LOCALadk Magazine

28 Winter 2017 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk During the past few years in the Adirondacks there has been stout promotion of hiking "challenges."These goals range from climbing three small peaks near Tupper Lake to hiking High Peaks Wilderness Area's 270 -mile trail system, and each come with just rewards.Beyond the hiking itself, those who complete enjoy recognition; they usually receive a patch and have their names included in a roster.What each person gets out of a challenge personally may var y, but the demand for such challenges is proving consistent. Nearly a dozen challenges now accompany the oldest and most wide- ly-promoted and completed Adirondack challenge of them all: climbing the 46 High Peaks. Since I'm a contrarian, officially-sanctioned challenges just aren't my thing. I love wild land, and I love pursuing specific hiking goals, yet I don't require recognition and the thought of being part of a community makes me socially queasy. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Being in wild land purely for the sake of being in wild land may well be a good enough reason to be in wild land. Remove the rewards and sense of community, and you end up with a challenge that few are interested in – which makes it all the sweeter for those who are: name bagging. Name bagging works like this: 1. Pick a state land management unit, like a specific wilder- ness area, for example 2. Compose a list of ever y named topographic feature within that area 3. Visit ever y feature Name bagging is strangely addictive and firmly esoteric – this assessment coming from the Adirondacks' only dedi- cated name bagger: me. During the spring of 2011 I complet- ed my first list of named topographic features by reaching Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area's Desolate Hill. The two-year- long pursuit of this wilderness area's 106 named features yielded consistent solitude, scenic lakes, remote peaks, wild meadows, and – what I liked best – lots of bushwhacking. I was hooked. Next came Lake George Wild Forest's 92 fea- tures, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest's 134 features, and Hammond Pond Wild Forest's 99 features. But 431 features just weren't enough to fill me up. I'm now pursuing ever y named feature in Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Shaker Mountain Wild Forest, and Silver Lake Wild Forest for another 344 landmarks. I doubt I'll end there. Exploring Adirondack Features: Name Bagging By Erik Schlimmer

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