Big Slide

On a cool and cloudy July morning, Lisa and I awoke early in Wadhams after playing at the Old Dock House in Essex on the previous night. We packed our gear, filled our new camel-backs and headed to "The Garden" in Keene Valley. It turned out to be a much smaller parking lot than we had envisioned and we snagged the last spot.

We signed in and took a right where we immediately began climbing in elevation. However, the trail over "The Brothers" started to reward us with panoramic views seemingly immediately. We stopped on the rocky outcropping known as the first brother (in a series of three) and had a snack while gawking at a view that ranged from Hurricane Mountain through the Great Range.

As if the immediate view was not enough of a reward, wild blueberries were plentiful and ripe. We snacked as we hiked, enjoying the fruits of our labor!

The trail led from rocky outcroppings with amazing views into more wooded areas where we suddenly came upon a trail intersection. We headed up, to the summit of Big Slide which offered some of the most precarious scrambles of the day. We stopped at an overlook to admire the slide which gave the mountain its name.

At the top, we ate our lunches while enjoying the most panoramic of the views of the day. Wandering to the other side of the peak, we were able to see Lake Placid through the trees. On our way back to the summit, we stumbled upon one of the original survey markers from the Colvin survey of the mountains.

Wolfjaws to Gothics

Gothics to Marcy

Cool! The original Adirondack Survey

Our descent took us on a different trail which headed north towards Johns Brook. We followed the road back to our car, making a big loop for the day. It was a 9.75 mile hike for the day and one of the best hikes that we had ever taken.