Peakbagr
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Privileged to be friends with both Inge and Spencer. They have amazing resumes and accomplishments. Nice job posting this, Christine.
Wow! Spencer bushwhack's the 46, Inge W's the 100
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BlackSpruce
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“If you do not climb mountains it has been said that it’s pointless to ask a climber why he climbs. The non-climber won’t understand the given reason anyway.” Grace Hudowalski
Does it need to be fun to have fun?
NO says Inge Aiken 100W #4 / NO says Spencer Morrissey B 46 #2
A few days ago Spencer Morrissey completed a decade long quest of bushwhacking to or from every one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. Although when he got started he had not heard of John Winkler, he eventually met him at book signings and had the rare privilege on several occasions of exchanging hiking stories. John E ‘Bushwhack’ Winkler (1941-2007), who received a Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam, preferred bushwhacking to trail hiking and over a span of 30 years climbed just about every bump, scaled most of the slides and visited many of the ponds and bogs of his ‘Cherished Wilderness’, the Adirondacks. Nevertheless his most famous accomplishment is climbing all of the 46 (over a 5 year span during the late 70s early 80s), from one direction or the other following a set of rules he had established himself but bushwhacking in at least one direction between each mountain base and its summit. A talented photographer, he came back with two volumes of extraordinary pictures. The volumes sport little text but one can guess many of his routes easily since every picture is worth a 1000 words.
John’s first reaction upon learning decades later that another climber knowing the terrain would embark on the same quest was incredulity. Why would at someone want to do the same and, as he did, risk losing all of his friends along the way for the misery he put them through. Nevertheless John B46 was happy to share memories, “rules” and routes with Spencer.
During the same time span Inge Aiken was herself and with her own set of rules -but basically quite similar to those of John and Spencer- hacking away at bushwhacking the 46 High Peaks. Having four (4) more to do she has not quite reached that particular goal but the very last day of this past winter (March 2011) on the summit of Sawtooth Number 3 she completed a winter round of the 100. Just like with Winkler, it will likely be a long time before another woman accomplishes the same feat, if ever!
A few years ago BlackSpruce had the opportunity to spend a few hours with John to chat about his Adirondack adventures, so she thought she would try to do the same with Inge and Spencer but this time post the answers on VFTT. Both readily and elegantly agreed, therefore here is the trip report:
Regarding criteria both Inge and Spencer, as John earlier, feel that bushwhacking the 46 is a personal adventure that is not recorded by anyone whose rules have not been dictated yet by any club and which in any case seems impossible to set precisely because of the nature of the beast. Therefore they decided that either up or down and from wherever at the base of the mountain or laterally from one summit to the next would work just fine for them.
Does it need to be fun to have fun?
NO says Inge Aiken 100W #4 / NO says Spencer Morrissey B 46 #2
A few days ago Spencer Morrissey completed a decade long quest of bushwhacking to or from every one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. Although when he got started he had not heard of John Winkler, he eventually met him at book signings and had the rare privilege on several occasions of exchanging hiking stories. John E ‘Bushwhack’ Winkler (1941-2007), who received a Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam, preferred bushwhacking to trail hiking and over a span of 30 years climbed just about every bump, scaled most of the slides and visited many of the ponds and bogs of his ‘Cherished Wilderness’, the Adirondacks. Nevertheless his most famous accomplishment is climbing all of the 46 (over a 5 year span during the late 70s early 80s), from one direction or the other following a set of rules he had established himself but bushwhacking in at least one direction between each mountain base and its summit. A talented photographer, he came back with two volumes of extraordinary pictures. The volumes sport little text but one can guess many of his routes easily since every picture is worth a 1000 words.
John’s first reaction upon learning decades later that another climber knowing the terrain would embark on the same quest was incredulity. Why would at someone want to do the same and, as he did, risk losing all of his friends along the way for the misery he put them through. Nevertheless John B46 was happy to share memories, “rules” and routes with Spencer.
During the same time span Inge Aiken was herself and with her own set of rules -but basically quite similar to those of John and Spencer- hacking away at bushwhacking the 46 High Peaks. Having four (4) more to do she has not quite reached that particular goal but the very last day of this past winter (March 2011) on the summit of Sawtooth Number 3 she completed a winter round of the 100. Just like with Winkler, it will likely be a long time before another woman accomplishes the same feat, if ever!
