The final hike of my 46er journey was an incredible three day backpacking trip hitting five summits in the heart of the High Peaks. Everything fell into place for this hike with beautiful fall colors and unseasonably warm weather. While Macomb and South Dix are my favorite climbs in the High Peaks, this trip as a whole is definitely my favorite time spent in the Adirondacks.

Day One:

After Sleeping in my car the night before to avoid a long drive in, I started my hike out of Upper Works around 4:00 AM. I had hiked some of these trails before but never during daylight so I was excited to see the views. The foggy morning hid the views at Flowed Lands and Colden Dam from me, but I would end up seeing those on my way out. I made good time getting to camp at the Uphill Leanto and getting things set up. I transferred my essential gear over to my daypack and set out for Cliff happy to have the extra twenty pounds off my back.

I am very thankful for the dry conditions we had around this time because even with that, many of the trails were just mud pits. After traversing those without too much trouble I began the main ascent up Cliff. This was a surprisingly enjoyable climb for me with scrambles that were engaging but not overly difficult. With that said, progress was quite slow up the mountain and the trek along the ridge at the top was mildly spirit crushing. Nevertheless I made it to the summit and completed the hike back down enjoying some (semi)controlled sliding down the cliffs.

I returned to camp quite tired and later than I would have liked but quickly got back on the trail to climb Redfield. In my experience Redfield is the high peak that feels the most like untouched wilderness. As an unmaintained herdpath it is a rugged ascent up a drainage that seems to go on forever. After a long day of hiking this trail was really wearing on me and I was certainly question my descision to climb it for a large porion of the ascent.

Upon reaching the summit of Redfield I could not believe the scene that unfolded before me. The cloudy evening gave way to the most beautiful sunset I have seen in my entire life with incredble views of the mountains to the south. Some of the fog and clouds that had persisted throughout the day could be seen rolling along one of the valleys and straight ahead I could see Allen Mountain, which I had climbed just a few days prior. After taking in the sunset views I began my trek back down only to notice another lookout on the opposite side of the summit that I had missed on my way up. This lookout framed Mount Marcy in all its glory. By this time tomorrow, I will have summitted Marcy for 46/46 and completed my journey. This was without question the most surreal moment of all my time on the trails and gave me the motivation to push on to my remaining three peaks the next day. After taking in the views I continued down the mountain. I arrived at camp a couple hours after dark and enjoyed a hot meal before going to bed.

Day 2:

I reluctantly pulled myself out of my sleeping bag at 4:00 AM and had a quick breakfast before getting on the trail. The section from Uphill Leanto to Feldspar Leanto was quite muddy and slow going. I turned just before Feldspar to make my first climb of the day, 1,000' up to Lake Tear of the Clouds. Lake Tear is the source of the Hudson River whose waters wind down through the Adirondacks and Hudson Valley before spilling into the Atlantic in NYC. I reached the western outlet of the lake just as the sun was rising over it and stopped to take in the picturesque views.

After pausing for a moment I continued on to climb 500' to the summit of Gray Peak. This climb was mostly uneventful with only some mildly changing slabs on the final approach. The lookout gave excellent views of Mount Skylight, my next summit. Off in the distance was a sea of cloud inversions among the countless layers of continued peaks. After chatting with some other hikers at the lookout I returned down to the lake and walked along the side of it to reach the Four Corners.

My next climb of the day was 600' up to Mount Skylight. While Gray was not particularly difficult, this trail was about as good as it gets as far as trail conditions go. Dry and grippy slabs accounted for the large majority of this ascent and for a significant portion of it I could look out through the trees and see Mount Marcy.

As I crested above treeline I was greeted by beautiful alpine meadows very similar to those I had seen on Algonquin a year prior. I was spoiled to only be sharing this massive summit with two other hikes and enjoyed the near solitude as I ate my lunch. While this summit has incredible 360 degree views I found myself constantly focusing on one thing, Mount Marcy. Now being at the top of my 45th peak, Mount Marcy was my final ascent to tackle. I ate my lunch quickly and returned back down to Four Corners feeling giddy with excitement.

Upon reaching the junction I only had a single summit left. My next 1,000' climb would mark the completion of the task I set my mind to 2.5 years ago while visiting NY to audition at the Crane School of Music. I headed up the trail excited to reach that final summit.

The first 500' of the climb went by quickly as I made my way toward Schofield Cobble. From that point I was hiking above treeline and really took my time on the remainder of the ascent. While climbing I took in the views behind me and admired the beautiful rock and alpine plant life that surronded me on the trail. Upon reaching the summit I took a long rest admiring the view and letting the accomplishment set in. After celebrating for some time I returned the way I came and reached camp about an hour after dark. I ate some food and went to bed, falling asleep very quickly after climbing over 7,000' in the past two days.

Day 3:

Knowing I only had to hike the eight miles back to my car, I did not even set an alarm to get up early and slept in until 7:30. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and slowly took down camp. I got on the trail around 8:30 AM. The descent down to Colden Dam was a bit tough on knees that had been thoroughly wrecked the previous two days, but after that the descent became more gradual.

I was treated to a beautifully clear day which opened up views that had previously been hidden to me at Colden Dam and the Flowed Lands. The Calamity Brook Trail gets a lot of hate, but I actually found it to be the perfect trail to officially finnish my 46 on (not done until I sign out at the trailhead). Other than the viewponts mentioned previously, the hike out was fairly uneventful. I enjoyed a beautiful morning out in the woods and eventually made it back to the trailhead to sign out. I drove back home and continued to be treated to exceptional views as I traveled through the park.

Final Thoughts:

Climbing these mountains is without question the most difficult thing I have ever done. I questioned my ability to complete this task during every single hike I did in 2024, when I had nothing but really difficult mountains left to climb. While I have a natural inclination to focus on the positive, I do not deny that becoming a 46er included significant amounts of pain, fear, boredom, and questioning why it mattered to me. Despite all of that, I am thankful for every second of it. These mountains took care of me when I was at my most vulnerable and saw to my safe return every time I ventured out. Regardless of where I spend my time in the years to come, I will always have a home in the serene wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains.

Gallery Photos by Jacob Rushlow

Jacob Rushlow Music

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Photos by Jacob Rushlow