06-27-2019: Giant Mountain

For several weeks in mid-June, unseasonably rainy weather and technical difficulties relating to my camera prevented me from taking many pictures, and as such I haven't made any posts on here. This streak broke late in the month, when I took a day to climb Giant Mountain in the Adirondacks. This is the first of the Adirondack High Peaks I've climbed, and was quite different from my hikes in the Catskills in almost every way.

After a lengthy journey in to the wilderness of the Eastern Adirondacks, I parked along Route 73 southeast of Saint Huberts. I took the most direct trail up Giant Mountain, following the Ridge Trail from east of Chapel Pond. This approach is somewhat less popular than the Roaring Brook Trail to the west, but I have found that shorter, steeper trails make for shorter climbs than longer, more level trails. Along a ridge not far from the trailhead, the first lookout gave a view to the south and east.

The Ridge Overlook looks southeast towards the hills in Hammond Pond Wild Forest.

The overlook afforded excellent views of Chapel Pond about a half-mile south.

Trees cling to steep rockfaces on the north side of Round Mountain.

About a mile and a half up the trail, there were a series of steep, open rocky areas. No trees grow along these sections, and the grade is too steep for cairns to stand, so the trail markers are painted onto the rock. The trail here was very easy to lose, but also easy to find again, navigating along islands of stunted trees and bushes that dotted the rockface. This area also provided excellent views in pretty much all directions, save for the north, where Giant Mountain itself obscured much of the sky.

The High Peaks Range dominated the view to the southeast, including Saddleback, Gothics, Pyramid, Armstrong, and Upper Wolfjaw mountains.

A shot a bit farther to the south, where Mount Haystack and the Sawteeth peek from behind Nippletop's limb.

From farther up the mountain, more of southern Essex County's hills could be seen. Moose Mountain and Owl Pate are the most prominent, left and right of center, respectively.

A view to the north showed just how much farther I had to go before reaching Giant's summit.

The trail returned to the forest, which became increasingly coniferous as I ascended. Near the summit the trail traversed a thin ridge, then climbed several steep rock gullies that were slick with spring runoff. After an arduous climb I reached the summit, an open rocky area over 500 feet long. Stunted fir trees covered the mountain's long proper summit to the north, and there were multiple levels of open rock before steep cliffs dropped off to the south. The summit wasn't too crowded, with maybe half a dozen other people when I arrived. Mild winds (by Adirondack standards; the gusts almost took my shirt off) kept the spring flies at bay, and chilled me to the point where I nearly put on my jacket.

View towards the southeast. Note the stunted krummholz at the bottom left, characteristic of the summit's flora.

Dix Mountain, with its prominent rockslides and flat summit, dominated the view to the south.

Nippletop is at the left; the shorter Mount Colvin is on its flank, right of center.

View of the ridge that the trail traverses, along with the wilderness below.

A view towards the High Peaks Range, this time from much higher up. Mount Haystack is left of center, while Mount Marcy rises sharply to the right.

The Ausable Valley provided a break in the High Peaks, giving a peek to the foothills farther south.

View southeast towards Schroon Lake, about 25-30 miles distant.

Shot of the Ausable Club, which owns much of the privately-held land in the High Peaks region.

A view northwest reveals rocks and stunted forest on Giant Mountain's west peak.

The village of Keene Valley, about 4 miles northwest of the summit. The school (near center) features prominently from this angle.

A focus on the steep slopes of Giant's west peak. A house cut into the wilderness sits beyond.

This shot focuses on Mount Marcy (L), the tallest peak in New York. Note the patch of snow still present just below its summit.

Not more than a thousand feet from the summit was a small lookout, where the Giant Mountain trail meets the Rocky Peak Ridge trail. A steep section of trail allowed me to see easily over the short trees. I stopped here for some pictures of Rocky Peak Ridge, another mountain I had intended to climb before running out of water on Giant.

Bald Peak, a subsidiary peak of Rock Peak Ridge, is below center. The Green Mountains tower in the distance above farmland south of Vergennes, Vermont.

View of the summit clearing of Rocky Peak Ridge. Careful inspection of the full-quality image reveals a hiker in a blue shirt on its mile-distant summit.

A small plane buzzed through the Keene Valley as I descended the mountain. It was strange to look down to the top of a flying plane.

Giant Mountain was a more difficult mountain than I had expected. The trail was short but incredibly steep, and I exhausted my water supplies nearly twice as quickly as I had anticipated. Still, it was an enjoyable hike, and I look forward to climbing many of the other Adirondack High Peaks in the coming months.