They way down was fairly straightforward, and we were quite fast in the initial and middle descent, but then slower down low. Brittan's knees did in fact start giving her some trouble, so we slowed down to a more agreeable place along the final lower third of the descent. Certainly the rough bouldery bits in the treed lower sections of the trail did not help; in that respect Wright Peak would have been a more forgiving trail than this one.
One the plus side, the combination of afternoon warming and our reduction in altitude meant that the lower part of our hike was downright summery and hot; a most pleasant fall day in the Adirondacks to be sure. About the only downside to the conditions was the fact that the fall colors had not yet really started to turn. By the end of September, one would expect a bit of color. I guess we'll have to come back on a nice weekend in October, when the colors are [hopefully] blazing.
Descending Beautiful Slabs
Descending to valley below
With a bit of care and tender foot placement, we made it back down to the trailhead at route 73, six hours and twenty-six minutes after starting out. Everyone agreed that it had been a glorious first hike -- although there was some questioning my characterization of this as an easy-medium hike. Fair enough... perhaps it inches a bit more towards medium. Regardless, everyone did really well, and I'm glad it all worked out. Congrats again to the new 1ers!
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Giant Mtn via Ridge Trail - click map to view
Giant Mountain - South Ridge - Hike Data
Start Time:
9:29a.m.
End Time:
3:56p.m.
Duration:
6h26m
Distance:
8.92 km
(5.54 mi)
Average Speed:
1.4 km/hr
(0.9 mph)
Start Elevation:
1618ft
(493m)
*
Max Elevation:
4625ft
(1410m)
*
Min Elevation:
1614ft
(492m)
*
End Elevation:
1627ft
(496m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2992ft
(912m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2976ft
(907m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
