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It’s 2am and we are speeding down a dark, empty highway, less than an hour after our plane landed in Ecuador. In the seats behind a taxi driver whose language I do not speak well, we are completely unaware of where we are or the direction we should be going in. The altitude and anxiety are kicking into full gear just as we finally pull up to the home of our host family. We sigh with relief as a friendly face helps us out of our car and greets us in broken English. Up until that moment, the limits of my comfort had never been pushed so far. I’m a believer that pushing the limits of your comfort zone helps you grow as a person. My travels have taken me up mountains, to developing countries, and deep into the backwoods. My adventure over this Labor Day weekend, however, pushed my limits like never before. In the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, my experience in the back of a speeding taxi in Quito, Ecuador seemed luxurious. Starting the TripThe locals refer to the 46 mountains in the Adirondacks of New York with summits over 4000 feet as the ‘46ers.’ The plan for the weekend was for my girlfriend, Emily, and I to summit 5 of them, via an 18-mile loop with nearly 4000 feet of elevation gain on unmarked trails and up the trail free summits. Upon one last weather check before leaving for the trip Saturday morning, we discovered a rainy forecast for our second day in the mountains, but decided to proceed with the trip since we had been planning it for so long. |