A few years ago BlackSpruce had the opportunity to spend a few hours with John to chat about his Adirondack adventures, so she thought she would try to do the same with Inge and Spencer but this time post the answers on VFTT. Both readily and elegantly agreed, therefore here is the trip report:
Regarding criteria both Inge and Spencer, as John earlier, feel that bushwhacking the 46 is a personal adventure that is not recorded by anyone whose rules have not been dictated yet by any club and which in any case seems impossible to set precisely because of the nature of the beast. Therefore they decided that either up or down and from wherever at the base of the mountain or laterally from one summit to the next would work just fine for them.
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BlackSpruce
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(...) continues from above:
About the tough ones:
Spencer: “The most difficult bushwhack, about 5 years ago, was descending from Rocky Peak Ridge, starting from Route 73. To the Dipper it was an extremely tedious and exhausting hike. And the very last one to Skylight from the Redfield herd path was totally exhausting. In comparison all of the Dix Range peaks proved to be very easy climbs, a real walk in the park, as were Cascade and Porter. In general the higher the elevation the tighter is the forest. But it can be challenging at lower elevation where the beech trees occasionally become extremely annoying. They are found below 3000’, not only their pointy bud constantly slaps you in the face but the branches swipe back.”
Inge: “Compared with the Lower 54 bushwhacks, it is similar if one considers peaks like the five Sawtooths. But overall doing the 46 is much more trying and longer even though the bushwhacks are usually much shorter in distance. It was way more outings to reach the 46 bushwhacking than necessary for the completion of the regular 46.”
About taking pictures:
Spencer: “At first I did but since I could not see much most of the time and my camera was cumbersome I stopped. Then later I started to take pictures again.” What Spencer enjoyed the most during his B46 adventures were the spectacular waterfalls like the one visited while travelling from Scott Clearing to Algonquin.
Inge: “I never take pictures and do not plan to ever”.
About fuelling the machine:
Inge: “No performance enhancing stuff, only endurance sport stuff that one can eat regularly. When hiking one can eat plain food and it’s great. I take milk.”
Spencer: “I eat lots of snack food. For a while it was peanut butter jelly but I got sick of it. On rare occasions I have used energy enhancing drinks or powder. It’s more gel and power bar as they are easy to retrieve as I like to eat a little but often.”
About turning around and getting out of bed:
Spencer: “I turned back only once. It was during a winter attempt at East Dix after I fell deep through the ice. I was also scared but thankfully it was a relatively warm, allowing me to get back home without lasting consequences. Once out there I always push on.” “On several occasions upon waking up and not feeling ready mentally, I put the B46 of the day aside for a while. A day at work is physically a lot easier. Nevertheless enjoying the discovery process immensely I would get back sooner or later.”
Inge: “I turned around a few times when I felt I could not go on.” Several times (about 30%) stayed in bed not feeling the usual rush of adrenaline and occasionally regretted it later in the day that I stayed home.
About ready to give up:
Spencer: “I would take breaks from the B46 for months at a time but would get at it again to compete with myself, for the pleasure of walking where climbers rarely tread and because it plainly is what made me feel good all the while escaping life’s sometimes grinding routine.”
Inge: “I love the woods but every once in a while I get tired of it and then need a break.”
About the next challenge:
Inge: “I try to be the best I can be as I am competing with myself. I like challenges, and the next one will be completing the Grid (12 months)”
Spencer: “I am now working on the 115 and helping my partner Corenne complete her 46. I am still slowing pecking away at climbing all the named peaks in the Adirondacks.”
Is it about escaping?
Inge: “It’s very much an escape from basic worries, a form of relaxation. I get a bit stressed before the hike but no more once alone in the woods, where being alone I tread very carefully and try to stay focused. However, it is harder mentally than physically.”
Spencer found the quest was much harder mentally than physically even though at times while bushwhacking a particular tight section of a route and for short period of time he would become cranky while arguing with the trees. “Bushwhacking the 46 is in some ways a completely mindless motion as one concentrates intensely in moving forward a yard at a time. No more any less.”
About hiking companions:
Spencer has only praise for the half dozen or so climbers who each came with him for one peak or another. He enjoyed those much more than the dozen he climbed by himself and is very pleased to have always been able to find friends to share the delights and miseries. During those bushwhacks, one’s mood continuously yoyos from delight to misery.
Inge climbed most of them by herself for the bushwhack 46 and had company for at most 15 of the Lower 54 in winter.
