W H I T E F A C E   M O U N T A I N

Wilmington, New York

There are 3-D plastic maps on the wall illustrating the topography of the mountain's surrounding area. Boy, what a blast-from-the-past this is for me. I remember playing with this kind of map as a kid and I'm sure there are a lot of you out there who can relate to what I'm about to share. I remember pretending to be riding in an airplane by skimming my eyeball close to the surface of the map. Have you ever done this? Being a big kid myself, I can't resist the urge to replay that fun-filled childhood memory once again. VIDEO: Here's a movie replicating my experience.

The High Peaks Region of Adirondack State Park boasts 46 mountains, all reaching skyward at or above 4,000 feet. Well actually that's what they used to think before better technology came along allowing for more accurate measurement of elevation. As it turns out, 4 of the 46 mountains are actually less than 4,000 feet tall. Ooops! But some things die hard or in this case don't die at all. There's a long-standing, time-tested club of hikers called the "46ers" whose membership admission requires one to climb all 46 peaks. Rather than changing their name to the 42ers (which sounds stupid), they continue to include the 4 wimpy, underachieving mountains.

Four days prior I hiked the tallest peak, Mt Marcy. The chart says it takes 10 hours to hike out and back. Ha! I did it in 7.5 hours on a BUM KNEE! Now that's what I'm talking about!

On display is this article that talks about the history of the memorial.

I next turn my attention to the weather station. Weather instrumentation abounds, either attached to the station or located near its base. While checking out the station I hear a constant stream of obscenities. I wonder where it's coming from?