Additional Information & Tidbits

In the News
Route by Text Description
Hike Equivalents
Favorite Responses from Friends and Family
Threads about the Hike
The Quest of Training
Journal

Some Rough Hike Equivalents:

-Walk from Boston to New York. Upon reaching New York, climb the Empire State Building 51 times. Or

-Walk 24 miles/day, stopping every 3 miles to climb the Empire State Building. Repeat for 9 straight days. Or

-Summit Everest from base camp 5 times. After each return to base camp, run a marathon. Although we have a SLIGHT advantage because we'll be able to breathe, Everest mountaineers don't have to deal with blackflies. Or My Favorite:

-Run the NYC Marathon, and then while everyone else is collapsing from exhaustion, climb the Empire State Building 7 times. Repeat once a day for the remainder of the week.

-"Gentlemen, I support your effort. It's people like you that make this world such a great place.
One day I hope to meet you on the trail, enjoy a few words, then continue on our way enjoying life and the world around us.
Enjoy the trip. Good Luck and Godspeed."

"Kevin / Rico,
Good Luck in your challenge. The preparation is now coming to an end, your task, though great, is not insurmountable(at least for both of you). Be safe, stick to the plan and most of all, enjoy the moment. All you hard work, will carry you through. Godspeed Gentlemen! You're heroes for the many that will benefit from your sacrifice." - Paul Klippel

-"This sounds exciting. I'd love to do something this stupid/genius."

-In response to a guestbook signature..."Does she know you two are not considered heroes in the adirondacks....more a couple of babbling idiots that, like moses, are going to wonder aimlessly in the wilderness for a while!!!!!? Hopefully not 40 years, but if you lose Rico's rope or forget where you stash the food, chances get better! "

- “ARE you nuts?”

- ”You ARE nuts!”

- “Valeant…but have you lost your mind?" & "I applaud your stupidity disguised as valor." -Ash

- “Your new endeavor sounds very exciting and I must admit a bit "crazy" but I wish you a safe successful climb.

- “Kevin keeps telling me how you two are planning, re planning, re re planning this hike to include all sorts of fun slides. etc. YOU TWO ARE JUST PLAIN OUT OF YOUR MINDS! That's just my opinion, but I bet I share it with TONS of other people!!!”

-"It just sounds like something you'd do, WWB....thanks for posting the link. This hike looks tough by any standard...we'll be on board!"

-"9 days? I always thought you were a sick dude. But now you've proven me right!"

- A "backcountry" treatment for swollen blisters is:Dip a short piece of string in alcohol. Thread string through a needle. Puncture and pull needle through blister, leaving string hanging out.The fluid will slowly drain through the string, without opening the blister to the air. I figure Kevin and I will have the mental capacity of a 14-month-old by the time we stumble into the Loj.

Response: "As for your mental capacity when you stumble into the Loj, for the record--I QUESTION YOUR MENTAL CAPACITY/STABILITY NOW! Not just you...both of you! Nuts, just plain NUTS!"

- "I'm hoping you don't mind adding another hiker because I've decided to join you. However, since my legs, feet and back are completely out of shape, I'll need to do some serious training. So I'm going to wait until June and then jog from Fort Myers to your house. If I can cover 50 miles a day, I'll arrive in about 30 days. As you can tell, I've thought this through and have everything planned well. The only advice I need is regarding footwear. I will probably need to go shopping for new sneakers by the time I get to NY since my soles might be somewhat worn down. Since it's usually hot in July will sandals or flip-flops be o.k.? Or else I guess I could do the hike with you barefoot."

3/19/08
We decided to rethink our route in order to iron out a few rough spots. Our upcoming scouts will determine whether some of the changes have any value, though, the changes reduce the vertical gain and mileage modestly on a couple days. We plan to put foot to route in every section this year...something that we didn't have time to do in 2007. We've had record snowfall this winter which has left 10 feet of snow or more in some areas of the high peaks. Some of our scouts will have to wait until the snow/ice clears.

