Hiking - Big Slide Mountain

At 4240', Big Slide is the 27th highest of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks over 4000'. It was also the first of those 46 that I ever climbed, back in 1973. It's about a 9-mile loop, with 2800 feet of elevation gain, so it's a pretty good hike. The trail passes over "The Brothers", open minor summits with views, much of the way to Big Slide itself. It's a very pretty hike, and today, the blueberries were also in profusion. This made for slow going for our ADK group of 8 hikers.

On this trip, I neglected to capture the classic profile of Big Slide from Third Brother, but I hope this sketch will do it justice. I did this sketch on that 1973 trip, and it shows the open rock face on the front of the mountain, above which we had lunch and enjoyed the stupendous views.



As we approached the upper reaches of the mountain, a side trail led to a viewpoint alongside the steep open face. It's one of my favorite views in the Adirondacks, with the whole Great Range visible across the Johns Brook Valley.



A little higher, on the actual summit, we stopped for lunch and admired the even more expansive views. As always, click on this panorama for a larger image. Mount Marcy, at 5344' the highest point in New York State, is at the far right.



It took us a little under 4 hours to reach the summit, and about 3 hours to return to the car, on a very pretty and comfortable hiking day.