Unexpected Race

Bob Marshall Traverse

By Bethany Garretson

Katie Rhodes of Middle Grove was fired up about the new book she was reading, “Why We Run” by Bernd Heinrich; “He went on to say women aren’t as strong and will never be as fast as men!” I shook my head and opened my stride as we pushed down Big Slide, the first mountain of the Bob Marshall Traverse, and I said, “If I bonk today, you remind me of that book!” The Adirondack Mountains are filled with the names of men. And bookshelves lined with their stories. Bob Marshall being one of them. 

Focused and fueled by the injustice of gender stereotypes, I didn’t notice the woman on the trail until I was a few feet from her. “Laura!?” I exclaimed and questioned within the same breath. Tucked beneath layers, I was face-to-face with my good friend Laura Tuttle of Queensbury, “What are you doing?” She said, “Oh, you know, just going for a hike.” She shifted forward and I studied her large pack as she hiked on. Her focus stoked my competitive flame. If Laura had been out for a causal hike, we would have spent a few minutes catching up. Even though she did not state it, I knew she was going for the Bob Marshall Traverse. It was on.

The Bob Marshall Traverse is gaining popularity in the ultra-hiking and trail running world. It’s a beast of a day with 15,000 elevation gain over 32 miles. The approach from The Garden parking area adds on an additional three miles before the clock starts at John Brooks Lodge. An elevation killer of up and downs, the route consists of 13 of the 46 High Peaks: Big Slide, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, Haystack, Marcy, Skylight, Iroquois, Algonquin, Wright, and one low peak, Mount Jo.

In 2020, we saw Fastest Known Times (FKTs) skyrocket. Due to race cancellations because of Covid-19, everyone from former Olympians to professional athletes worked them into their training schedules and impressive routes were set. FKTs are my sport. I like that there is not an official start time and the clock begins when you do. You get to pick the day, time, and conditions you race in.

At the beginning of the winter season on December, 21, 2020, no one had completed the Bob Marshall Traverse in the winter. Jay Whitbourne of Rochester, a driven by curiosity, “Type 2” fun seeker (miserable while it’s happening, but fun in retrospect), began to put the idea on people’s radars. Jay and I tried for it on the first day of winter. There wasn’t much snow in the High Peaks, and we didn’t need snowshoes. We made good time from Big Slide to Gothics, but lost in conversation, we took a wrong turn that set us back. Mentally, I struggled to rebound, and we called it quits on Basin, nearly halfway through. A few weeks later, Jonathan Zaharek of Lake Placid, a professional landscape photographer, guide and ultra-runner took advantage of the pristine conditions to became the first person to complete the Bob Marshall Traverse in winter. When I heard of his accomplishment, I was impressed and driven to give it a second try.

As Katie and I cruised over the lower range in snowshoes, I calculated our pace against Laura’s; she had been my partner before in mountain races and FKT efforts. In winter conditions with snowshoes, I figured we’d all complete the traverse in 15 to 16 hours. It was going to be a tight race. But, an ultra-race in the High Peaks is not a sprint, and Katie and I had a strategy to fit our strengths and backcountry ethics: carry heavy packs with five liters of water, emergency gear, and 5,000 calories of food apiece. Even though I could feel Laura behind us, we had to race our race.

I hit a lull on the trail between Basin to Haystack. Physically, I felt strong. Mentally, I struggled. In the past six months, Katie and I had completed two rounds of the 46 and I was burnt out with branches slapping me in the face and pulling at my hair. I was tired of tripping on my snowshoes and falling to my knees.

“Ahhh,” I groaned and shook the frustration out of my fingertips. We passed the Snowbird tent area and I thought of our Adirondack 46 Unsupported Thru-Hike – the adventure that brought Katie and I together. On September 10, 2020, we had set off with full packs from Corey’s Road in Tupper Lake, and began our quest to become the first women to hike all 46 High Peaks unsupported – meaning no car rides, no food drops, no form of aid whatsoever. And our goal was not just to finish the 183 miles with 75,000 feet of elevation gain, it was to come under the overall record time of six days, five hours and 40 minutes. 

