LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1531798
LOCALadk 30 Throughout the brutal regime of chemotherapy, intense radiation treatments, morphine drips, and oxygen support during her hardest weeks, Tracy never surrendered to the idea that she couldn't overcome the cancer. What I had considered "hard" back in the Adirondacks paled in comparison. I saw firsthand from her what real grit, stamina, and determination is. The cancer took Tracy's life in late 2021. Grief Grief manifests differently for everyone. I chose to take mine to the outdoors, where I could process it with every step and exhale it with each deep breath. The woods became my therapist. Determined to avoid slipping into depression, I committed to recalibrating my life. The day after her memorial, I challenged my- self to complete a 5k outside every day for a month— running or biking. Those thirty days stretched into three months, then six, then a year. Eventually, I reached 500 consecutive days of outdoor activity — running, biking, canoe- ing, surfing, and yes, skiing — regardless of weather conditions. The modest 5k outings evolved into 5- and 10 -mile runs. Daily bike rides expanded from 15 miles to 50 and 100. Uphill ski days regularly covered 3,000 feet of vertical elevation. It was the most effective therapy I could have prescribed for myself. A New Push in the ADKs By the early winter of 2024, almost a decade had passed since our completion of skiing the Catskill 3500s in 2014. I was stubbornly determined to finish the Adirondacks before that anniversary arrived. We still had a quarter of the 46ers remaining. It was time to complete what we'd started. Geographic distance had always worked against Doug and me in previous years. Every ski touring day required at least two days of travel. To streamline our final push, we adopted a nomadic lifestyle across the Adirondacks for the winter of 2024, finding shelter with local friends, in budget hotels, and backcountry huts. The remaining peaks twisted my stomach into knots: Donaldson, Emmons, Seward, Seymour, Santanoni, Panther, Couchsachraga, and Allen. These were the mountains that aspiring 46er hikers typically saved for last, often requiring multiple winter attempts. They promised long, arduous days.