Adirondack Sports January 2024

JANUARY 2024 21
HAYSTACK SUMMIT
WITH ZUZU.
CASCADE
SUMMIT WITH
COUSIN JACOB.
46ER PARTY ON WHITEFACE
SUMMIT THANKS TO GRAMMY!
CHRIS CARRYING
80-POUND SCHATZI
DOWN ALGONQUIN.
year. My dad was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail and
we tried to meet him along the way whenever he was within
driving distance. We hiked the highest peaks in Maine,
New Hampshire and Massachusetts with him.
In 2021 we hiked the entire Dix range – Macomb (#17),
South Dix (#18), Grace Peak (#19), Hough (#20) and Dix
(#21). I don’t remember the name of the trail we took, but
parts of it felt like it was a playground built for us by God.
By the end of 2021 we had completed 21 High Peaks
together and it started to feel like we might actually
achieve our goal. We had already gotten the “easy” ones
out of the way so the remaining peaks would be a challenge.
In 2022 we did Colden (#22) and Tabletop (#23) in
June and the Santanoni range – Santanoni (#24), Panther
(#25) and Couchsachraga (#26) – in August. The kids had
so much fun in the mud bogs on the Santanoni range.
They made no attempt to avoid them and we shared a lot
of laughs that day. My dad joined us for Marshall (#27),
Gray (#28), and Skylight (#29), and we camped at a leanto
near Lake Colden. We hiked Allen Mountain (#30) in
November of 2022.
That brings us to our final year. Sophie and Eddie are
now 12 and 10 years old, and Chris mentioned at the
beginning of the summer that it could be possible to finish
them this year, if we did several peaks each time. It
was exciting to see that our goal was within reach and we
all felt motivated.
We started off the summer with the Seward range:
Seymour (#31), Seward (#32), Donaldson (#33) and
Emmons (#34). This was a very long day and our most
difficult hike. The kids really impressed me on this one.
HOUGH SUMMIT
WITH GRAMPY.
The last few miles were grueling, especially because by
Chris’s estimation we should have already been done, but
everyone kept a positive attitude – and Eddie reminded
me that “every step is one step closer.”
In July we did Dial (#35), Nippletop (#36), Colvin (#37)
and Blake (#38). On this hike, I realized the hard truth that
my kids are now much better hikers than me! They were
gracious about having to wait for me, but it was strange to
think about how when we started this journey, I was the
one waiting for them.
We did Haystack (#39), Basin (#40), and Saddleback
(#41) – aka “HaBaSa” – in August. While Chris was planning
this one, he saw a post on Facebook that someone
was gifting a reservation at Adirondack Mountain Club’s
Grace Camp for the following day because they could no
longer use it. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play
a trick on the kids so we didn’t tell them we had a cabin
for the night.
When we were in the parking lot getting our packs
ready to hike in, Chris and I pretended that we both forgot
to pack our tents and sleeping pads. We told the kids we’d
just find a soft spot with lots of leaves to use as our sleeping
pads and we’d build a quick shelter. It was also starting to
rain and there were rumbles of thunder in the distance.
Sophie tried hard to convince us to sleep in the car and
Eddie suggested that we just hike through the night since
we didn’t have a place to sleep. You can imagine their relief
when we opened the cabin door and revealed they’d have
a real bed to sleep in! Compared to what we were used to it
was like staying at The Ritz. If the person that gifted the reservation
happens to be reading this article, THANK YOU!
A few days later we did Sawteeth (#42) and Gothics
(#43) – the views on this hike were some of the best! We finished
off our summer with Cliff (#44) and Redfield (#45).
Cliff was super boggy but once again the kids had a ball
playing in the mud. I tried to balance on logs where I could
but ended up slipping off and landing in mud so deep it
reached the middle of my thigh – the kids thought this
was hilarious! This was Chris’s favorite hike because of the
waterfalls. On our way down the kids and Chris jumped off
the suspension bridge into the Opalescent River.
All of the sudden we had just one peak left! It took
many years for us to get to this point but it also went by
so quickly. We wanted to wait for my dad to return from
his great adventure – he was bikepacking the Great Divide
Mountain Bike Route (see Community in the December
2023 issue) and he was due to return at the end of
September. We marked our calendar for our final peak,
Whiteface (#46), on October 1st.
When we got to the top to take our picture next to the
sign marking the summit, we unrolled a banner Chris
painted for the occasion. People cheered and congratulated
us. My wonderful mom, Chirstine Gravelle, met us
at the top with a picnic lunch, champagne, cake and ice
cream. It was a really special day!
The High Peaks provided a unique opportunity for our
family to grow together as we shared a common long-term
goal that wasn’t easy to achieve. It made me so happy to
spend entire days with just each other as company and
without the distraction of screens.
We learned a lot about each other and about ourselves.
I think the coolest thing my kids learned was how to be
comfortable being uncomfortable. The peaks gave them
grit. The peaks also gave us peace. On one of the hikes,
Eddie said, “Some people think hiking is boring but I think
it’s peaceful.” What a gift it is to find solace in nature. I’m so
thankful my kids learned this so early in life!
Emily Chromczak (chromczake@gmail.com) lives with
her family in Delmar. She’s the office administrator
at ARE Event Productions and ZippyReg.com. Her
greatest joy in life is supporting Sophie and Eddie as
they accomplish things she wasn’t brave enough to try
at their ages.