunch of High Peaks that were fogged or rained or snowed in when I wnet the first time, and I would like to try some of them again. The view from Phelps last Sunday was terrific, on my second trip there (warming up for the season), and going with a frist timer made it even more fun.

Jon swears the views from Big Slide are great - I'd like to try that one again, since all I saw on our first trip there was fog.

The Northville Lake Placid Trail sounds fun - I really enjoyed Duck Hole when I was there a couple of years ago. Whether I try it as a thru hike, or in pieces - who knows.

My wife is afraid of heights, but likes the outdoors I've taken her to some great places I've found along the way to the 46, like Marcy Dam - I'd love to show her more: Beaver Meadow Falls and Rainbow Falls come to mind. Hey, climbing nothing higher than a speed bump sounds pretty good to me at times, too!

It might be nice to be released from the self-imposed tyranny of a "list" It will probably be a little depressing, too. But, I'm pretty sure I will be on to other things - I'm just not sure what they will be.

Anyway, as George Bernard Shaw said, "Man can climb to the highest summits; but he cannot dwell there long."

 

[ken]

>>Seeing that AIG has started this thread and he is from Tonawanda (which for those of you that don't know) which is in the buffalo area, it is very far just to get to the Adk Mtns nevertheless, Whites, Maine or other places you mention,<<

no further than the adk46:

http://www.catskill-3500-club.org/
http://www.adk-gfs.org/fire_tower_challenge.html

and after you climb those 63 mountains you will get 2 patches

 

[TenPeaks]

I've been hiking since before I knew any lists existed. By the time I found out about the NH 4K's I've already done about 15 of them. I eventually found someone who liked to hike as much as I do so I wiped my slate clean and we made it a goal to complete the 48 4K list together.

Now that they are done we're working on the NE 67 and hope to have that list done this summer. We're also hitting some of the 100 highest when ever one is close by.

After we finished the 48 we felt that the pressure was off and we could explore other area's we've heard so much about. We've done hikes to see waterfalls, alpine flowers, unique views and other odds and ends that perked our interest. Just this past weekend we hiked up the moats in the rain and fog so I can add a couple of pins to my White Mountain map.

 

[markandkelly]

enjoyable hiking

ALG mentioned us as two new 46r's, we are very excited to have accomplished this goal together and have incredible stories to share. We even have an awesome picture on the summit of Haystack where I asked Kelly to marry me (we started hiking together before dating and over the past year fell in love and hiked all 46) Now we get to plan a wedding, and a honeymoon (a beautiful cabin on a lake with a trail up a mountain behind), and hike some of the mountains that we enjoyed the most over again.

It's been a couple of weeks since our last hike and we really want to go again. Life after the list, probably means we won't push ourselves to do the crazy long hikes. We'll probably have a little more resolve to turn around and not spend 18 hours trying to get the Seward range and then wake up 5 hours later to hike Seymour.

I like the thought of Noonmark ...

Mark

 

[Peakbagr]

Besides the stuff outside of NY, there's the ADK100 and Catskill100. They're enough to keep you very busy for a few years.

 

[daxs]

I was possessed for 2 summers before completing my ADK 46. I was driving long distances many weekends to pick off a few more mountains. I went into work on Mondays exhausted from long hikes and long drives. some/many of the hikes solo. After I finished, I stopped hiking to finish a list. Ok, I am slowly picking away at the Catskill 3500 and the Firetower list but its not a priority. For example, I have not hiked a catskill 3500 peak since late winter 2006. If I finish I finish, if not so what. Now I hike for the sheer enjoyment of hiking, not to add something to a list. There are alot of great hikes out there that do not involve peaks on a list. For for it.

 

[Skyclimber]

I must admit I felt a letdown when I completed the Forty Six. Then decided to do some of them over in the Winter, for a different experience. I surely didn't feel letdown when I finished the Winter Forty Six but yet felt a relief!

We must keep in mind, that even though, the goal has been achieved, that it doesn’t mean that we must stop climbing Mountains. . . It’s a “New Beginning,” with so many other trails and Mountains, in which we can climb and special places for us to see, just waiting for us, to challenge and explore.

 

[Puma concolor]

Haha. Funny to go back and read my own comments from 3 years ago. I pretty much feel the same way now as I did then, though. It's all good ... so many different ways to go. I've been enjoying winter hiking, traverse type hikes and of course State Highpointing (12 tough 'uns to go). Others enjoy slide climbing and nasty bushwhacks. The 46Rs are just the start. Of course, I get the feeling Algonquin Bob knows this pretty well.

 

[Rik]

Lists are just to entertain me while I am not hiking!!

Sooooooooo, I have created so many variations of the 46 list that I don't see myself finishing any of these lists anytime soon and I have lots of fun planning my upcoming trips. The options are limitless! ( solo, winter solo, bushwhack routes, slide routes, 4 season 46, 12 month 46, etc. )

Even with all these options, some hikes just don't fit a list .........
and that is a list too!

This fits how I feel.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Am I the only person here who doesn't do lists?

 

[Oldsmores]

Am I the only person here who doesn't do lists?

LOL, no, there are at least two of us

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

LOL, no, there are at least two of us

Okay, good. I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me.


It's good to have some non-list people around. I told a "lister" a few weekends ago that non list folks are some of the best hiking partners around -- we're up for anything and don't care where we go.

 

[Jay H]

You two should start a list.

Non-list people:

1)Pudgy_Groundhog
2)Oldsmores

Anybody else?

Jay

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

I like that -- a list for the nonlist people.

But I do know two more people to add to the list (Steve and Brad), so now it's more like a list.

 

[likeitsteep]

You two should start a list.

Non-list people:

1)Pudgy_Groundhog
2)Oldsmores

Anybody else?

Jay

3)likeitsteep

just don't have the time. the proximity to most of the ranges is also a setback. i agree with p. groundhog. we'll do anything. and often multiple times.

 

[Oldsmores]

I agree with Mark about Noonmark - I ignored it for many years, but it's an awesome mountain. If pursuing lists and numbers gets you out in the mountains, that's great, but in the end the numbers are meaningless. It's the experience that makes climbing worthwhile, not the patch.

LOL, I was reviewing the early posts on this thread and found an opportunity to quote myself (something I can rarely resist).

 

[Jay H]

I'm pretty sure Noonmark is on the ADK100... It's 36XX something and a very nice peak. I'd like to do Round Mtn too someday, didn't have time to do that as Spongebob and I spent a good 45 minutes basking in the sun on the summit the one August day.

I didn't get a chance to push him off the ledge up there either..Damm!

Jay

 

[Rob S]

I'm pretty sure Noonmark is on the ADK100... It's 36XX something and a very nice peak.

Noonmark is indeed on the ADK100 list and is Number 88 at 3556 feet.

 

[Willoughby]

You two should start a list.

Non-list people:

1)Pudgy_Groundhog
2)Oldsmores

Anybody else?

Jay

Here's another variation: complete one of the major lists (46Rs, 48, whatever - you pick) with non-listers as your hiking companions.

See who converts the other...

 

[Oldsmores]

I'm pretty sure Noonmark is on the ADK100... It's 36XX something...

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!