"When I'm in the Adirondacks, I Feel Close to God."

A few weeks ago, my brother Eddie Bauer was returning from fishing in the Adirondacks and sent me a text message, “Have you ever heard of the Adirondack 46ers?”  It rhymed with, “Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers,” and I thought it must be a basketball or hockey team.  After he got home, he called to tell me that the Adirondack Forty-Sixers was a hiking club, and to become a member, you had to hike to the top of each of the 46 Adirondack Mountains that are more than 4,000 feet in elevation. Ed proposed that we try to become members of the club.

I loved the idea instantly.  Ed pitched the idea as an ideal activity for us--a bunch of guys over 50 who sit at a desk all day. It gives us motivation to lose weight and get into better cardiovascular shape. I am 57 and weigh 260 pounds.  I love the wilderness, especially the Adirondacks. Ed didn’t need to sell me on the idea. It may take us as much as 10 years to climb all 46 peaks and that is fine. It will be 10 years of trying to remain in shape well enough to climb. During our conversation twice (or was it three times?), Ed said, “When I’m in the Adirondacks, I feel close to God.”

                                                            

We plan on climbing Cascade and Porter Mountains on September 15, along with a few other interested family members, in-laws, and friends.  In the basement of our house, I went looking in a storage box for one of our son’s old backpacks that they had used for school, and I have packed already, including first aid stuff.

At the moment, this is just a pipe dream. Let’s see if we can make it happen. In the meantime, I am exercising every day and cutting my carbohydrates.  I’m starting to feel closer to God already.