Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. 11.5 mile. From the summit of Rocky Peak Ridge you can take in the views of the scarred wall of Giant Mountain to the west (top). - We got an early start to be on the safe side as a monster of a rain storm was supposedly fast approaching. An early fall backpacking trip on a beautiful Saturday evening and Sunday morning in September. Diaz navigating the steep descent down the East Trail into the Giant / Rocky Peak Ridge col. A few nice sections of the trail between summits! June 5, 2010 Got up at 05:00 after a somewhat fitful sleep during a very rainy night spent in the roof of a camper van. We definitely made some rookie mistakes. Eagle Slide on Giant is a classic and challenging slide route up the west face of the peak. When an opportunity arose on Sunday and the forecast also seemed to cooperate, we had the additional good fortune of… - The hike between Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge is known for being one of the steepest and most tiring hikes between 4,000 foot peaks in the Adirondacks. Finally, after 3.2 hours of hiking, I reached the wiiiindy summit. Posted on July 30, 2014 by mcfarljo1975. Leesa and I had been kicking around doing another Rocky Peak Ridge traverse. The predicted heat made such an exposed hike unappealing. Rocky Peak Ridge, another ADK 46er, lies nearby, and can be summited in the a same-day outing. Consider choosing a less popular, and less crowded, trail. Rory & I joined Nancy (High On Life) for a traverse of Bald Mtn., Rocky Peak Ridge (& Mtn.) This thread is archived. Incredibly long. They sit separated from the mass of the Adirondack High Peaks by Route 73. The detour to RPR was not very long of a hike, but there was a lot of vertical involved: 800+ feet down to the col, followed by 600+ feet up to the summit. All content, pictures, and text are property of Chris Dailey unless otherwise noted. Bald Peak Œ Rocky Peak Œ Giant Traverse, Adirondacks Introduction The Bald Peak Œ Rocky Peak Œ Giant Traverse is an interresting and somehow challenging day hike. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. ... Trip Log List of all Rocky hikes List of all Giant hikes Rocky information page Giant information page GPS Data. It’s also a grueling one because the elevation gain is substantial compared to its relatively short mileage; the total elevation gain for this hike checks in at a healthy 5,300 feet. Few who have climbed Rocky Peak Ridge and Giant from New Russia would dispute that it's one of the best hikes in the Adirondacks. If you have any questions please contact me at, Total Miles: 11.4 miles (4,565 feet elevation gained). The New Russia Traverse is a gorgeous 11.2 mile traverse in the Eastern High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks. While the climbing makes for a challenging run, there is a great deal of open ridge running on this route, and the views are early, often, and expansive in both directions. ... My second visit to Rocky Ridge Peak, and who knows how many for Ewart. It's an excessively steep descent made worse by the beyond awful footing. We hiked down the back side of Giant and across the ridge before starting the ascent to Rocky Peak Ridge. Rocky Peak Ridge features a 4000' high ridge that extends eastwards for about a mile. One Autumn day. It was steep, wet, and fun. There is one steep descent with bad footing coming down from Rocky Peak but other than that the footing is pretty good. 9 in New Russia, NY, and follows the East Trail up to the summits of Rocky and Giant. #boysnight. ... East Dix, Hough, Dix, Giant, and Rocky Peak Ridge and is halfway to becoming a 46er! The Ridge Trail to Giant Summit: 3 miles (3050' ascent)3 hours Round trip traverse to Rocky Peak Ridge: 2.6 miles (1400' ascent) 2 hours. We learned a lot on that first hike. - A few years back I wanted to do a Rocky Peak Ridge Traverse, my car spot bailed on me so I did a long out and back from the trailhead in New Russia all the way to Giant Mountain where I turned around and hiked all the way back to my car. On Sunday I hiked the Rocky Peak Ridge to Giant traverse from New Russia. Incredibly beautiful. All good until that last mile coming off Giant on the ridge trail. The two most popular routes climb the southern ridge of the mountain, meeting up about a mile south of the summit. The ridge led to the base of Giant, and the climbing was very very steep and difficult, often straight up slides. It’s true I almost blew off the summit like Toto, but still!! To get to Rocky Peak you will have to backtrack 0.1 miles to an intersection where there is a marked trail to the mountain. Hikers can begin at the Roaring Brook or Chapel Pond trailheads to begin this hike. share. It's a really beautiful hike over ledges with moss and shrubs off the trail. Our last one was on a perfect fall weekend in October 2011. On that trip, we started at New Russia and did Bald, RPR, Giant and Hopkins. Content cannot be used, copied or distributed without my consent. 16 miles and almost 7,000 feet of elevation gained later I was in love with the Rocky Peak Ridge and couldn't wait to get back. Either way, you'll arrive just 0.2 mile from the top of Giant before descending steeply to a col between the two peaks, after which it climbs to the summit of Rocky Peak Ridge. We got off to a slightly later start that we had hoped, but it was still early enough to get parking. The weather was unbelievable for a late November hike in the High Peaks. