Exploring the high peaks of the Adirondacks requires days of hiking, camping, scrambling up rocks, and navigating ill-defined trails. To climb every one of the high peaks, defined as the 46 peaks in the Adirondack Mountain range, which exceeds 4,000 feet in height, is considered one of the premier challenges for hikers in the area. But this did not stop Sadye Bobbette ’21 from climbing to the top of all 46 peaks.

Those who have completed the feat, known as 46ers, become eligible for club membership and special memorabilia from the “ADK 46ers.” The club was founded around 1918 by a pair of brothers and a friend with the goal of recognizing those individuals who successfully achieved such a feat and of preserving the trail for future generations.

The “46ers Club” has since seen almost 10,000 people complete the challenge.

Bobbette is a member of this distinguished group. A native of Syracuse, New York, Bobbette has been climbing for years, throughout her whole childhood. The High Peaks, though a special challenge, represent a step up into a new and exciting level of terrain.

After living in the region for many years, she had long heard of and been in awe of those who had been on the “46ers Trip.” She never imagined though, that she would one day embark on the same challenge.

One summer, after a particularly rewarding hike up three of the High Peaks, she finally decided to commit.

“I got this gut feeling where I just knew I wanted more than anything to do the 46ers trip,” she said. “It was just this weird instinct, but I got so excited.”

The trip would require preparation, so she began running every morning before school as well as fundraising to pay for the trip. The next summer, she was ready to set out.

The hike consisted of a group of eight people; six ranging from ages 15 to 16 and two leaders. Their goal: to hike all 46 peaks, in just five weeks.

There were no showers and no phones, and the hiking was incredibly intense. In one day, her group climbed 7 peaks. Despite this, “those five weeks were literally the most incredible five weeks of my entire life,” said Bobbette. The most rewarding part, she said, is the moment right at the end of the tree line: “the summit seems so close, so I find myself practically running to the top, scrambling up the steep rocks.”

It’s not all fun; Bobbette describes many instances of close calls with slippery rocks in streams. But for her, the sense of pride that comes from hard work more than makes up for it. “I remember each and every peak individually as a totally different experience. Every day was so different.”

In the end, Bobbette says, the peaks are what you make of them; each is unique and special in its own way. The most important piece of advice she can give though, is to not rush it, to enjoy the hike itself, “not just the views at the top.”

Ultimately, the “beautiful streams and cool critters, lean-tos and cooking and feeling so filthy yet pure at the same time, taking off your wet hiking boots at the end of the day; all of the little things make [hiking] a hugely memorable experience.”