About planning:
Inge: “I am good at keeping records but not very good at planning. I never plot a route or record waypoints but still use a GPS to be sure to reach the summit. I usually choose a route from information gathered from friends and acquaintances or one that seems to have a particular scenic interest. Some on impulse.
Spencer does not spend lots of time planning his outings. He simply looks at the map and quickly chooses a basic route that would be the reference to get from point B to summit X all the while following the path of least resistance.
About speed:
Inge: “It takes about 4 hours to climb UWJ via the trail but took 8 hours including bushwhack from JBL, at least twice as long. If something goes wrong while I am climbing I try to fix it. For instance, once without the proper shoes on an Upper Wolf Jaw slide that was too steep for me I had to backtrack down and chose another route. Not easy because I focus on moving fast.”
Spencer: “I figured that my average bushwhacking speed is .5-mile per hour and sometimes even ¼-mile per hour!”
What about the very first High Peak bushwhack:
Inge: Her first 46 high peaks bushwhacking, and the toughest one to date, was the one on which she completed her first round of the 46: Allen! Up to that day she had never used a GPS or bushwhacked. She went via Sand Brook from the Elk Lake – Marcy Trail, August 2, 2000.
Spencer: His very first peak reached bushwhacking was Phelps from the Pelkey Basin side.
About being easier in winter:
Inge: “Most of the B46 were reached in summer, in winter it is too hard!” “On the other hand winter without climbing is unimaginable. It’s the best!” “The Lower 54 in winter, as in summer, required a lot more planning, no spontaneity allowed due to the lack of familiarity with the terrain and location. Navigating skills are being tested for the 54 in winter which is not the case for the B46, as after a few rounds of summer and winter one has a sense of the peaks geography. Therefore the unknown and the nature of the winter season made it more challenging than anything else. I often came close to giving up the 100W but my husband “made me do it”. Carl kept encouraging me, and he knew I could do it. Plus he came along many times and was always game for the many necessary reconnaissance trips. “
Spencer reached about one third in winter but found out quickly that breaking trail away from a trail was no picnic. He realized that his build was a significant hindrance, making spruce traps an issue when every step one ends up in a cave!
About role models:
Inge: “I hope it encourages others to do it and have as much of a good time.”
Spencer: “On some level I enjoy being a role model as it makes me feel good if it means sharing the memories and helping others select routes and enjoy the outdoors as I do. “
About up or down:
Spencer: “I call it "The Rule of Up"! Heading up funnels you to the top. If you keep going up and you know you are on the flanks of the peak you will eventually get there. There is no "Rule of Down" because you have the entire circumference of the base of the peak and you could easily fall off the wrong side of the mountain and end up miles from your planned destination. It's much harder to find a route from the top than the bottom. But on the other hand I find it much easier to bushwhack downhill through the thick.”
Inge: “Bushwhacking towards the summit is easier than finding a route down - easy to follow up to a point, but once you head slightly off bearing you just get further and further from your destination. The summit whack converges on a point, but the descent converges on a circle of unlimited points.”
And how about concluding with a quote from William Chapman White (1903-1955) in Adirondack Country- 1954?
“As a man tramps the woods to the lake, he knows he will find pines and lilies, blue heron and golden shiners, shadows on the rocks and the glint of light on the wavelets, just as they were in the summer of 1354, as they will be in 2054 and beyond. He can stand on a rock by the shore and be in a past he could not have known, in a future he will never see. He can be part of time that was and time yet to come.”
About the tough ones:
Spencer: “The most difficult bushwhack, about 5 years ago, was descending from Rocky Peak Ridge, starting from Route 73. To the Dipper it was an extremely tedious and exhausting hike. And the very last one to Skylight from the Redfield herd path was totally exhausting. In comparison all of the Dix Range peaks proved to be very easy climbs, a real walk in the park, as were Cascade and Porter. In general the higher the elevation the tighter is the forest. But it can be challenging at lower elevation where the beech trees occasionally become extremely annoying. They are found below 3000’, not only their pointy bud constantly slaps you in the face but the branches swipe back.”
Inge: “Compared with the Lower 54 bushwhacks, it is similar if one considers peaks like the five Sawtooths. But overall doing the 46 is much more trying and longer even though the bushwhacks are usually much shorter in distance. It was way more outings to reach the 46 bushwhacking than necessary for the completion of the regular 46.”
