Reaching the summit of one peak, at any age, is truly impressive. When one climber knocks off every mountain in the range, that’s cause for major celebration and often a medal or a sticker.
One child did just that, and summited all 46 peaks in the Adirondack mountain range. What’s even more unbelievable is that the girl was only four years old when she did this! Her feat makes her the youngest person to ever climb all 46 peaks, each of which towers above 4,000 feet high.
Maebh Nesbitt, who is now 5, summited the final peak in late July, two days before her 5th birthday. She didn’t climb all these mountains solo, though. Maebh’s mom was there every step of the way. In fact, she told Good Morning America that she dreamed her daughter would be a little hiker when she was expecting her. Both Maebh’s parents have summited the 46 peaks, and have the sticker to prove it.
Here’s an image of the girl with her mother near Couch Peak, considered the last of “the 46,” which Siobhan Carney-Nesbitt posted to Facebook in late June:
Maebh, who is from upstate New York, started hiking with her parents as soon as she could walk. It wasn’t until she was three that she and her mom, Carney-Nesbit, created the lofty goal.
“Let’s go hike, you can hike with mommy — she just loved it,'” her mom told Good Morning America. “It kind of became all of our goal as she continued to hike.”
When Maebh topped out on her 46th peak, she took the record away from a set of 5-year-old twins. The duo, Brecken and Josiab Ester, had completed the climbs back in 1999 and had held the record since then. Interestingly, the previous record for the youngest “46ers” had also belonged to a pair of (slightly older) 5-year-old twins, Frederick and Phelps Turner.
“Maebh has been hiking since she could walk,” her mom told Good Morning America. “If you don’t offer the TV, she doesn’t ask for it, she likes to be outside.”
Now Maebh joins a club of almost 12,000 hikers who have summited all 46 peaks in the Adirondacks. These peaks range in elevation from 3,820 ft. (Couch Peak) to 5,344 (Marcy Mountain).
In this 2018 profile picture from Carney-Nesbitt on Facebook, you can see her family atop Mt. Redfield, one of the peaks. It lies at an elevation of 4,606.
“It brings tears to my eyes, I’m so proud of her accomplishment, it started out as my little dream,” her mom said. “My dream became hers, and she did it.”
Maebh, all smiles, remains a big fan of hiking, telling GMA, “It’s so much fun!”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
