Hiking - A gorge and two summits

Holly and I joined an ADK hike to Deer Brook Gorge, Snow Mountain, and Rooster Comb today, in the Adirondack High Peaks. Deer Brook crosses NY73 just south of the hamlet of Keene Valley, and the trail seems to be only lightly used. It was a very pretty hike between towering rock walls, with the brook forming endless cascades it it tumbled down from the slopes above.



This was a fairly rugged trail, and it took us nearly an hour, and half a dozen brook crossings, to emerge from the top of the gorge trail to an adjacent old road that offered easier walking.



Just below Deer Brook Falls, the trail crossed a bridge over the brook, which cascaded over the rocks below it.



Deer Brook Falls was a short side trip off the main trail.



Continuing on, we reached a short steep scramble to the summit of Snow Mountain, our lunch spot as the noon whistle sounded from the town below. Prominent from the summit were Giant Mountain to the east, and Noonmark to the south, with Dial and Nippletop to its west and the Dix Range behind. It was a very hazy and humid day.



Descending Snow Mountain, we had a great view of our next destination, Rooster Comb, in the distance, about a mile and a half away. We would be ascending via the gentler slopes to the right of the summit. Porter and Blueberry Mountains were also visible in the distance.



On the way up Rooster Comb, there was a side trail that provided a very nice view to the north, the first we'd had. The hamlet of Keene Valley was at our feet, and Hurricane Mountain with its fire tower was visible in the distance.



After that view, we came across a patch of pink lady slippers right next to the trail, another place to stop for a different kind of pictures.



From Rooster Comb's summit, the double summits of Lower Wolf Jaw were the dominant view, with Basin and Marcy poking up in the distance.



Looking back to the south, Giant Mountain towered above little Snow Mountain which we had climbed earlier.



Now it was time to start down and return the way we had come. We skipped the gorge this time, and headed down the road that paralleled the trail. This option took an unbelievable 17 minutes, compared to the hour we had spent ascending through the gorge!

Ice cream in Chestertown capped off a great day, after about 7 miles and 2,000' of climbing.