THE
FINE
LINE
Joe and Ray met about a dozen years ago on a group hike of the Seward Range organized by the
Adirondack Mountain Club. Ray is almost 30 years Joe's senior. Joe, filled with an old soul, and Ray, being
a kid at heart, find their maturity levels meet in the middle to complement one another. ey discovered
they have similar interests in music, film, and politics. Since their chance first meeting, they have covered
thousands of miles of trail and ascended hundreds of mountains together.
ey became 46'ers (ascending the 46 highest peaks in
the Adirondack Mountains) in 2010 and discussed other hiking
challenges they wanted to pursue. e Northeast 115, consisting
of the 115 tallest mountains in the Northeast, was added to their
list. Joe and Ray also looked for challenges to chase closer to their
homes in Saratoga Springs and Wilton, respectively, during the
winter months. ey decided to take on the Adirondack Winter
46, which challenges hikers to ascend those same 46 highest
peaks between December 21st and March 21st.
Being relative novices to winter hiking, their early
forays into the harsh weather of the Adirondacks were limited
to shorter hikes. As their endurance and experience grew, so did
their ambitions. ey set off one day to tackle a traverse of the
Lower Great Range. It is an outing of about 15 miles with more
than 5,000 feet of elevation gain, taking hikers over five of the
Adirondack High Peaks (Sawteeth, Gothics, Armstrong, Upper
Wolaw, and Lower Wolaw).
LOCALadk
22
Story & Photography by Ray O'Conor & Joe Murphy