On record pace and moving well, a storm hit us on day four as we made the summit of Mount Marcy. The winds and rain intensified, we dropped to Slant Rock lean-to for safety, and the overall record slipped from our grasp. Day five we resumed, and I fought to “get back in the game,” knowing we would not beat the overall time. I suggested to Katie, “Maybe we should come back next year.”

I was tired of women coming in second to men. I knew what pace Katie and I could put down. I didn’t want second. I wanted first. Katie looked at me. She looked at the mountains and clouds. With watery eyes she said, “Well, I’m going to finish. A woman needs to finish.” Her words tugged at my heart and it kept me going. Three days later, we finished the thru-hike and made history with the first women’s thru-hike record.

Back to the Bob Marshall Traverse, Katie and I took off our packs and refueled before the half-mile side trail to Haystack. I felt better. The midday sun was comfortable, and we were surrounded by blue sky. Katie and I come from different athletic backgrounds. I, a competitive athlete in soccer and basketball, who took home the highest awards, was coached by my mother, and told I could do anything I put my mind to. From a young age, I was competitive and confident. I knew I belonged on that court or field, put my shoulders back and walked out proudly. That attitude translated to the High Peaks when I began hiking. I belonged. And I was going to be one of the best.

When I met Katie, my first impression was not of a woman who struggled with self-doubt and confidence. It was of a badass mountain woman with ear gauges and tats on her defined arms. Over the course of the thru-hike, I came to know her on a deeper level, learned she questioned her athletic ability, and wouldn’t have attempted the challenge if she didn’t see my name – that of a female among a long list of men. Unfortunately, she’d been told one too many times that she didn’t belong in the woods because she was a woman.

Let’s cut to the CliffsNotes on gender and gender stereotypes. Yes, there are physical differences between men and women. Anatomy, hormones, heart and lung size, and muscle composition. But, most of those differences don’t have a huge factor on athletic ability until after puberty. Oh, believe me, I remember the year I wasn’t the fastest anymore in the mile. Think of a group of five-year-old kids playing on a swing set; they climb, run and laugh. They are roughly the same build and size, all dependent on family genetics and diets. Why do so many young girls hear the message that boys are stronger and faster? It’s detrimental to simplify something so complex into one statement. That mental barrier of being physically inferior will be the hardest for girls and women to hurdle later in life.

The last leg of the Bob Marshall Traverse is epic, and it’s nauseating on tired legs. One of the steepest trails, it has 2,500 feet of elevation gain in two miles. Katie and I slowed our pace and took in the striking views of Mount Colden. I put my earbuds in. On the summit of Iroquois, the sun shone in the west and the sky was beginning to change color. By the time we left the summit of Wright, our last High Peak, the world around us was ablaze a brilliant pink, my favorite color. I ran us down the mountain, feeling Laura’s presence and glancing behind every now and then, wondering if I’d see her headlamp.

On the last day of winter, three women completed an unsupported Bob Marshall Traverse. Katie Rhodes and Bethany Garretson in 15 hours and 39 minutes. Laura Tuttle in 15 hours and 48 minutes. It had been an epic race.

In the larger picture, the most important race is that women keep moving forward to close the gaps of gender inequality. That women athletes receive proper training facilities and equal pay as their male counterparts. That when a man is faster than a woman on a 35-mile day, the first response is not, “Oh, it’s because he’s a man.” It is, “What were the conditions like?” 

A day after Katie, Laura and I completed the Bob Marshall Traverse, a father, who had been out hiking with his daughter and seen us go by, messaged me on Instagram. “Keep it up, at 13 she watches you guys and has big plans for herself. She knows these things aren’t just for the dudes anymore.”

That is why we do it. For the next generation of women to be stronger and faster. 

Bethany Garretson (bgarretson@paulsmiths.edu) of Keene is a mountain climber and writer who teaches at Paul Smith’s College of the Adirondacks and advocates for environmental and social issues. Follow her on Instagram: bethany.climbs.