About taking pictures:
Spencer: “At first I did but since I could not see much most of the time and my camera was cumbersome I stopped. Then later I started to take pictures again.” What Spencer enjoyed the most during his B46 adventures were the spectacular waterfalls like the one visited while travelling from Scott Clearing to Algonquin.
Inge: “I never take pictures and do not plan to ever”.
About fuelling the machine:
Inge: “No performance enhancing stuff, only endurance sport stuff that one can eat regularly. When hiking one can eat plain food and it’s great. I take milk.”
Spencer: “I eat lots of snack food. For a while it was peanut butter jelly but I got sick of it. On rare occasions I have used energy enhancing drinks or powder. It’s more gel and power bar as they are easy to retrieve as I like to eat a little but often.”
About turning around and getting out of bed:
Spencer: “I turned back only once. It was during a winter attempt at East Dix after I fell deep through the ice. I was also scared but thankfully it was a relatively warm, allowing me to get back home without lasting consequences. Once out there I always push on.” “On several occasions upon waking up and not feeling ready mentally, I put the B46 of the day aside for a while. A day at work is physically a lot easier. Nevertheless enjoying the discovery process immensely I would get back sooner or later.”
Inge: “I turned around a few times when I felt I could not go on.” Several times (about 30%) stayed in bed not feeling the usual rush of adrenaline and occasionally regretted it later in the day that I stayed home.
About ready to give up:
Spencer: “I would take breaks from the B46 for months at a time but would get at it again to compete with myself, for the pleasure of walking where climbers rarely tread and because it plainly is what made me feel good all the while escaping life’s sometimes grinding routine.”
Inge: “I love the woods but every once in a while I get tired of it and then need a break.”
About the next challenge:
Inge: “I try to be the best I can be as I am competing with myself. I like challenges, and the next one will be completing the Grid (12 months)”
Spencer: “I am now working on the 115 and helping my partner Corenne complete her 46. I am still slowing pecking away at climbing all the named peaks in the Adirondacks.”
Is it about escaping?
Inge: “It’s very much an escape from basic worries, a form of relaxation. I get a bit stressed before the hike but no more once alone in the woods, where being alone I tread very carefully and try to stay focused. However, it is harder mentally than physically.”
Spencer found the quest was much harder mentally than physically even though at times while bushwhacking a particular tight section of a route and for short period of time he would become cranky while arguing with the trees. “Bushwhacking the 46 is in some ways a completely mindless motion as one concentrates intensely in moving forward a yard at a time. No more any less.”
About hiking companions:
Spencer has only praise for the half dozen or so climbers who each came with him for one peak or another. He enjoyed those much more than the dozen he climbed by himself and is very pleased to have always been able to find friends to share the delights and miseries. During those bushwhacks, one’s mood continuously yoyos from delight to misery.
Inge climbed most of them by herself for the bushwhack 46 and had company for at most 15 of the Lower 54 in winter.
About planning:
Inge: “I am good at keeping records but not very good at planning. I never plot a route or record waypoints but still use a GPS to be sure to reach the summit. I usually choose a route from information gathered from friends and acquaintances or one that seems to have a particular scenic interest. Some on impulse.
Spencer does not spend lots of time planning his outings. He simply looks at the map and quickly chooses a basic route that would be the reference to get from point B to summit X all the while following the path of least resistance.
About speed:
Inge: “It takes about 4 hours to climb UWJ via the trail but took 8 hours including bushwhack from JBL, at least twice as long. If something goes wrong while I am climbing I try to fix it. For instance, once without the proper shoes on an Upper Wolf Jaw slide that was too steep for me I had to backtrack down and chose another route. Not easy because I focus on moving fast.”
Spencer: “I figured that my average bushwhacking speed is .5-mile per hour and sometimes even ¼-mile per hour!”
What about the very first High Peak bushwhack:
Inge: Her first 46 high peaks bushwhacking, and the toughest one to date, was the one on which she completed her first round of the 46: Allen! Up to that day she had never used a GPS or bushwhacked. She went via Sand Brook from the Elk Lake – Marcy Trail, August 2, 2000.
Spencer: His very first peak reached bushwhacking was Phelps from the Pelkey Basin side.
