Jonathan finished the 46 High Peaks in 2018 and felt the pull to move closer to the mountains. In 2019, he made that move to Lake Placid. Living where the High Peaks actually were changed everything. They became bigger, more complicated, and more meaningful than they had ever been from a distance.
For a season of life, almost everything was built around getting back into the Adirondack wilderness. Some weeks meant nearly 100 miles of running and hiking with a camera, learning familiar trails, returning to the same turns and rocks, and wandering into quieter corners most visitors never see.
The mountains stopped being a backdrop and became a relationship. Over time, the routes, trailheads, stories, communities, and history became etched into memory. Hikers started coming to him for guidance, and that brought responsibility: help people understand what they are entering and how to move through it with care.
That work eventually led Falcon Guides to ask Jonathan to write a modern guidebook to the 46 High Peaks. Three years of writing made one thing obvious: there was more useful Adirondack knowledge in his head than one book could hold.
Hike ADK grew from that realization. Giving back means trail work and stewardship, but it also means how you carry yourself when nobody is watching, how you share what you know, and how you help the next person approach the Park better. The first version launched in 2025; this rebuild is meant to keep living, growing, and breathing Adirondack for years to come.
