Big Slide Mountain
The 27th highest peak in New York State with an elevation of 4,240 ft.
7-5-13 For our second climb in 2013 my eldest son and I went with a couple friends and their sons. We left Speculator
at around 7:30 am and got into the Garden lot off of 73 at after 9:00 am. We
paid the $7 parking fee, signed in at the trailhead, and started out at around
9:30 am.
The weather was supposed to be clear, hot, and humid. We did drive
through a brief downpour in Keene Valley before we got to the Garden, but the
rest of the day was mostly clear. The Brother’s trail was
surprisingly dry considering all the rain in the area this summer and the brief
downpour that morning.
The elevation started right away but was rather gradual
over the first Brother. The Brother’s trail is one of the best trails I’ve been
on because it has views along most of the way and is surprisingly rewarding.
Usually you don’t get views like this until you summit.
The trail did get
muddier as we got went along.
There were also some cool rock formations along the way.
Also some Adirondack wildlife.
I love the natural ladders not only because they are a huge help but because of their uniqueness.
We finally got over the three Brother’s and
summited Big Slide at around 1:30.
It was a little later than we wanted to eat
lunch because we got a later start. Our lunch break was cut short when we got attacked
by a swarm of black flies. I never got so many bug bites in all my life. We
high tailed it off of the summit and started the descent back to the Garden
after only a few minutes. I was surprised how many groups we passed on our way
down that were making their way up. Other than a few cramps on the way out the
descent was uneventful. The Brother's trail is wonderful and the view down are just as good as the way up.
We were out and ordering diner at the ADK Café by about
5:30 pm. All in all this was a great day. The views were awesome and frequent.
I was glad that I chose this mountain to climb especially since it was my friend and
his son’s first one.
You know it is a good day when on the drive back everyone
is talking about when we can go climbing again!