About being easier in winter:
Inge: “Most of the B46 were reached in summer, in winter it is too hard!” “On the other hand winter without climbing is unimaginable. It’s the best!” “The Lower 54 in winter, as in summer, required a lot more planning, no spontaneity allowed due to the lack of familiarity with the terrain and location. Navigating skills are being tested for the 54 in winter which is not the case for the B46, as after a few rounds of summer and winter one has a sense of the peaks geography. Therefore the unknown and the nature of the winter season made it more challenging than anything else. I often came close to giving up the 100W but my husband “made me do it”. Carl kept encouraging me, and he knew I could do it. Plus he came along many times and was always game for the many necessary reconnaissance trips. “
Spencer reached about one third in winter but found out quickly that breaking trail away from a trail was no picnic. He realized that his build was a significant hindrance, making spruce traps an issue when every step one ends up in a cave!
About role models:
Inge: “I hope it encourages others to do it and have as much of a good time.”
Spencer: “On some level I enjoy being a role model as it makes me feel good if it means sharing the memories and helping others select routes and enjoy the outdoors as I do. “
About up or down:
Spencer: “I call it "The Rule of Up"! Heading up funnels you to the top. If you keep going up and you know you are on the flanks of the peak you will eventually get there. There is no "Rule of Down" because you have the entire circumference of the base of the peak and you could easily fall off the wrong side of the mountain and end up miles from your planned destination. It's much harder to find a route from the top than the bottom. But on the other hand I find it much easier to bushwhack downhill through the thick.”
Inge: “Bushwhacking towards the summit is easier than finding a route down - easy to follow up to a point, but once you head slightly off bearing you just get further and further from your destination. The summit whack converges on a point, but the descent converges on a circle of unlimited points.”
And how about concluding with a quote from William Chapman White (1903-1955) in Adirondack Country- 1954?
“As a man tramps the woods to the lake, he knows he will find pines and lilies, blue heron and golden shiners, shadows on the rocks and the glint of light on the wavelets, just as they were in the summer of 1354, as they will be in 2054 and beyond. He can stand on a rock by the shore and be in a past he could not have known, in a future he will never see. He can be part of time that was and time yet to come.”
Last edited:
per ardua exelsior
Your post shines a marvelous light on Inge and Spencer's achievements,
which are admirable not just for their spirit of adventure, their
physical strength, and mental tougness, but even more for their
delight in our beloved Adirondacks which comes through so well in your
interviews with them. Thank you Christine, thank you Inge, thank you Spencer!!!
Your post shines a marvelous light on Inge and Spencer's achievements,
which are admirable not just for their spirit of adventure, their
physical strength, and mental tougness, but even more for their
delight in our beloved Adirondacks which comes through so well in your
interviews with them. Thank you Christine, thank you Inge, thank you Spencer!!!
Ed'n Lauky
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Very impressive. Blows your mind really to think of what they accomplished and all that was involved in doing it.
Neil
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Once upon a time they went on their first hike ever.
Then they went on another one
and another one.
Each outing increased their knowledge and skill set. Fitness, map reading, terrain reading, compass skills all followed.
Hike after hike after hike learning to read a ridge and know where the blowdown will be. Death marches, car spots, emails, phone calls, blisters and bug bites. Sore muscles and joints, stress and anxiety, relationship tension, recovery, lack of sleep, falling asleep at the wheel, hiking partners, Stewarts stores, making friends...it goes on and on doesn't it?
You think about hiking, dream about hiking, you eat hiking and you just can't get it out of your head.
The happy few.
Then they went on another one
and another one.
Each outing increased their knowledge and skill set. Fitness, map reading, terrain reading, compass skills all followed.
Hike after hike after hike learning to read a ridge and know where the blowdown will be. Death marches, car spots, emails, phone calls, blisters and bug bites. Sore muscles and joints, stress and anxiety, relationship tension, recovery, lack of sleep, falling asleep at the wheel, hiking partners, Stewarts stores, making friends...it goes on and on doesn't it?
You think about hiking, dream about hiking, you eat hiking and you just can't get it out of your head.
The happy few.
peak_bgr
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Well, when you put it like that. I did it all for the Stewy burgers.
Neil
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If I don't fall asleep at the wheel on the way home I haven't hiked hard enough.
I have fallen asleep at the wheel for as much as 30 minutes but fortunately I was parked at a rest area.
bubba
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Christine... excellent. Thanks so much! Congrats to Spence and Inge - simply awesome and inspiring!
