Big Slide & Yard
Adirondack Hike: June 3rd, 2017
Big Slide is known to be one of the most enjoyable hikes in the ADKs. With the summit only 4 miles away from where you can park your car, it's not only accessible, but it also offers great views along the way via the Three Brothers (three intermediary peaks). Niels and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then drove to The Garden.... much too late. This busy parking spot was FULL so we had no other option but to park our car 1.5 miles down in the town of Keene. On top of that, the shuttle wasn't running this weekend. Luckily, Niels let me rest while he drove the car down, and then he hopped a ride with a friendly ranger back up. This, of course, caused us to be ultra-late to begin our hike (Us? Late? Never!) and we only signed into the register at 9:45am. Rest assured that the first half hour of our climb was full of conversation about how these late starts have to end.
Our Ascent Via The Brothers
The approach to the First Brother is a steep steady climb, and literally takes your breath away. I was panting very early on during this hike!
We came to a beautiful ledge only 30 minutes (0.8 miles) in. For very little hiking time, this was quite a treat!
To be honest, it's really hard to tell which ledge or great viewpoint is officially "a brother" or not. We met up with an ADK Ranger, and when we asked him how long it would be until we got to the First Brother, he laughed and said that we had already past it. Ha! There were SO many viewpoints, ledges and beautifully big viewing rocks that I think they need to name a few more brothers...
The trail here (ie, between the first/second brother.... and a few other viewing points), was steep and rocky in places.
The trail here (ie, between the first/second brother.... and a few other viewing points), was steep and rocky in places.
The views from The Brothers are simply spectacular. Here, you can see part of the Great Range (and a very handsome boy).
Below is a photo in a different direction from the Second Brother, with a gorgeous view across Keene Valley of Giant Mountain and the East Trail down. This was especially exciting for us as we had just hiked this last year! It was fun to look out and think "We've stood on that mountain... and climbed all those peaks down!"
After the First (1.5 miles) and Second (1.8 miles) Brother, you are honestly finished the hardest part of the hike up to Big Slide. From here, we could see our next three destinations: The Third Brother, Big Slide, and Yard.
At this point in the hike, we thought we were between the Second and Third Brother, but we were not sure. I wish there had been signs! Either way, the views from outcropping rocks and peaks were amazing, and the hikes between these views were pleasant... with a few scrambles up rock faces (example - bottom right).
Below is a photo from the Third Brother (2.7 miles). What a view!
The trail from the Third Brother to the base of Big Slide is amazingly easy (and fun!). It descends gradually and actually flattens out in a mature spruce forest. It crosses a few small streams and is overall quite lovely. We saw plenty of fiddle-heads, blueberry bushes and I even found a patch of purple trillium flowers!
Last Stretch Up Big Slide We were very excited to see the sign saying 0.3 miles up to the summit! This stretch is steep, but fun. It's actually really nice knowing that you are only going up the steep part for a third of a mile (compared to that evil 1.2 miles up Phelps!). There were ladders up a steep rock part, which were surprisingly secure - and quite thrilling! |
You reach the summit of Big Slide before you know it, and boy does it treat you to such beautiful views. We arrived at 1:20pm and spent a good 40 minutes up there to snack and enjoy our victory view :-) I also spent some time trying to catch a photo of a curious pine marten that was scavenging around the summit for food scraps, but unfortunately he was too fast for me to snap more than a blurry image!
To Yard Mountain
At this point we had a choice: turn and go back the way we came via The Brothers to make a nice 8 mile loop... or go for Yard. Yard Mountain is not officially one of the ADK 46ers, but it is 4018 ft. Yard was not included in the original 46 High Peaks (distinct mountains above 4000 feet) because it is too close to Big Slide. That being said, it was only 2pm. We had plenty of time in the day for a more extensive loop including Yard... and then hey, we'd have another non-official 4000 footer on our list :-) Knowing that perhaps this was a bit of a "might regret this later" decision, Niels and I decided to hike the col between Big Slide and Yard, grab that peak, and then hike in a loop down to John's Brook Lodge and out via Phelps Trail. This would make our trek 11.5 miles (18.5km) in total.
The hike to Yard was amazingly easy (wet, but easy), and we fully enjoyed it.
