About Lisa Ballard

Contributor Lisa Ballard is the author of "Hiking the Adirondacks" and "Best Easy Day Hikes Adirondacks." A native of Saranac Lake, she contributes to numerous magazines and websites from her base camps on Chateaugay Lake and Red Lodge, Montana.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ruth Gais says

    About 30 or so years ago I made it a point to climb Marshall for my 46th peak. I remember the trail as wet and a tad slippery, the top not glorious but I was jubilant. I chose to finish on Marshall to honor the memory of Bob Marshall as well as all those who climbed with me over the years and the very mountains themselves that helped me grow up.

    • Jennifer says

      MY HUSBAND and I have done 19 peaks and we did Mt Marshall about 2 years ago. What a joy of a hike it was! I said the except same thing in that it felt like we were in the middle of a fairy tale. However, I have to mention that we had a big scare. The hike was mossy and slippery, and my husband fell off of what I will describe as a 6′ cliff. He was not hurt, but It’s what prompted us to always carry a Garmin device for emergency contact.

  2. Laurie Rankin says

    We love reading this story of your journey to becoming a 46er, including the 2 very different trips to Mount Marshall, Lisa! Many have experienced these same types of conditions. This prompted the NYSDEC and the Adirondack 46ers to enter into a Volunteer Service Agreement (VSA) that includes the care of many of the herd paths to the high peaks that the DEC has rated as Class 2 paths. Mount Marshall is one of them. The VSA allows one of the Adirondack 46ers volunteers to remove blow down and clear drainages twice a year on these 21 paths. It greatly improves the hikers experience and also helps protect the land that the hikers walk over to the summit. Many thanks to our volunteers for taking on this task. Many thanks to you for going back to Mount Marshall again to successfully reach the summit and to share that journey with others. Laurie Rankin, President, Adirondack 46ers

  3. Siobhán Carney-Neabitt says

    Yay! Loved the article. My husband Lee and I are the 46er adopters of this path. We do our best to keep it cleared. I remember my first assent in July 2006. Magical. That moss. The cascading waterfalls. Even without views, I still find walking up the Brook to be the highlight of my 15+ trips to the summit. We had no views a few weeks ago when we did our most recent trailsweep, but man did we have another awesome day!
    Siobhán Carney-Nesbitt, #5930W
    Past President/Office of the Historian, Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc

  4. Ceci Scott says

    Love this article, Lisa — and Mount Marshall, which I hiked in 2014 with my then 10-year-old son, who wanted to complete his 46 that summer. We also did the Loj-Avalanche Pass route. It is still one of my happiest memories, despite the thick fog obscuring the view, the exhaustion, the lower body pain and being soaking wet for 75% of it. There is something truly special about that route.

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