My Journey to Becoming a 46er The Adirondack 46ers Challenge is an awesome hiking challenge if you are up for the task. You will encounter 20 mile long days with over 4,000ft of elevation gains, intense conditions, unforgettable memories and much more if you choose to embark on this journey. That being said this is NOT for the faint of heart. If you are not in shape for this, PLEASE do not start your hiking journey with the 46, unless your hiking Cascade and or Porter. Those are the ONLY doable hikes for beginners. And these are still difficult peaks, and I ONLY recommend these to people who are in GOOD shape. Because they will still be tough for people in good shape. Now, if you are in good HIKING shape, then you are probably ready for the 46 High Peaks Challenge. In addition, please do you research and know YOUR limits before attempting this challenge. You do not want to be 10 miles into a hike and realize you can’t do the 10 miles back to your car. Now, in this article, I will tell you all about my journey of becoming a 46er. For example, I will talk about what worked best for me, what routes I recommend, the best and worst trails, the best order to complete these in, and much more. The Adirondack 46er High Peak Challenge, pushed me in ways I never anticipated. When I first started this challenge I had no intention of finishing it. It wasn’t until I hiked Gothics (my 8th high peak) that I knew I wanted to complete this challenge. I had always been an avid hiker for years before I decided to hike the 46ers. However, I thought the 46ers were reserved only for all the extreme hikers. But after completing all of them, I’ve realized it’s not that impossible, but its a huge feat to accomplish and prepare for. Also in this article, you will learn how to become an Adirondack 46er, how to obtain the Adirondack 46er patch, Adirondack 46er registration, the Adirondack 46 easiest to hardest peaks, 46 High peaks easiest to hardest list, all the Adirondack 46 hikes, Adirondack 46er list, and much more. Adirondack 46ers The Adirondack 46er Challenge, consists of the 46 different high peaks throughout the entire Adirondack Park in New York State. Most of the peaks are about 4.5-6 hours north of New York City and 2-3 hours north of Albany. Most of the mountains are located in Keene, Keene Valley, and Lake Placid, NY. There are some located in Newcomb and one range (Sewards) located near Tupper Lake, NY. All of the High Peaks are suppose to be above 4,000ft however, there are a few that are just under 4,000ft. Below are all the mountains apart of this challenge. The links will bring you to my articles (or AllTrails) explaining how to hike the specific peak and any other information I learned while hiking that mountain. These mountains are written in the order I hiked them, but after completing this challenge, I definitely would have hiked them differently. Thus, I created a revised list in the order I should have hiked the peaks (in order from easiest to most difficult). {Related Article : The Best Hikes in New York State} Adirondack 46ers List 2. Porter: Is the 38th tallest peak. Going to Porter, there is a really good view off one of the rock boulders but the actual summit does not have a view. Again, I would hike this with Cascade. Together these peaks are about 6.5 miles total (round trip) with an elevation gain of about 2,286ft. By far these are the EASIEST peaks. They are pretty much fake-outs, because everything else is SIGNIFICANTLY harder. 3. Giant: Like its name states, this mountain is GIANT. It has A LOT of elevation gain. It’s a shame because a lot of people hike this mountain, thinking it’s an easy 6 miles. It is NOT! Please DO NOT hike this if you are a beginner hiker. I know 6 miles does not sound like a lot but since it’s ALL up hill and very STEEP, it seems MUCH longer than it really is. It has about a 1,000ft of elevation gain per mile, which is STEEP. Anything with an elevation gain of 1,000ft per mile, you will be huffing and puffing. Thus, please don’t let this be one of your first hikes, because you will quickly regret it. Most people pair this with Rocky Peak, which is smart to do (Rocky Peak is about 3 miles round trip from Giant), if you’re hiking all the 46. However, these two peaks together have one of the highest elevation gains throughout the entire 46 Challenge. So, again, be in GOOD HIKING shape when you hike both of these. Also, I would advice NOT to hike these two in the middle of summer when the heat and humidity are high. I would recommend hiking these in either late May or late September. But the view on Rocky Peak is SOO worth it. Giant is the 12th highest peak in New York. 4. Rocky Peak: has a BEAUTIFUL view but it is a pain to get to. I prefer this view over Giant. Rocky Peak on its own is about 9 miles (4.5 miles one way) and if you pair it with Giant it is a total of 9.2 miles with an elevation gain of about 4,500ft (paired with Giant). This is the 20th highest mountain. 