4-year-old becomes the youngest person ever to reach all 48 summits in New Hampshire
A four-year-old girl recently became the youngest person to reach all 48 summits of New Hampshire which stands 4,000 feet.
According to a report by local media, NBC-affiliated WCSH and Outside magazine, four-year-old hiker Lydia Pearson made history when she reached her final summit, Mount Washington, which has an elevation of 6,288 feet, the highest peak in the state.
Lydia began her journey in June 2023 after she reached her first summit, Mount Cannon on her own at age 3, as per WCSH.
“It definitely seemed super surreal. It's something that she started working on a little less than a year ago on her own two feet after five-plus rounds in the backpack and literally thousands of miles, so it was really I think rewarding for all of us as a family to see her do it on her feet after being in the pack for so long and experiencing the entire journey," her mother, Whitney Pearson, told the outlet.
She also noted, “It has been incredible to watch her mental and physical growth from the first peak to the last one over the last year."
"The confidence she's gained, the strength, and you see it carry over into everything else she does every day,” Whitney added.
According to the Appalachian Mountain Club, Lydia is the youngest person to achieve this feat, being four years and four months old.
Before this accomplishment, the young hiker was first exposed to the activity when she was just six weeks old. Her mom, who is said to be a veteran ultrarunner, has been carrying her on hikes in the New Hampshire mountains.
When she reached age 2, Lydia began hiking with her own feet.
“It was instinct for her to get out of the pack,” Whitney told the Outlet magazine. “The outdoors is all she knows,” she added.
The duo finally completed all 48 mountains in New Hampshire on June 16.
Whitney said that they chose the most friendly trails for Lydia.
“It’s still really hard because she’s so small. She takes a lot of tiny steps,” she said.
“Any route over 12 miles, we’d split up the trail days into an overnight trip,” she added.
She added that hiking with her daughter helped her appreciate nature more.
“Lydia notices and reacts to all the different plants, mushrooms, and trees, I see so much more, and see it through her eyes,” the mother said.
Making an accomplishment at such a young age, Whitney hopes that Lydia will look back on the moment and be proud of herself.
“She has no real idea of the magnitude of what she accomplished,” Whitney told Outside. “I’m hoping to put it out there a little bit so when she’s older, she can look back on this and be proud.”