The Great Range is a mountain range in the Adirondack Mountains, near Keene Valley, New York, United States. It rises in the heart of the High Peaks region between Ausable Lakes to the southeast and the Johns Brook Valley to the northwest. [1]
The range is approximately 12 miles (19 km) long and includes seven of the forty-six High Peaks. They are, along the main ridge from northeast to southwest, Lower Wolfjaw, Upper Wolfjaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, and Haystack. Sawteeth is a spur of Gothics, and Marcy is often associated with the Great Range but it is not a "historical" part of the Great Range. [2]
The entire range can be hiked on six maintained trails, and is considered a premier challenge for hikers in the Adirondacks. From the Rooster Comb trailhead at the northeast end of the range, the Rooster Comb Trail, Hedgehog Mountain Trail, W. A. White Trail, ADK Range Trail, and State Range Trail travel along the ridges between the peaks. The State Range Trail continues southwest to Haystack and Marcy. The total distance to Mt. Marcy is 13.5 miles (21.7 km). A side trip to Rooster Comb can be made which adds an additional mile of distance. There are no lean-tos and only a single campsite on the route. [3]
Mount Marcy is the highest point in the U.S. state of New York, with an elevation of 5,343.1 feet (1,628.6 m). It is located in the town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is in the heart of the High Peaks Wilderness Area in Adirondack Park. Like the surrounding Adirondack Mountains, Marcy was heavily affected by large glaciers during recent ice ages, which deposited boulders on the mountain slopes and carved valleys and depressions on the mountain. One such depression is today filled by Lake Tear of the Clouds, which is often cited as the highest source of the Hudson River. The majority of the mountain is covered by hardwood and spruce-fir forests, although the highest few hundred feet are above the tree line. The peak is dominated by rocky outcrops, lichens, and alpine plants. The mountain supports a diverse number of woodland mammals and birds.
The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's book Peaks and Peoples of the Adirondacks. Those who have climbed all 46 High Peaks are eligible to join the Adirondack Forty-Sixers club.
Algonquin Peak is a mountain in the MacIntyre Range of the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. It is the second highest mountain in New York, with an elevation of 5,114 feet (1,559 m), and one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. It is located in the town of North Elba in Essex County and in the High Peaks Wilderness Area of Adirondack Park. The first recorded ascent of the mountain was made on August 8, 1837, by a party led by New York state geologist Ebenezer Emmons. It was originally named Mount McIntyre, after Archibald McIntyre, but this name was eventually applied to the entire range. Surveyor Verplanck Colvin added the name "Algonquin" in 1880. This name came from the peak reputedly being on the Algonquian side of a nearby informal boundary between the Algonquian and their Iroquois neighbors, although no such boundary existed in reality.
Mount Haystack is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains of New York. With an elevation of 4,960 feet (1,510 m), it is the third highest mountain in New York and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the town of Keene in Essex County. The first recorded ascent of the mountain was made by mountain guide Orson Schofield Phelps in 1849, accompanied by Almeron Oliver and George Etsy. Phelps gave the mountain its current name based on its appearance to a haystack, and later cut the first trail to the summit in 1873. The summit is an alpine zone above the treeline, which offers a view of nearby Mount Marcy and Panther Gorge.
Mount Skylight is a mountain in the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. Skylight is the fourth highest peak in New York, with an elevation of 4,924 feet (1,501 m), and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain was given its name by artist Frederick S. Perkins and guide Orson Schofield Phelps in 1857, due to a rock formation on the peak resembling a window. Phelps would later make the first known ascent of the peak with surveyor Verplanck Colvin and two others on August 28, 1873.
Dix Mountain is a mountain in the Dix Range of the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. With an elevation of 4,857 feet (1,480 m), it is the sixth highest peak in New York and one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. It is located roughly on the boundary between the towns of North Hudson and Keene in Essex County, and in the High Peaks Wilderness Area of Adirondack Park. The crest of the peak consists of a very narrow ridge, which continues to the southeast and rises to a subsidiary peak named Beckhorn, then continues south to other peaks of the Dix Range. The summit is also in an alpine zone above the treeline. The ridge offers unobstructed views of Elk Lake to the southwest, the Great Range to the northwest, and Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains to the east.
Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in the town of Shandaken in Ulster County. While the 4,180-foot (1,270 m) contour line on topographic maps is generally accepted as its height, the exact elevation of the summit has never been officially determined by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey or its predecessors, and many informal surveys suggest the mountain may actually top 4,200 feet (1,280 m) above sea level. Geographically, it is the highest natural point within the New York Metropolitan Area.
Mount Colvin is the 39th highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Mountains in the U.S. State of New York. Mount Colvin offers excellent views of a number of other Adirondack High Peaks, most notably the peaks that comprise the Great Range. High Peaks that are readily visible from Colvin include Giant, Rocky Peak Ridge, Upper Wolfjaw, Lower Wolfjaw, Armstrong, Sawteeth, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, Tabletop, Marcy, Haystack, Redfield, Allen, Nippletop, Dial and Blake.
