Another superb day hiking through the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, this time exploring with Eric on some lesser known paths. We loved spending time on the Gill Brook Trail up to Indian Head, then to Rainbow Falls and the West River Trail. If you like chasing waterfalls, this 10-mile route is for you!
He did it! 32 years in the making, Ryan’s the latest to have successfully summited all 46 of the Adirondack high peaks. It’s a massive accomplishment, which he capped off by flying here from his home in London to finally finish the challenge. We set a superb pace up Allen Mountain — 4.5 hours from trailhead to summit! Stoke was high. Congrats, Ryan! ⛰️
Can’t keep these legs from hiking! 🥾 Today was a perfect day for Haystack with incredible 360° visibility. David knocked it out of the park for his 7th high peak, cruising through the 18 miles. Excited to go back out with him (and the rest of the family) tomorrow for some rock climbing. These late summer days just give and give!
Cranberry Lake delivered in miles, bugs, more miles, beaver dams, more miles, scenic overlooks, ice cream, and a few more miles! Over the course of 21 hours, we completed the 57 mile loop (with bonus points) in a single push yesterday for our latest Northeast Ultra 8 hike. Todd was especially pleased to hike more miles than his age in years — a super impressive showing! Only two left!!
Another awesome day at King Philip’s Spring Wall introducing a gym climbing family to the wonders of real rock! The Heyman’s did GREAT facing some fears and doubts, with everyone topping out every climb. We walked out with a real sense of accomplishment. Do rad stuff together as a family — you become a better team. 🤘
The Clark family made a special stop for Day 11 of their road trip to climb in the Adirondacks. They did an amazing job for their first time on real rock, even climbing the 5.8 line ‘Springtime’ at King Philip’s Spring Wall. That crag’s a perfect spot for families and groups! There’s still time for your family to go on an ADK adventure this summer. 🗓️
The hike isn’t always about reaching a summit. This time it was for slowing down, reflecting, connecting, and noticing all the beauty that nature has to offer. Kudos to Michael for making the most of a rainy ADK getaway, and finding love for every quiet moment — even simply the raindrops on the tent. 🏕️
What an awesome Adirondack week! Monday and Tuesday, we worked with @stregiscanoe facilitating some athletic hikes moving fast uphill (plus cliff jumps to cool off 🥵). On Wednesday, we got to introduce Lauren and Nick to the high peaks wilderness heading up Wright, and then a stellar turnout for @adkclimb.club. Thursday found us on the Raquette River for a leisurely paddle through calm waters. Friday we were rewarded with an absolutely perfect day on Marcy for Eric’s 20th high peak! Can’t get enough of our beautiful park!
With our rugged terrain and option of unrelenting trails, the Adirondacks make a superb training ground for big mountain goals, both foreign and domestic. We’re proud to have helped clients prepare for their treks across the globe — and that our high peaks keep them coming back. 💪 Can’t wait to hit the trails with you again, @sekoshan!
Reflecting one week later on our Presidential Traverse and I’m struck by the drive that Todd has shown in this Northeast Ultra 8 challenge. We’re 3 hikes in, with 66 miles and nearly 30,000 feet of elevation gain under our feet, and there’s no slowing this man down. Very proud to be on his team as he takes on the hardest hikes of the northeast. Our 10 summits last Friday gifted us stunning views with perfect weather. Can’t wait to get back to NH to see more of the White Mountains!
Exciting news! We are thrilled to welcome Katie Rhodes (@rhodes_and_trails) to our guiding team! Katie brings her extensive experience guiding in the high peaks, as well as expertise as a professional ecologist and competitive trail runner. We couldn’t be happier to have her on board to lead hiking and backpacking trips for our clients. We know you’ll enjoy her infectious love for the natural world.
Katie will be leading a group hike up Mt. Marcy on June 13 with a focus on alpine plant life. As you hike, you’ll explore why the mountains look the way they do, what makes these alpine ‘islands in the sky’ so special, and discover some of the state’s rarest plants in bloom!
Register — and see the rest of our group hiking schedule — on our website (link in bio). Spots are limited!
✅ Our second trail of the Northeast Ultra 8: The Devil’s Path. 28 miles and nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain made for an intense day. But the dry conditions, good scenery, and great company were all wonderful. It’s so cool to see Todd attack this challenge with gusto, and walk away having learned new lessons to apply each time.
I love the new goal arc in Pedometer++. It’s a good reference to the Apple Watch’s fitness rings, but distinct and easier to fit onscreen. But what I like most is the visual of effort required to complete your goal. It’s hard to get started (going “uphill” on the arc) but once you get halfway, you might as well ride the downhill to the finish!
To start with the home screen has been clarified to be more legible at a glance. With some incredibly fun (to use and to make) animations to celebrate when you reach your goal.
Kicking off the NEU8 with the Taconic Crest Trail
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of starting a new journey with Todd: the Northeast Ultra 8. After completing his winter 46ers, Todd wanted a new challenge, and the @northeast_ultra8 is it. 8 of the most challenging through hikes in the Northeast, each done within 24 hours. Our first, the Taconic Crest Trail, stretches ~38 miles across New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont with ~8000 feet of elevation gain (depending on who you ask) and we got it done in 16.5 hours.
We encountered rain, wind, fog, sun, porcupine, cow, deer, mouse, bear(!), countless PUDs (pointless ups and downs), and (still) some snow. 😅 We even got some views since the tree cover hasn’t come in yet! It was a grand day covering tons of terrain with a good friend, and it clued us into what we’re up against with the rest of the hikes.
The Devil’s Path is up next in May! Can’t wait. 💪
This episode of The Good News Podcast about hyper-detailed instructions and AI-powered solutions to help people with low/no vision to enjoy building LEGO sets is so very cool. 🎧
Great cold open for @siracusa@mastodon.social’s guest spot on The Talk Show. Love the stark honesty, and I’ve never heard @gruber@mastodon.social giggle quite like this before. Gonna be a good one. 🤣 🎧
Love this.
If you reverse the new Apple video that plays in "rewind," it's the Think Different ad music, pitched up.
This week’s Upgrade was a ton of fun as @jsnell@zeppelin.flights and @imyke@myke.social recounted the tale of Apple’s beginning, 50 years ago.* 🎧
*Except, fun fact, I learned that it was only 49 years ago! 😱
Amazing. You can tell they sweat the details.
We're testing this new intro to play when you first launch Retro ✨
The idea is to "set the mood", communicate what Retro is about, and slow you down:
• Plays haptics on every photo beat, decreasing in intensity and sharpness, so you "feel" it calm down.
• The script is dynamic, it adapts to the apps that you have installed on your device.
• The soundtrack starts with noise that we turn down to focus on what matters.
• We're gonna ask for some iOS permissions, hopefully this creates some trust
If it actually works as advertised this time — a big if — Gurman’s predictions for Siri sound like exactly what I want out of it. From Connected 🎧:
Other potential features of note:
- Merging Siri and Spotlight under Siri brand
- Completing tasks within apps
- Integrating web search within queries