Of all the places to throw a keg party, a group of hikers in the Adirondack Mountains decided to carry a keg to the top of the 4,161-foot summit on Phelps Mountain.
But the kegger caught the attention of officials with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation who ticketed one of the hikers that posted photos of the celebration on Facebook. In the photos, captured by the Adirondack Explorer newspaper shows the hikers gathered around a keg, with some performing a keg stand.
Now we’ve seen some people carry some bizarre things to the top of mountains, including a barbell earlier this year by a Russian bodybuilder. We have also reviewed Pat’s Backcountry Beer, which makes hauling a keg or cans of beer for that matter, unnecessary. But if you still want the real thing, there are perhaps no greater way to celebrate your hiking prowess than hauling a keg weighing between 140 to 170 pounds to the top of a mountain.
Some people, however, don’t see it that way. Raja Bhatt of Queens was ticketed by the state agency for allegedly organizing a hiking group with more than 15 people and faces up to a $250 fine and 15 days in jail. Bhatt denies he organized the hike, claiming he was just the one who took the pictures and posted to Facebook.
“I was simply on the summit with some friends, and some friend of a friend brought a keg,” he told the paper. “The only reason I got slapped with a ticket is I was the one who posted the photos.”
Bhatt had reportedly finished his Forty-Sixer, meaning he hiked to the top of all 46 summits in the Adirondack Mountain. The feat is commemorating by the hiking club Adirondack Forty-Sixers, the president of which had some harsh words for the partygoers.
“We neither need nor want members who behave in this fashion,” Brian Hoody told the Adirondack Explorer.
One commenter to the article offered an alternative point of view.
Hiking is supposed to be FUN, not some somber dirge through the woods,” says reader Mike. “If they otherwise acted responsibly these naysaying sticks in the mud need to LIGHTEN UP.”
Photo credit: Adirondack Express
