Great Range Traverse, Adirondack Mountains, Keene Valley, New York

Start Elev: 2022' Max Elev: 5344' Min Elev: 1609' End Elev: 1617' Elev Gain: ~10,000'

WEATHER / RADAR Sunrise: 0517 Sunset: 2030 Last Quarter Moon: 2013

Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - The GRT is a classic life-list hike, but not one to be taken
lightly.  This is an advanced point-to-point hike/climb/run with the objective
of covering about 21 miles while summiting the eight Adirondack peaks above
in a counter-clockwise direction, plus Hedgehog (3120') and Rooster Comb
(2789'), starting at the Garden and finishing at the Rooster Comb Parking 
Lot on Route 73.  The cumulative vertical gain/loss will exceed 10,000 feet,
the terrain both up and down will require some scrambling skills, the weather
is unpredictable, there is always the potential for deadly electrical storms, there
is little to no water at elevation so you'll need to carry 3 LITERS OR MORE. 
Bring your head lamp, just in case it takes until after dark to finish. And plan to
 hang around after for some good food, libation, and extended good times!

A consensual decision to GO or not will be made Thursday by 6 p.m., August 4, 
contingent upon weather forecasts, with Sunday, August 7 as a weather contingency,
and published at the top of this page and via email. 

Plan to meet at the Rooster Comb parking lot along Route 73 (Exit 30 off I-87), 
which is .4 miles south of the Keene Valley Grocery, by no later than 0500 to
allow time to shuttle over to the starting trailhead at the Garden for a
target 0530 start, allowing 15 hours of light to complete the venture. 

Accomodations    B&B's    KOA   Rooster Comb Inn
or sleep in your vehicle at Rooster Comb TH

TO ROOSTER COMB TRAILHEAD: Take I-87 to exit 30 and head northwest on
US 9. Continue 2.4 miles and merge onto NY 73. Go 8.1 miles to TH parking on left.

TO THE GARDEN TRAILHEAD: Take I-87 to exit 30 and head northwest on US 9. 
Go 2.4 miles to NY 73 and continue northwest. In 8.4 miles, 
turn left on Adirondack St. Continue 1.6 miles to "The Garden" Trailhead.

From Rooster Comb to the Garden Parking Lot: Follow Rt 73 west and look for High 
Peaks Trailhead sign (next to the Ausable Inn). Turn onto Adirondack Street.
At 0.6 miles the road turns right, crossing Johns Brook on an iron bridge. 
Continue uphill following signs to the Garden. The pavement ends as the road 
approaches the Garden parking area. MAP Parking at the Garden is limited
and there is a daily parking fee in season ($7 a day in 2015), so we will carpool. 
If we get there early we should find ample parking.

Estimated time:  12-14 hours

Excellent Hour-by-Hour Trip Report       Previous 2013 Report

   
Notes about FKT

Eric Batty & Ryan Atkins set the FKT, 5h56m45s, set September 1, 2012.
Ben Nephew had the previous FKT, 6h09m26s, set September 25, 2010.
Jan Wellford had the FKT before that, 6h40m44s, set September 21, 2009.

The Great Range is an 11-mile contiguous chain of mountains in the heart of the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. It's not clear if there is a "standard" way to do the traverse, and the www.summitpost.org page on it says "Ask ten people what constitutes a Great Range traverse, and you'll likely get ten different answers." But, it seems like doing the traverse requires summitting everything between Hedgehog Mountain and Mount Marcy, possibly incluidng Rooster Comb and Mount Haystack. As done by Wellford (see map) the route is about 25 miles with 9500 feet of elevation gain and 9000 feet of loss, starting at the Rooster Comb TH and ending at the Garden TH, both in Keene Valley. Backpacker Magazine called this the third hardest dayhike in America, and described it thus:

There's no small irony in the fact that New York's tallest peak is merely the last challenge on this classic loop-and far from the toughest. The route scales nine peaks, including six 4,000-footers and the aforementioned 5,344-foot Mt. Marcy. But numerous cols and false summits, plus heinously eroded trail beds, wear you down physically and psychologically. From Keene Valley, the murderer's row of peaks includes Rooster Comb, Hedgehog, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Haystack, and Marcy, from which you descend the Phelps Trail. Gut-check moments include a half-mile of teetering above a 700-foot drop on a knife-edge between the Wolf Jaws - inevitably followed by a steep climb - and the southeast face of Gothics, a scary-steep, exposed descent over open slab rock. There are long stretches of scrambling and ladder-climbing, and you'll need to carry enough water for the day.

Wellford provided some "tips" for doing the Traverse:

--The "ridge" itself is steep, rugged, and not very runnable in most places, although the 9.1 miles from Marcy to the Garden is, as is much of the 2.5 miles up Rooster Comb. Overall the hike is so rugged that I chose to use trekking poles and Montrail Hardrocks when I set my best time.
--The only water source on the ridge is near the col in between Basin and Haystack. There are two small streams crossing the trail -- the higher stream on the way up Haystack is the most reliable. Two liters gets me to this point, and two liters takes me home from here (although you'll find plenty of water on the Phelps trail if you want to stop and refill again).

Elevation Profile and Map are approximations of the route we expect to follow, with the finish at the Rooster Comb Parking Lot.