3/10/08
We failed to complete the challenge in July 2007. It was a lesson learned and we brought much awareness to the benefit. About a month or so afterward, Rico decided he would attempt the traverse again. I declined at first, not wanting to fail once again so miserably and quickly. Deb, my supportive wife, gently convinced me to try again with Rico. I agreed. The excitement I felt last year at this time remains timidly in the background and occluded by a realistic desire to train more than previously and correct prior mistakes in judgement. My situation and time available for training hasn't changed, so all I can do is a bit more training in the evenings when commute isn't an issue and try to get more scouting hikes accomplished before this September...as well as more camping experience to augment efficient setup/breakdown.

Packweight should not be an issue this time around as I've cut 30 lbs. off last year's total, at least on paper.

7/11/07
Well I had one of the most unique and wonderful experiences that I've had in a while. I got a call from Deb that someone named Chris Erickson from WSLB had called. Ten minutes later, I was beginning what turned out to be a 45 minute live interview/discussion of the uncoming trek and more importantly the benefit. He identified with our project since he's had personal dealings with a neonatal care unit. While waiting to talk to him, I wondered how interesting I'D be to talk to...not very, I surmised. Well, he led with a wonderful and detailed series of questions that easily took up the 45 minutes until noon. I answered better than I thought I might in this situation and had a blast at the same time. Thanks, Chris, for the opportunity and we'll follow up in a couple weeks!

7/10/07
I just had body fat % taken and for 37 years of age, my 10.4% rates me above excellent which is 14% to something or another. My weight is bouncing between 155 and 157 depending on food intake. So the numbers say I'm ready for the hike...on the negative side my pack weighs in at about 57 lbs. which is 36% of my body weight...higher than I wanted by about 12-17 lbs.

7/8/07
Preps are in high gear. Deb and I packed the Avalanche cache last night which I'll hike in tomorrow after work; a round trip of about 8 miles and 600 vert feet. Food in the pack will weigh about 12 lbs. with four days. Day 1 will include five days worth until I eat it. I chased away a bear from our bird feeders last night...more training for our camping expedition...

Yesterday included an interview with the Plaindealer newspaper in Canton. Susan Mende was kind enough to interview me as a human interest piece.

I also bought a new pack for the hike. My old Kelty's internal frame was poking through the sides and, though duct tape may have sufficed, voices of reason convinced me to purchase a new Gregory Palisade. It weights in at 6 lb. 2 oz. and is 5065 cc. This is a step up from my old pack which was 4500 cc. and did not have the compartmentalization options that this has. The padding is enhanced and adjustability is augmented.

Food took nearly all weekend to pack with Deb's help. It was a very thought out process of researching nutritional contents of various foods and taking sugar/protein balance into account. Protein helps me avoid the shakes while sugar gives me the shakes in a normal environment. Under constant exertion, however, it becomes a staple. The entire planning ordeal is really just an educated guess based on day hikes since I’ve only camped one night since I was five years old.

Process 1: Found foods I like to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as snacks.
Process 2: Researched nutritional contents of each and totaled making sure calories totaled more than 4000. This also included creating the proper portions for each based on space and nutrition.
Process 3: Create/sort breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner portions of each type in plastic bags to save on space and weight.
Process 4: Bag by day in 1 gallon plastic bag and label.
Process 5: Divide days properly among pack and caches. Pack bear canisters for distribution.

7/5/07
Kevin: I'm going to pack food this weekend. Click here for a nutritional list of what I plan on taking.

6/12/2007
Check out our, "Scouting Cliff and Redfield Accounts". Totals: Totals: Cliff: 8.2 mi, 3100' - Redfield: 9.3 mi, 2170'

----On a different note, it seems we've now (5/29/07) raised $2246, with 46 days left for the 46 peaks...interesting.