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until November. As the trail makes its way by the first outlook, the Great Range starts to rise above Keene Valley to … It is by no means an easy day hike, but I thought well within our collective comfort level. Uneroded path. Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge Traverse 2012-07-14 Last summer (July 2011), I enjoyed hiking from the New Russia trailhead, over Blueberry Cobbles, Bald Peak, Rocky Peak Ridge and Giant, to the Chapel Pond trailhead. Just wondering if anyone has been up that way recently and has any idea of the status of the few water sources along the traverse. You basically get a front row seat for viewing the High Peaks from south to north; The Dix Range, Dial, Nippletop, Sawtooth, The Great Range, Big Slide, Porter, Cascade, Whiteface, Esther. The climb goes over various peaks: Blueberry Cobbles, Bald Peak, Rocky Peak, Rocky Peak Ridge and Giant. Rocky Ridge Traverse Start. As its name says, this is a traverse, that begins and ends at different locations, so it If you've never hiked this trail move it up to the top of your list and save it for a clear day. Giant and Rocky Ridge stand as the 12th and 20th highest peaks in the Adirondacks. Almost all the elevation gain would be accounted for over the first 4.5 miles of the hike as the Zander Scott Trail ascends steadily up to the summit of Giant Mountain. Water Sources on the Rocky Peak Ridge/Giant Traverse? New comments cannot be … The experience left me with wonderful memories and I vowed to hike the route in the opposite direction. Looking back up at Rocky Peak Ridge and Giant Mountain (top). ADK 46: Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge. It only took us about 35 minutes to travel the 1.2 miles down giant and up Rocky. The traverse between Giant Mountain and Rocky Peak Ridge ranks among the nicest hikes in the Adirondacks. It is a alternative route to Rocky Peak Ridge instead of going over Giant first. The traverse from W to E is about 11 miles and over 4,000 feet of vertical climb. Looking down to Bald Peak (bottom), Heading down into and out of Dickerson Notch, Just before reaching Bald Peak the East Trail passes by a well known glacial erratic, Heading down towards and past Blueberry Cobble, Hope you enjoy my blog, thanks for reading! With Rocky Peak achieved, it was time to turn our attention to the next objective: Giant Mountain, now looming less than a mile way to the northwest of us. Rocky from my perspective: Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge Traverse. Heading up the rough and rugged lower section of the Zander Scott Trail, As the trail makes its way by the first outlook, the Great Range starts to rise above Keene Valley to the north, Heading up through the woods and over the ledges to the summit of Giant Mountain. The classic Adirondack hike! Good thing. Total trip: 8.6 miles (4650' ascent) 8 hours. Between us and Giant, however, was a fairly significant dip: a col at 3700 feet, meaning we needed to descend about 700 feet down, then about 900 feet back up to the summit of Giant. Rocky Peak Ridge Traverse to Route 9 Order in ranking, number 20. To say the least, our maiden voyage hike to Cascade and Porter was a success. It is located in the Adirondack, New York state, USA. As I’ve gotten more into hiking and mountaineering, my inner video gamer is drawn to arbitrarily defined sets of objectives. -  From the summit of Rocky Peak Ridge we descended to Mary Louise Pond and over to Rocky Peak's summit. We had a nice group of hikers on this trip. We collected enough black fly bites in the 30 minutes at the top of Giant to annoy both of us, so we took off after enjoying some bologna sandwiches and a thermos full of iced-coffee. Looking east there is a great view down to Rocky Peak (bottom), Looking down on Rocky Peak from Rocky Peak Ridge, Heading to Marie Louise Pond and Rocky Peak. 100% Upvoted. The uphills on the way back to the car are relatively tame and come in short bursts of no more than a few tenths of a mile. Forecast was 80mph winds and partial clouds. New Russia Traverse Via Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge - YouTube Rubber knees and pounding quads. The parking areas for Giant Mountain often fill quickly, especially in the summer, and it is illegal to park along Route 73. The best view of course is from the summit itself where we took a nice long break in the early morning mild temperatures. Giant Mountain is the 12th highest peak in the Adirondacks; Giant can also be approached by first climbing Rocky Peak Ridge Follow Leave No Trace principles; Parking. - From Giant Mountain we headed over to Rocky Peak Ridge's summit. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. On January 1, 2019 By Taylor In ADK 46, Trip Reports. Rocky Peak Ridge via Giant Mountain. The mountain, only a couple hundred feet shorter than Giant, was clearly visible in the distance. You are more than welcome to link back to my blog, use in articles, email, social media, etc. The trail travels over many open ledges with incredible views to the west. What an incredible hike. The map says Marie Louise Pond but this signs has it labeled as a lake. Jim C. and Nancy finished their 46 together on Giant! report. Giant/Rocky Peak Ridge Traverse. Very un-Adirondack Trail. Towards the top, I passed a junction sign for Rocky Ridge Peak, saying the peak of Giant was 0.3 miles away. Zander Scott Trail:  3.2 miles  /  East Trail: 8.2 miles. I was very familiar having descended into this col on three previous occasions so I knew what to expect. 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