Look off to the south and southwest whenever the trees open up, and you're looking at the High Peaks — the tallest cluster of mountains in New York State, crowded into the middle of this park. There are forty-six of them that top four thousand feet, and they've got a special hold on people. Climbers come from all over to try to hike every single one, and if you make it to the top of all forty-six, you earn a title that Adirondack hikers wear with real pride: you become a 'Forty-Sixer.'
The king of them all is Mount Marcy, the highest point in the state at over fifty-four hundred feet, off to your south — the Native people called it Tahawus, 'the cloud-splitter.' Whiteface, the one we're climbing, stands a little apart from the main crowd of peaks, off on its own to the north — and that's exactly why it has such a stunning view: there's nothing tall right next to it to block the sight. You get to enjoy those High Peaks from a comfortable car seat, climbing a road. The Forty-Sixers earn them the hard way, on foot, one summit at a time. Tip your hat to them as you drive.
Photo: daveynin · CC BY 2.0
