When Grit Meets the Mountains

The Mission:

Bethany discovered the Adirondack 46 High Peaks as a fresh college graduate living in Lake Placid, NY in 2009. She started by hiking Mt Marcy, the tallest peak in the state of New York, and was quickly enraptured by the entire range. On another High Peak later that summer, another hiker offered her a newspaper clipping, detailing the adventure of two local men, who had linked all 46 summits in one unsupported push. The idea of being out in those mountains for an entire week touching every peak, with no outside support or resupply, captured her imagination. 

Three years later, Bethany and her new husband loaded up their backpacking gear, which had been acquired and broken in during their year as wilderness therapy guides. Their packs loaded down with a full week of food, weighed in at well over 50 pounds, but they were strong and fit and had climbed every mountain on the route at least once already. They sought to complete the Adirondack 46 High Peaks Thru-hike unsupported in less time, 7 days and 14 hours, than the pair who had established the route, and set a new fastest known time (FKT).

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The Attempt:

When Bethany and her husband began the route in July, the humidity was oppressive. Sweat rolled down their bodies during that first day as they plowed through just over 40 miles of trail, summiting 7 mountains. The jagged faces of the High Peaks surrounded them, all granite rock slides, and scrubby pine and maple trees. Bethany felt the muscles she had developed over the last few seasons working hard to carry her and her heavy pack up and down every rocky peak. The trails in the Adirondack Mountains are notoriously steep, often forgoing switchbacks for the most direct path to the top. They were right on schedule. That night they collapsed into their tents, exhausted by the seemingly endless vertical ascent and descent. 

The next morning, Bethany wasn’t hungry, though she knew she should be after so much exertion. She felt a headache coming on, but figured it would abate if they just got moving. As they walked down an exposed logging road toward Allen Mountain, she struggled to get any calories down—food became less and less appealing in the heat. Her husband encouraged her to stay hydrated, but she could only tolerate small sips of water. The weight of her pack bore down on her depleted body. Her husband led her up the first peak of the day, setting what should have been a manageable pace, but she couldn’t keep up. When he stopped to check on her, he found her speech was slurred, face red, movements unsteady. 

The Call:

They stopped at a mountain stream that crossed the trail, and Bethany’s husband encouraged her to lie down in the frigid water. He pressed her to eat salty chips from a spoon he held to her lips and drink water as he purified it. Bethany’s energy and mental faculties slowly returned. She cried—there was no way they could keep moving that day. When she finally peed, after drinking all that water, the color of her urine was disturbingly dark. She realized how dangerous the situation had become. They set up camp, ate dinner, and turned in for the night. There was little chance of making up the time lost. 

The next morning, lying in her sleeping bag, she couldn’t help but reconsider. What if they could keep going, now that she had recovered? 

Bethany packed her things and made to shoulder her backpack and hit the trail. But as she hauled the weight onto her body a wave of nausea came over her, her knees buckled, hitting the ground. She knew there was no way they could go on.