Rico 5/29/07
Dix: Slide was easy... a walk-up... similar to the second half of the Whiteface slide. Rock grippy even when wet. Red algae slick as always, but due to the multitude of depressions in the rock, I was able to easily traverse a couple of algae-covered sections. Began to sprinkle about 1/3 of the way up, rain 3/4 of the way up. VERY top section was loose mud and rock... we'll have to be careful here when climbing in tandem to make sure we don't send rocks raining down on the person below. Just before topping out, I saw another downdraft, and WHAMMO... pouring rain. Almost exactly like conditions on Twin Slide. Herdpath through THICK fir. A couple of snow pockets and tricky sections, but I never lost the path. It seemed to take forever, but I was also cold and wet. VERY disheartening when I reached cripplebrush and was able to see that I was still a long way from the summit. I almost turned around. But I pushed through, the path immediately began to open up, and within one minute I popped out on the trail! Hard rain, 42*, and a constant wind pushing me around. And I turned down your offer for a rain jacket! I wanted to tag the summit and leave, but I waited for a group of 3 who were coming up from the Beckhorn. I huddled behind a rock that actually had a DRY "shadow"... that's how consistent the winds were. I'm glad I waited for the group, because they were headed towards Hunter's Pass to find the herdpath to Hough. I told them they had already passed it. BTW, the looks on their faces at my attire was priceless, they being dressed in arctic gear (balaclavas, gloves, and all) and me in my soaking wet t-shirt. I headed back down the trail and ran into a group of two who saw me pass by their camp on my way to the slide. They couldn't believe I beat them to the summit with my heavy pack and all. When I told them I climbed the slide, they were even more impressed. The descent down the trail was pure hell... a wet, slippery, steep, eroded mess. I felt more comfortable on the slide. The hike out seemed to take forever. I jogged a majority of the way from the Noonmark trail intersection to the trailhead. At the sign-out was the same Ranger I saw the day before. When he saw me, he said "You're STILL here?". Got back at the trailhead at 2:15... about 8 hours round-trip. Sunny and 67* at the trailhead. Same area on my foot was bothering me, though not as bad as the day before. Didn't bother me at all when I was jogging. Ankle was fine. I was starting to get cocky about my conditioning... this weekend humbled me. I was a little stiff and sore yesterday, but still managed to do some heavy yard work and gardening.

Rico...5/13/07:
I ended up starting at the Garden, ascending Little Porter to Porter, descending over Blueberry Mtn to Marcy Field, and jogging back to the Garden.

You wanna hike the nicest trail in the Adks? Go from the Garden to Little Porter. A great bang-for-the-buck mountain. If you want to hike the worst trail in the Adks, ascend from Blueberry Mtn to Porter.

In the Little Meadows area, the woods are wide open. As you would assume, they get thicker the higher up you go. There is a slabby "herdpath" through the summit cripplebrush directly down to Little Meadows. I only followed it for 50 feet, at which point it appeared to enter taller spruce/fir (non-cripplebrush, but likely still thick). HOWEVER, looking at the topo, going this direction would bring us too far west for the ascent up Big Slide. What we need to do is head down the trail towards Little Porter. Halfway between the ridge and the table above Little Porter is a flat area with a drainage that flows towards a pond at the eastern end of the height of land within the notch. We should descend this drainage towards the east end of this pond. The woods are primarily open here... should be a nice bushwhack. Once at the pond, we need to aim for the east side of Slide Brook... since the east side of this drainage is deciduous, the west is conifer. Staying on this side of the drainage, we can aim for a point to the west of Point 1734, or ascend straight up if the woods dictate.

From what I could see, the bushwhack area is primarily open decidious with a moderate amount of young "whippers" in the undergrowth.

Kevin...4-11-2007:
Technology has come long way. Navigators used to use the stars and sextants. The sun and a compass used to play a huge role in daily navigation to some and still does while on the trail. Topographic maps and books were my primary sources of information just a few years ago. Now, though the initial route was constructed via experience on each mountain and topo maps, GPS technology gathered in the field and computer programs help to narrow the route incredibly using calculation tools and 3D renderings. With a touch of a button, we can derive distance (actual and linear), elevation totals, grade etc. by drawing a line on a digitized topo map. Online satellite imagery in combination with long/lat data further helped to locate several un-scouted landmarks such as various slides and drainages.

The data we gathered thus far has given us a set of scouting objectives prior to the hike and helped to set reasonable objectives for as well as within each day. Technology helps in planning, but nothing compares to putting foot to ground in areas of uncertainty. Only then can a true assessment be made.