Mount Jo is a 2,832-foot-tall (863 m) mountain in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is in North Elba, New York on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club. The Adirondack Loj and Heart Lake are at the foot of Mount Jo. There are two trails that lead to its summit.
Gray Peak is a mountain located in the town of Keene in Essex County, New York. It is the seventh-highest of the Adirondack High Peaks, with an elevation of 4,840 feet (1,480 m), and is located in close proximity to Mount Marcy, the highest peak in New York. Gray Peak is southwest of Mount Marcy and southeast of Mount Colden. The first recorded ascent of the peak was made on September 16, 1872, by surveyor Verplanck Colvin and guide Bill Nye. It was named for Asa Gray by Colvin. Although the mountain is only 0.6 miles (0.97 km) from the summit of Marcy and lacked prominence desired by the Marshall brothers for inclusion in the High Peaks, it was added to the list to preserve the name.
Giant Mountain, also known as Giant of the Valley, is a mountain in the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. It is the twelfth-highest peak in New York, with an elevation of 4,627 feet (1,410 m), and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area, in the town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is named for its towering appearance from the nearby Pleasant Valley to the east, which sits at a low elevation.
Gothics is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. It is the tenth-highest peak in New York, with an elevation of 4,736 feet (1,444 m), and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is named due to the resemblance of its three arched peaks and large rock slides to Gothic architecture. Although the name has been attributed to Orson Schofield Phelps and Frederick W. Perkins, who named several peaks during an 1857 ascent of Mount Marcy, other evidence shows the name Gothics in use at least as early as 1850. The earliest recorded ascent was made on October 11, 1875, by Verplanck Colvin, Roderick L. McKenzie, and Ed Phelps, although an unrecorded ascent was likely made earlier by James J. Storrow and Orlando Beede. The summit of Gothics is an alpine tundra zone, and on clear days views of 30 nearby peaks are available, as well as the Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes.
The High Peaks Wilderness Area is the largest wilderness area of the Forest Preserve in the U.S. state of New York. It is located in three counties and six towns in the Adirondack Park: Harrietstown in Franklin County, North Elba, Keene, North Hudson and Newcomb in Essex County and Long Lake in Hamilton County.
Basin Mountain is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. It is the ninth-highest peak in New York, with an elevation of 4,827 feet (1,471 m), and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the town of Keene in Essex County. The peak was named either for the basins formed between knobs on its slopes or the large basin to its southeast formed by it and the surrounding mountains. The name Basin was most likely coined by Orson Schofield Phelps and Frederick W. Perkins in 1857 during an ascent of Mount Marcy. The earliest appearance of the name in writing was made by surveyor Verplanck Colvin in 1873.
Nippletop is a mountain in the Colvin Range of the Adirondack Mountains in New York. With an elevation of 4,620 feet (1,410 m), it is the 13th highest peak in New York and one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. It is located near the southern border of the town of Keene in Essex County, in the High Peaks Wilderness Area of Adirondack Park.
Phelps Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York. The mountain is named after Orson Schofield "Old Mountain" Phelps (1817–1905), who cut the first trail up Mount Marcy and named several of the Adirondack peaks. It is the 32nd highest peak in New York. Phelps Mountain is flanked to the southeast by Table Top Mountain.
Allen Mountain is located in Essex County, New York. It is part of the Marcy Group of the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains, and is flanked to the north by Mount Skylight.
Lower Wolfjaw Mountain is located in Essex County, New York, United States. Landscape artist Alexander Helwig Wyant (1836–1892) named Lower Wolfjaw, together with neighboring Upper Wolfjaw Mountain, about 1870 for their appearance in profile. The mountain is the northeasternmost of the Adirondack High Peaks in the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains. Lower Wolfjaw Mountain is flanked to the southwest by Upper Wolfjaw Mountain, and to the northeast by Hedgehog Mountain.
Upper Wolfjaw Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York. Landscape artist Alexander Helwig Wyant (1836–1892) named the mountain, in combination with neighboring Lower Wolfjaw Mountain, c. 1870 for their appearance in profile. The mountain is part of the Great Range of the Adirondack Mountains. Upper Wolfjaw Mtn. is flanked to the southwest by Armstrong Mountain, and to the northeast by Lower Wolfjaw Mtn.
The MacIntyre Mountains or MacIntyre Range is a range of mountains in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, due west of Mount Marcy, in northeastern New York State. The range runs 8 miles (13 km) from southwest to northeast. Its sheer southwest slope makes up one side of Indian Pass, and a northeastern spur forms the cliffs of Avalanche Pass. From southwest to northeast, the range includes Mount Marshall, Iroquois Peak, Boundary Peak, Algonquin Peak, and Wright Peak. Algonquin is the second-highest peak in the Adirondacks.