5. Big Slide: is a great mountain to hike after Cascade and Porter. The beginning part of this mountain is pretty strenuous and uphill but then it levels out for about a mile or two, until you get near the summit. This trail is about 8 miles round trip with an elevation gain of just over 3,000ft. Big Slide is New York’s 27th highest peak. 6. Whiteface: Whiteface and Ester are two great peaks to hike together, and to start hiking more than one peak in a day with. I would recommend doing Street and Nye first, however, these two can be difficult to follow, that’s why I suggest Whiteface and Ester first. Whiteface on its own is about 8.5 miles with an elevation gain of about 3,000ft. 7. Ester: Again, I would pair Ester with Whiteface for a total of 9.5 miles with an elevation gain of 3,684ft. Ester is the 28th tallest peak. And Whiteface is New York’s 5th highest peak. 8. Gothics: Oh, I LOVE this peak! This was my 8th high peak and once I got to the summit, I said to myself, yep, I’m going to finish this challenge. Seriously, this is a beautiful mountain, I highly recommend, even just hiking it on its own. A lot of people hike the Lower Great Range, to hike Gothics. The Lower Great Range includes Sawteeth, Gothics, Armstrong, Upper, and Lower Wolfjaw (in that order), from the AMR/Ausable Club. Keep in mind, since 2021 if you park at the AMR/Ausable Club, you need a hiking reservation, that you can find here. You will need a permit/reservation anytime from May 1st through Halloween or October 31st. The Lower Great Range is an epic hike. It’s 17 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 5,475ft. When I hiked this, I did not know about the Lower Great Range loop, thus I hiked Gothics via Pyramid Peak and saw the cutoff for Sawteeth. So, after I summited Gothics, I came back down and hiked Sawteeth. However, after knowing more about the Adirondack 46 high peaks, I would advise hiking Sawteeth first then Gothics, and then possibly Lower & Upper Wolfjaws with Armstrong. Or just Sawteeth, Gothics, and Pyramid (not a high peak), then on a separate day, hike Lower & Upper Wolfjaw and Armstrong together. 9. Sawteeth: Again, I would pair this with Gothics and Pyramid or with the entire Lower Great Range. It is a nice hike to Sawteeth, but it does not have a real significant view. Gothics is New York’s 10th tallest peak and Sawteeth is the 35th tallest peak. 10. Dial: Oh boy, Dial and Nippletop, what special mountains. I only say that because I had to hike Dial twice, due to thunderstorms. Also, I took the Leech Trail from the AMR/Ausable Club to hike these peaks, and boy is it STEEP. Once you get on the Leech trail, the elevation literally does not stop until you get to Dial, and then Nippletop. Some people pair Blake and Colvin, with Dial and Nippletop too. I only hiked Dial and Nippletop together, which is about a 15 mile loop with an elevation gain of 4,081ft. Dial is New York’s 41st highest peak and Nippletop is New York’s 13th highest peak. They both have great views but small summit areas. 11. Nippletop: Again, I would at least hike this with Dial, but you can add on Colvin and Blake for an extra challenge. Doing all four of these peaks is about a 18.5 mile hike with an elevation gain of 6,122ft. 12. Upper Wolfjaw: Upper and Lower Wolfjaw I hiked in the rain, so I really don’t remember much from these two peaks. Again, I hiked them before knowing about the Lower Great Range traverse, otherwise I would have paired them with Armstrong and Gothics. Another option that people do is to hike Upper & Lower Wolfjaw with Armstrong, which is about a 15.5 mile hike with an elevation gain of 5,242ft, again from the AMR. I recommend hiking these three peaks together if you want to enjoy your journey. But if you live out of town or want a challenge, then I recommend doing the whole lower great range. 13. Lower Wolfjaw: Again, I recommend at least hiking this peak with Upper Wolfjaw. Upper Wolfjaw is New York’s 29th highest peak and Lower Wolfjaw is New York’s 30th highest peak. 14. Colvin: This mountain never disappoints! Once again I have hiked this peak and Blake twice, once in the late summer and another in late winter. Both times Colvin was amazing, however, Blake is rough. There is no real summit and there is no view, you really only hike this because it’s apart of the challenge, not because it’s fun. There is a SMALL wooded summit for Blake, after the sign for the Pinnacle (about 1.5 miles from Colvin). If you continue pass that sign, shortly you will see a little opening of trees, where if you turn to your left and go towards this opening of trees, you will see a B engraved LIGHTLY on one of the trees. I guess this is your indictor that you’ve reached the summit of Blake, but who really knows. As long as you hike to the Pinnacle sign, you’ve hiked Blake. Together Colvin and Blake are about 13.5 miles with an elevation gain of 4,035ft. 15. Blake: Again, hike this WITH Colvin or plus Dial and Nippletop for an added challenge. Blake is New York’s 43rd highest peak and Colvin is New York’s 39th tallest peak. 16. Wright: Unfortunately, when I hiked Wright, it was in the clouds. However, I did pair it with Algonquin and Iroquois, and by the time I got to Algonquin, the clouds had cleared. Thus, I had a gorgeous view on Algonquin and Iroquois. I have since re-hiked Wright, and it is undeniably gorgeous, please hike it to see it for yourself, if you can. Wright is New York’s 16th highest peak. 17. Algonquin: Again, I would hike this with Wright and Iroquois. Algonquin is New York’s 2nd tallest peak. When I hiked these three mountains I was surprised at how “easy” it was compared to the difficulty level I had read about. Now that being said, I would not go into this hike lightly, it is still difficult, but more doable than some of the other 46er ranges. Also, I was in really GOOD HIKING shape when I did these 3 peaks. Thus, … Continue reading How to Hike all of the Adirondack 46ers, New York’s High Peaks