Our Wilderness Program
Our location is the perfect basecamp for exploring nearby trails and venturing into the iconic High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park.
Each week, campers can choose from a wide variety of wilderness trips designed for different interests and experience levels:
- Day hikes (e.g., Baxter Mountain, Cascade Mountain, Marcy-Gray-Skylight Loop)
- Wilderness immersion trips (e.g., waterfall trips, Pitchoff picnic)
- Overnight camping hikes (e.g., Poke-O-Moonshine Lean-To, Santanoni Range)
- Mountain biking trips (e.g., East Branch Community Trails, Hardy Road)
Trips are led by staff members that campers know and trust, including cabin counselors and program specialists. All trip leaders are trained in Wilderness First Aid (WFA) to ensure safe outdoor experiences. Classes such as Camp Craft and Hike House also prepare campers for wilderness trips by teaching essential skills like packing for trips, setting up tents, and cooking with camp stoves. Campers should pack some personal items for wilderness trips (refer to our Packing List), and we’ll fill in the gaps by providing essential group gear like food, safety equipment, and navigational tools.
Pok-O Patch Mountains
Four “Pok-O Peaks” surround our camp:
- Bare Mountain
- Rattlesnake Mountain
- Sugarloaf Mountain
- Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain (our namesake)
Campers can receive a Pok-O Patch by hiking all four mountains within one summer. Earning your Pok-O Patch is something that all campers enjoy, and it’s an especially powerful way for those with less wilderness experience to build skills and gain confidence outdoors.
Adirondack 46er
The Adirondack 46 refers to the 46 highest peaks in New York’s Adirondack Park. Becoming a 46er means you have summited all of them and is a huge achievement!
Pok-O-MacCready is the largest community of 46ers within the ADK 46er Club. Our wilderness program strives to offer hikes up each of these mountains every summer so returning campers can work toward achieving this goal.
Super Marcy
Mount Marcy is the highest mountain in the Adirondacks and New York State. A Super Marcy trip is a multi-day trek from camp to the trailhead of Mount Marcy and then up to the summit.
This trip is rooted in over a century of history. In the early 1900s, campers walked to every trailhead because motorized transportation was not an option. To hike Mount Marcy, campers walked the entire way there, hiked up the mountain, and walked back to camp.
The route has changed over the years, and now we have 15-passenger vans to transport campers, but we keep the tradition alive with Super Marcy trips. Historically, this trip is for our most experienced and ambitious hikers.
Read more about Super Marcy in this article by the Adirondack Explorer.
Wilderness Director Spotlight
Nora Wootten, Wilderness Director (2026) 
Nora first came to Pok-O in 2013 as a hiking-averse Lodge camper who much preferred the lake. After discovering a love for hiking during a 2016 MacCready Hike Day, she set out to become an Adirondack 46er and achieved this goal in 2019 through the mentorship and guidance of Wilderness Director Jacob Gittler.
Nora was a camper on the 2021 Super Marcy trip and then joined the Pok-O staff in 2023, later serving as a Section Head for Highlander (2024) and CIT (2025). In 2025, she came full circle by leading a Super Marcy trip, and in 2026 she steps into the role of Wilderness Director.
Outside of camp, Nora attends Carleton College where she studies Mathematics and Computer Science, competes on the varsity swim team, and works as a head lifeguard.
Nora’s goal for the wilderness program is to create a safe program that emphasizes a respect and appreciation for the trails and the peaks, and allows campers to learn to appreciate the time they spend in the woods as much as reaching the summit.
Favorite place on camp: The swim docks
Favorite 46er: Cliff (truly underappreciated)
Favorite camp event: Rev War or Carpool Karaoke with Campers After a Long Hike