At this point we had a choice: turn and go back the way we came via The Brothers to make a nice 8 mile loop... or go for Yard. Yard Mountain is not officially one of the ADK 46ers, but it is 4018 ft. Yard was not included in the original 46 High Peaks (distinct mountains above 4000 feet) because it is too close to Big Slide. That being said, it was only 2pm. We had plenty of time in the day for a more extensive loop including Yard... and then hey, we'd have another non-official 4000 footer on our list :-) Knowing that perhaps this was a bit of a "might regret this later" decision, Niels and I decided to hike the col between Big Slide and Yard, grab that peak, and then hike in a loop down to John's Brook Lodge and out via Phelps Trail. This would make our trek 11.5 miles (18.5km) in total.
The hike to Yard was amazingly easy (wet, but easy), and we fully enjoyed it.
On our way to Yard, we came to a junction with these two signs (pictured to the right). We were actually quite confused at this point and had to get out our map. It turns out that this is actually a right "turn" that is only slightly marked on the ADK map. It is exactly 1.4 miles from Big Slide and 1.3 miles to the junction with the trail to John's Brook Lodge. It marks an important spot though: it is actually very close to the unmarked peak of Yard. Between these two signs you will see a little path leading away. If you follow it, you will come to a "dead end" - but this is really the viewless summit of Yard. Don't miss it!
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A little bit after this intersection, there is a small path to the left that you can take to a nice (but small) lookout. We decided to count this as our peak of Yard since it actually had a view!
The descent from Yard to the intersection with the Klondike Trail is very steep. This is where my knees started to hurt, and I put on my knee brace for extra support. We even had to descend via a small waterfall, which we decided was the perfect place to stop and eat lunch. Much to my amazement, my husband pulled out a raw fennel to eat ... A FENNEL! Ummm... that's a pretty heavy (and quite strange) vegetable to carry up into the mountains! Next time I'm checking his pack before we leave!!!
We were also treated to a lovely walk along massive rock walls. Wow!
The Trek Back
I was very happy when we arrived at the T-junction to the Klondike Notch trail. From here, it was lovely 1.3 mile (2 km) easy walk toward John's Brook Lodge along a beautiful stream.
I have never stayed at John's Brook Lodge, so we took a sneak peak inside. The fireplace was stunning and the beds looked quite comfortable. There is also a wealth of information there (either from caretakers staying there, or signs posted around the lodge). What a beautiful place to stay in the Adirondacks.
From John's Brook Lodge we still had 3.5 mile (5.6 km) trek along the Phelps Trail to get to The Garden Parking Lot. You follow the beautiful John's Brook for the first half mile, where we enjoyed some high bridges (they lead to Grace Camp and some other sites) and wildlife. If you want to ever get back to your car, DON'T cross the bridge. We did, but just to explore :-)
After half a mile, the path arrives at a sign with lots of information and a map. We explored around this area a bit. The trail off to the left leads to an ADK Interior Outpost. At the end of the field just past the outpost, there is a stunning suspension bridge. It is completely worth the little side trip. Sigh - maybe this is why our hike times are so slow!
Some refer to the long trail back to The Garden as the "Highway of the ADKs." At first we were mystified as to why so many complain about this section - it was simply beautiful. The mature forest trail is fairly flat, easy to hike and crosses numerous brooks. After a while however, trail boredom hit and our feet began to ache. We realized that the highway description was fairly accurate - we just needed to cover mileage to get us home! The last two to three miles seemed to go on forever... and ever.... and ever. And then came the realization halfway through that we didn't even get a parking spot at The Garden - our car was parked a further 1.5 miles in the town of Keene. The prospect of our never ending hike stretching on another mile and a half was exhausting in itself!
Luckily, there were a few people in the parking lot when we finally did arrive at 7:20pm. One lovely couple agreed to drive us down to our car, and we were extremely grateful. So grateful, in fact, that when we arrived at our parked car, Niels immediately drove back up to The Garden to return the favour. He met another group of three hikers who were dismally beginning the long trek down, and I think he made their day when he offered to drive them down.
We enjoyed a victory dinner right at The Ausable Inn, which is conveniently located right where you turn off Highway 73 to get to the Garden. I think they see a great many weary travelers arriving in stinky gear and looking for food. We were no exception!
In the end, we somehow managed an 11.5 mile hike in 9.5 hours. This is fairly fast hiking for us, but I think it was due to the lack of view on Yard Mountain (and thus we didn't stay there long), as well as our 'practically-a-run' hike towards the Garden at the end. We just wanted to be done! That being said, during our dinner we were already discussing the possibilities for our next hike. What can I say? The Adirondacks are pleasantly addictive.
Total distance: 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers total)
Total time: 9 hours and 35 minutes (our best yet!)
Total time: 9 hours and 35 minutes (our best yet!)
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