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After 6 years, 27 days of hiking, hundreds of rugged ADK miles and tens of thousands of feet of elevation gain, I finally reached my last summit on Haystack to become an ADK 46'R! I had been patiently waiting for a break in the continuous thunderstorm forecasts and made the decision to go on Saturday afternoon. To make this finish even sweeter, my close friend Jenny (#8022) surprised me with a call only hours before leaving Saturday night saying that she and her friend would love to join me. What an incredible surprise! We hiked all night (starting at 11:30 pm) and after breaking treeline I could have sprinted over Little Haystack and up to Haystack's summit! However, I wanted to share that moment and together we enjoyed a spectacular sunrise and jaw-dropping summit views. In fact, I'd rate Haystack's views and grueling 18 miles RT as the best I've experienced of all the 46ers.Normally I would share a more detailed story about the hike itself, but this day was all about my 46'R journey and the motivations behind it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I wanted to say "Thank You" to those in our military (since I could not serve) who provide the very blanket of Freedom that allows us to enjoy our Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. I wanted to stare down and conquer fear and self-doubt by hiking nearly all of the 46 peaks solo, including several throughout the night with no sleep. I wanted to enjoy each mountain a certain way and patiently planned each hike to ensure success. And I wanted to share these amazing experiences with those who couldn't be there or those who might also be inspired in the same way that others inspired me. Ultimately, I completed the 46'R because of a very difficult reminder that Life is too short. Tomorrow isn't promised to me or any of us. What we do today and who we share our time with is what truly matters most! I appreciate all of the time everyone gave me in support of reaching this day. I may have completed my 46'R journey, but this isn't the end, it is only the beginning.

A couple years ago, I backpacked with my gf to a spot behind Marcy with the goal of getting up early and making the summit for sunrise. Even though we were treated to breathtaking views all alone on the summit, we missed the actual sunrise by a bit. I've been wanting to do another sunrise hike ever since then, but let too many excuses get in the way. Well, Saturday afternoon I saw a gorgeous sunny forecast for Sunday and made the decision to go for it on Algonquin then summit Iroquois and maybe Wright on the way home. Leaving the house at 10:45 pm got me to the Loj by 12:50 am. After getting squared away, I signed in at 1:20 am with the goal of enjoying a hot coffee on Algonquin's summit at sunrise. The trail up is easy to follow and was a hard packed mix of snow and ice. Boots were fine the first couple miles in then I put the spikes on. There is a junction where the paths to Wright and Algonquin split at 3 miles. It was now 4:15 am and I was feeling pretty good about making the summit in plenty of time. This is pretty much the point where I had wished that I had had some sleep and done a whole lot more cardio. The final half mile up is steep! As the tree line thinned out, I could actually see this huge massive gray dome against the clear black sky. It wasn't a cloud. Nope, this was the summit and I was nowhere near it. Legs cramping, lungs burning and winds blowing hard, I kept moving at a hobbit's pace to make my goal. No way was I going to miss this. I finally stepped onto the summit with 15 minutes to spare. I normally like to take a lot of pics, but the frigid winds were so brutal that the camera battery went nearly dead, my cell wouldn't start up and my hand with just a glove liner on was frozen numb in less than 5 minutes. No way to brew coffee either. And then in a moment none of those things mattered as I was treated to the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. Hope you enjoy the few pics that I was able to take. Iroquois was much more forgiving and Algonquin's summit was "warmer" the second time passing over to return home. For me, this was an epic hike all around. Only 13 more 46ers to go. Anyone else here complete the 46 or working on it?