Climbing
Meet Lydia Pearson, the 4-year-old who now holds the record for the youngest person to hike all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers. Make no mistake, this is not Lydia’s first time on these peaks, but it is the first time hiking them on her own two feet. Her mother, Whitney Pearson, carried Lydia up all 48 of these peaks multiple times before Lydia was able to conquer them on her own. Bagging Mount Washington on June 16 as the last peak she had to claim on her own two feet, Lydia called this feat her “hiking graduation,” according to concordmonitor.com.
The entire journey meant hiking over 300 miles and over 100,000 vertical feet. Some passersby on the trail expressed concern for Lydia’s safety. Her mother always assured stangers that Lydia was safe and perfectly capable of hiking these trails at her young age.
Hiking with a 4-year-old requires a different approach than a typical hike with adults. Lydia moves at a slower pace, taking time to observe the mushrooms, plants, and animals around her. She sings songs and pretends to be hiking with imaginary friends to help pass the time on the trail. Whitney Pearson found that involving Lydia in the route planning side of hiking helped to further engage her on these hikes. By slowing down, the perspective of the trail changed for Whitney. They often took longer but overall easier routes to keep things safe for the preschooler. Occasionally, they would stay overnight to break up longer distance hikes. Pretty soon, Lydia had no problem with committing to their hikes and was seeking more.
According to Lydia’s mother, the preschooler expressed dismay at the thought her conquest would soon be over. In an interview with Concord Monitor, Whitney quotes her daughter as asking “What am I gonna do when I finish these mountains? Can I climb them again?”, to which her mother replied that the 48 were not the only mountains in the world. After hearing this news, Lydia began to set her sights on hiking all the mountains in the world.
Many other kids are achieving incredible feats in the mountains as well. An 8-year-old boy named Sam “Adventure” Baker managed to climb the famous El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California, while 6-year-old Axel Hamilton bagged all 58 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. Children are clearly capable of meeting these challenges. However, it is a fine line between supporting them to achieve these feats and forcing them to do so. That is probably why so many hikers stopped to question Whitney Pearson’s motives when hiking with Lydia. However, Whitney maintains that she hasn’t pressured Lydia and that she is always excited to go out hiking.
A long future of mountaineering lies ahead for Lydia Pearson. Although Lydia is too young to fully comprehend her achievements, her mother was happy to submit them to the Appalachian Mountain Club so Lydia could appreciate her own accomplishments when she was older. With all the mountains in the world as Lydia’s new goal, the sky is the limit for this young mountaineer.
