Girl Power: Chicago Teen Makes History Climbing 50 State High Points
No one has to tell Lucy Westlake she can do anything she puts her mind to. The 17-year-old mountain climber from Chicago’s Naperville suburb made history last month as the youngest female to summit each state’s highest elevation point on land. The precocious teen climbs alongside her father. The two didn’t initially set out to climb every state peak, but a fun tradition of making the hike upon each new destination quickly turned into an ambitious goal for national travelers. “It was very surreal,” she told the Daily Herald. “There’s no feeling like reaching the top and looking down around you. That’s why I do it.” Read more.
