Challenge: Trans Adirondack Route
Location: Adirondack Park of New York
Established: 2010
Completers: 34
Difficulty: 4/5
What it is
The 242.7-mile Trans Adirondack Route connects 199.3 miles (82 percent) of trails, 33.0 miles (14) of roads, and 10.4 miles (4) of cross-country travel to cross the six-million-acre Adirondack Park, the largest park and forest preserve in the Lower Forty-eight. Along the way it climbs 30,000 vertical feet and visits scenic river valleys, deep wilderness, and a few petite communities.
How to do it
Purchase Blue Line to Blue Line and the map set on the Writer page and thru-hike it.
Completers
A certificate, patch, and t-shirt are available for $30. Fill out the Trans Adirondack Route Thru-hiker Application here and then reach out via the Contact page.
Reported attempted non-winter thru-hikes = 58
Reported successful non-winter thru-hikes = 33
Reported attempted winter thru-hikes = 3
Reported successful winter thru-hikes = 1
Reported thru-hiker success rate = 56 percent
** The real world success rate is an estimated 45 percent due to the simple fact that hikers are likely to report successes yet unlikely to report failures.
2010: Erik Schlimmer (1)
2011: no thru-hikers – route in development stage
2012: two failed attempts
2013: Emma Gibson (2), Molly Gibson (3), Tim Shmigel (4), plus at least two failed attempts
2014: at least three failed attempts
2015: Marilyne Marchand-Gouin (5), Natti Nassiff (6), David Rothrock (7), CJ Smith (8)
2016: Dave Giese (9), Matthew Hess (10), Chip Moeser (11)
2017: Hannah Seacord (12)
2018: Erik Schlimmer (13, second thru-hike) plus at least two failed attempts
2019: at least three failed attempts
2020: Shaun Rowe (14), Shane Stringfellow (15), Yuliya Semenova (16), Zack Kerr (17), Natalie Parker (18), Jonathan Korte (19), Andrew Kulikowski (20), Craig Miles (21), Blaine Vossler (22), plus at least five failed attempts
2021: Thaddeus Merriman (23, winter thru-hike), Jeff Sargent (24), Jeremy Marble (25), Mike LeMay (26), Michael Green (27), Jake Zehnder (28), Tony Oehler (29), plus at least two failed attempts
2022: at least two failed attempts
2023: Jeff Love (30), Kyle Nicholas (31), plus at least six failed attempts
2024: Ruth Larkin (32), Shaun Rowe (33, second thru-hike), Stephen Russell (34)
If you wish to attempt a fastest known time (FKT), you must adhere to four rules. 1) Follow the entire route and carry your own gear. 2) Resupply yourself or be resupplied up to two times. 3) Stay in accommodations (motels, hostels, camper vans, etc.) up to two nights. 4) Navigate with map and compass only (no use of GPS, phone, satellite devices, etc.).
- Erik Schlimmer (2010): 12 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes
- Marilyne Marchand Gouin (2015): 10 days, 6 hours, 46 minutes
- Shaun Rowe (2024): 10 days, 3 hours, 0 minutes
Challenge: High Peaks Wilderness Area Trail System
Location: Adirondack Park of New York
Established: 2016
Completers: 17
Difficulty: 5/5
What it is
The 267.9-mile High Peaks Wilderness Area Trail System hiking challenge demands hikers cover all 79 trails within this 192,000-acre region. Completers cover about 450 miles and climb about 100,000 vertical feet. It is a literal, not figurative, walk in the park. Hikers also top more than a dozen 4,000-foot peaks and visit remote destinations they've probably never heard of.
How to do it
Purchase Among the Cloud Splitters, that contains the list of trails, on the Writer page and hike it.
Completers
A certificate and patch are available for $15. Fill out the High Peaks Wilderness Area Hiker Application here and then reach out via the Contact page.
2016: Erik Schlimmer (1)
2017: no completers
2018: Jared Whalen (2)
2019: no completers
2020: Colleen Porter (3), Loring Porter (4), Kyle Edele (5), Amanda Riggs (6), Nancy LaBaff (7)
2021: Lois Swears (8), Charles Langlois (9), Jonathan Zaharek (10), Andrew Puckey (11)
2022: Thomas Penders (12), Duane Martin (13)
2023: Chad Wilkes (14), Troy Tetreault (15)
2024: Phil Arnold (16)
2025: John Ehntholt (17)
** In 2018, 192,000-acre High Peaks Wilderness Area was expanded to 275,000 acres and dubbed High Peaks Wilderness Complex. Anyone who started this challenge in 2018 or earlier will be grandfathered in to the old guard list of completers.
** Anyone who started this challenge in 2019 or later may hike the seventeen trails in former Dix Mountain Wilderness Area that was combined with High Peaks Wilderness Area to form High Peaks Wilderness Complex. Only the segments that traverse state land must be hiked.
Colvin Trail (1.3 miles on state land), Dix Mountain Via Hunters Pass Trail (2.1), Dix Trail (4.0), Elk Lake to Dix Mountain Trail (4.7), Elk Lake to Marcy Trail (1.8), Elk Pass Trail (1.2), Fish Hawk Cliffs Trail (0.4), Gill Brook Trail (1.1), Leach Trail (4.3), Lower Ausable Lake Trail (0.6), Nipple Top Trail (0.2), Old Dix Trail (1.5), Pinnacle Trail (4.1), Round Pond Trail (2.1), Spur to Round Mountain Trail (0.1), Stimson Trail (2.2), Weston Trail (2.4). Additional mileage: 34.1 Total challenge mileage: 302.0
Challenge: Tour De Cosmos
Location: San Luis Valley of Colorado
Completers: 0
Difficulty 3/5
What it is
The 387-mile Tour De Cosmos biking challenge is a work in progress. When complete, this dirt road and singletrack route will offer mountain and gravel bikers a way to circumnavigate Colorado's entire San Luis Valley, one of the largest alpine valleys on Earth. The route will link a dozen tiny Western communities separated by expanses of high desert loneliness.
How to do it
A GPX file and PDF data book will be available to all riders for a self-determined donation.
Completers
None yet. A test-ride of the entire route will take place this October.