Onondaga Central
Onondaga Central High School’s own Mrs. Passetti is taking on one big adventure! Here, in New York, there’s a well-known challenge called the 46 Peaks Challenge. This endeavor consists of hiking all 46 high peaks (over 4,000 ft in elevation) in the Adirondack mountain range. Though Mrs. Passetti and her hiking companions aren’t actively working on the challenge, they’ve hiked three out the 46 so far. Mrs. Passetti, her husband, and their dog, plan on completing more of the High Peak Challenge in the future. At the moment, they’re primarily focusing on completing some other ventures, such as the Fire Tower Challenge and Lake Placid Challenge.
The Fire Tower Challenge also takes place right in our own Adirondack Mountains. Out of the 23 total towers you must climb, Passetti has summited 16 out of the 18 in the Adirondacks. She also has completed 3 of the Fire Tower hikes located in the Catskills. The ones left are a bit longer and harder, so they have to make space in their schedules for long hiking days. The Lake Placid 9er, also located in NY, offers similarly beautiful sights, but without such extensive hiking trails. These smaller peaks take some of the tourist stress off of their northern counterparts, especially during these COVID-driven days. Another smaller hiking challenge they’ve done is the Fulton Chain Trifecta, along with Quaternary Peak in Colorado (part of the 14ner challenge there). But the Passettis don’t stop there! They’ve also been involved with the Saranac Lake 6’er and the 29er challenge in the Adirondacks, as well. The 29er challenge includes the more “casual” mountains darted around the ranges. They’ve completed 11 of the 29 peaks. Home to the Saranacs, Saint Regis Mountain, has been especially prominent to Mrs. Passetti. She has mixed her passion for hiking and art and ended up winning the design competition for a patch, which can be seen as the Friends of St. Regis’s logo! She even said herself, “It’s cool to be like, ‘Hey that’s my art in the wild!’” Ever since she got into hiking about seven years ago, Mrs. Passetti has loved finishing a hike and receiving the specific patch afterward. She puts them in a frame in her house or attaches them to her hiking backpack! She also intertwines her artistic flair into her love for venturing by painting her surroundings. Whenever there’s a free moment on a mountain, she’ll take out her traveling sketchbook and use watercolor to capture the beautiful atmosphere. Her favorite summit was on Hurricane Mountain. The environment was what won her over. She described the light rain against the golden trees as being beautiful. A trail she would recommend is one from her childhood, Baxter Mountain. It is not very hard and it’s short with a good view, or in her words, “big payoff for very little effort.” Though in high school she participated in cross-country, track, and basketball, it never fulfilled her like a good hike. She can go miles and miles and not get sick of the trail. The Passetti clan is always looking for a fun adventure and will continue their hiking journeys!
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October 2021
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