| Beyond the Trans Adirondack Route, we offer an even stiffer challenge: Hike every mile of foot trail within High Peaks Wilderness Area. The trail system as of 2016 when this challenge was begun totals 268 miles via 79 trails ranging from 0.1 to 33.2 miles in length. During a quest to hike every mile, hikers will visit the state's tallest rock face (700-foot-tall Wallface Cliff), highest peak (5,344-foot Mount Marcy), highest body of water (Lake Tear of the Clouds at 4,318 feet), and summit eighteen High Peaks. Beyond these grand features, hikers will reach remote bodies of water, churning rivers, silent forests, and the nicest campsites in the park.
To get started, consult the chapter "Modern Explorers – Trails" in Among the Cloud Splitters: Place Names of High Peaks Wilderness Area, which is available through our Merchandise page. This chapter contains the list of trails with accompanying mileages. Once you hike every mile, click on the Buy Now tab below. You'll be directed to a link where you can order your official trail completer patch and certificate for $15 (shipping is free). Once we receive your order, we'll add your name to the official completer roster below and send you your stuff.
Oh, and congratulations!
High Peaks Wilderness Area Trail System Completers
#1 Erik Schlimmer – 2016
#2 Jared Whalen – 2018
#3 Colleen Porter – 2020
#4 Loring Porter – 2020
#5 Kyle Edele – 2020
#6 Amanda Riggs – 2020
#7 Nancy LaBaff – 2020
#8 Lois Swears – 2021
#9 Charles Langlois – 2021
#10 Jonathan Zaharek – 2021
#11 Andrew Puckey – 2021
#12 Thomas Penders – 2022
#13 Duane Martin – 2022
#14 Chad Wilkes – 2023
#15 Troy Tetreault – 2023
* In 2018, High Peaks Wilderness Area was expanded to 275,000 acres with the inclusion of a handful of tracts to the south and Dix Mountain Wilderness Area to the east. These additions added approximately 35 miles of trails, but there's no need to hike these "new" trails. Anyone who started or finished their High Peaks Wilderness Area trails challenge prior to 2019 will be grandfathered in to the above roster.
* If you hike every mile and don't want the patch and certificate, that's okay, too. Just send us your name, and we'll add you to the list of completers.
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