Genesee Valley Chapter
Adirondack Mountain Club

Grace Peak Committee Report Spring 2003

Presented by Doug Arnold #4693, Chair of the Grace Peak Committee, at the May 25, 2003 Spring Meeting.

I wish could speak unscripted as #5047, Seth Arrow did this evening at the Vesper service but alas I can not. I do not have his talent and must use a script.

First, I would like to thank the committee members for their continued efforts. Without them the trail would seem faint and difficult to follow. After I became a 46er I was looking for a way to give something back. Back to the mountains and the organization that has given me so much. I know I can proudly stand here among fellow 46ers and be confident that you understand my feelings.

Last night as I sat in camp by an open fire I struggled with writing a few notes about what I wanted to say tonight. And, as so often happens, the forest around me answered my question. A light rain threatened to squelch my fire. With a little care are few properly placed sticks I could bring flames alive. Flames that warmed and comforted me some feet away. With a warm coffee cup in my hands it became apparent that this is what Russ Carson and Grace Hudowalski has done for us. Both of these people found their greatest pleasure in adding a few well placed sticks to kindle a flame. A flame that has warmed all of our souls. It now has fallen on us to stoke the fire and warm the hearts of our children, family and friends.

To quote Russ Carson, "It is our responsibility to continuously educate our community in the proper use of our forest."

Russ Carson donated his book, "Peaks and People of the Adirondacks", to the Adirondack Mountain Club. That book was the precursor to today"s trail guidebooks. Today, it still continues to fill in our climbing adventures with brilliant colors and lore from yesterday. It is amazing that Mr. Carson"s forethought is as important today as it was in 1928.

Then there is #9. Our Matriarch, Grace "Leach" Hudowalski. The more I research and learn about Grace, the more difficult it becomes to explain to others what this good Samaritan has done for the community of mankind.

I have asked you, the 46ers that she has touched, to write into our "Letters of Grace" campaign and tell us how becoming a 46er changed your life. We know that Grace has written tens of thousands of letters to you. We ask that you send some of them back. Perhaps someday, future 46ers will be able to read some of these letters and understand what so many of us already understand.

Imagine. Tens of thousands of letters. Each one a full page, hand typed and unique.

Is one letter from you too much to ask?

Please, if you have any of Grace"s correspondence letters, please share them with future 46ers. You can find our address on the 46er website.

Your support letters to rename East Dix, Grace Peak have been overwhelming and supportive. As I explained before, I have difficulty putting into words how I feel, so I will let some other 46ers say it for me. I have here a few excerpts of letters that I want to share.

In a letter from #4154.

"Sometime in that period I became aware of the 46ers and, through my father"s admiration of those wearing the patch, I grew into the idea that one day I would wear one myself. My effort ultimately spread over some forty years, but it represents perhaps the only truly clear personal goal that I ever attained unencumbered. I am especially glad that I was able to complete while my father was still alive and tell him so."

". . . it became clear, that Grace was the embodiment of the very best of those (very few) who proceeded her and those ( many and uncountable ) who have and will yet follow her. She was, and will always be, a true inspiration for all who may know her. I can think of no more fitting tribute to, nor more appropriate way to extend the knowledge of, this most endearing and extraordinary woman, than to honor her and the Adirondacks by naming East Dix for Grace."

In another letter from #1032.

"I first started climbing Adirondack Peaks as a fourteen-year old boy in 1972. My four brothers and I became addicted and spent lots of wonderful times in the High Peaks. The Adirondack Forty-Six became our goal . . ."

Grace Hudowalski was an inspiration to my brothers and I. She encouraged us with her letters . . . The Adirondacks have that special feeling, and part of that feeling for me includes the friendliness and warmth that Grace gave them . . .

"I live near the Cascades now. I have taken considerable number of backpacking trips all over the Goat Rocks, the Mt. St. Helens area, the Mt. Hood area, the Colorado Rockies, the Tetons, the New Hampshire Whites, and Shenandoah. I have been to Alaska on excursions. I lived for two years in Thailand. None of those places, though, is anything like the Adirondacks to me. The Adirondacks are the mountains of my youth, and they are special. Grace is part of the reason why."

Today we ask you to begin referring to South Dix as Carson Peak and East Dix as Grace Peak. Spread the word. Help gather local support. And most importantly, continue to educate our community in the proper use of our mountains. Rekindle the flame and warm the souls of our future 46ers.

Sincerely,
Doug Arnold #4693
Chair, Grace Peak Committee