Hike the Adirondacks’ Great Range Traverse in One Day

Summit of Haystack in the Adirondacks.

New Year resolutions never stuck for me, but for the past several years, goals I set on my birthday have. With every passing year, my individual goals differ, but the categories stay the same (hiking, traveling, fitness, and finances). 2023 was the year I took my hiking goals up a notch.

After wrapping up the New England 67 4,000 footers, I had the Adirondack 46 on my mind. When I first moved to Massachusetts, I hiked one of the 46 a year. I thought I’d keep that up to have a lifelong hiking goal. If I started hiking them once a year at twenty-five, I’d have a goal to pursue past retirement. I should have known better. I always considered the Adirondacks rugged. The trails aren’t as easy to navigate as the Whites, and the mileage increases tremendously with the 46. The Whites were challenging sure, but the times I spent in the Adirondacks I rarely came across other hikers, particularly on the grueling days.

I made my way up to 19 going into May, but I was still too scared to officially write down “become a 46er this year” on my list. So I didn’t. I kept it to myself and decided any free weekend off of summer school I had, I’d drive to my favorite place. And that’s exactly what I did. By the end of September 2023, I only had six remaining peaks. I couldn’t believe it. These six 4,000 footers happened to also all be along the Great Range, and like my NH 48 finish, I knew I wanted to end on an epic adventure.

That’s where the single-day Great Range Traverse came in. Roughly a twenty-mile hike with around 9,000 feet of elevation gain. I have had longer days and bigger climbs than this one, but the Adirondack terrain is truly on a different level. Particularly on this one with the famous Saddleback cliffs. I knew I wanted company not only for morale, but as a safety measure. Thankfully, there are others out there who love these mountains and who jump right in when it comes to these challenges instead of shy away. Tom joined me, despite already being a 46er, because he was working on his Northeast Ultras. Completing this hike would not only make me a 46er, but it would also complete another of the Northeast Ultras. The NEU is a list of nine intense hikes in the Northeast that range from 20-52 miles. Told you I wanted an epic adventure, right?

We agreed to start hiking by 3:30 am, so I started the drive from Western Massachusetts a little before midnight to arrive at the trailhead. After dropping one car off at the Rooster Comb trailhead, we made our way to the Adirondack Loj for our official start. Car parked at the start of the Van Hoevenberg Trail and bags packed. We were ready.

Van Hoevenberg Trail > Mt. Marcy (5,305’)

Darkness kept us company as we began our hike along the Van Hoevenberg trail. We made our way to Marcy Dam way faster than I imagined. We chugged along, and then our ascent to New York’s highest point truly began. And so did some stomach issues for me.

Slowly but surely, we made our way. Shockingly, we made it to the summit in time for sunrise. Sadly, spikes were required as winter welcomed us at 5,000 feet. It was a socked in summit, but the sun was visibly rising. It looked like a fireball in the sky. The only other time I experienced a moment like this was atop Sugarloaf in Maine for a New England 67 hike. I had the summit to myself as the sky burst into fiery flames.

Again I found myself at a summit, with Tom this time, that felt like we were on another planet. We took it in for a moment. My hands were frigid and the winds were whipping, so we headed back down. Once we were under tree line again, we took a longer break. Tom let me borrow his warm gloves and we headed to our next summit: Haystack.

Mt. Marcy via Van Hoevenberg Trail > Phelps Trail > Haystack (4,915’)

We descended over 1,000 ft before having to summit Little Haystack (4,662’) en route to Haystack. The last stretch along the Haystack Trail led us there. Haystack stands at 4,915’ and was a new summit for me. This one came with a sliver of an opening in the sky’s parting clouds. Some bits of foliage remained in the distance, and we could see Mt. Marcy was clearing up a bit as well.

The sky cleared up a bit for us atop Haystack.

Haystack > Basin (4,817’) >

Saddleback (4,511’)

Haystack was an out-and-back, like Marcy, so we went back down the Haystack Trail and back onto the State Range Trail. That was our last out-and-back on trail. I didn’t feel great because I wasn’t eating, but also mentally I knew the toughest part wasn’t over yet. I’m glad we hiked Marcy first and went the route we did because a large amount of climbing had already been accomplished, but the part I psyched myself out the most by was approaching: the Saddleback cliffs.

A small section of the Saddleback cliffs.

Saddleback > Gothics (4,675’) > Armstrong (4,331’)

The cliffs were no joke. I’m not tall, so it was very helpful to have Tom go first and I watched his hand and foot placements. Even with him in the lead, I was terrified. I watched a few videos of the cliffs and chatted with hikers around my height who went up the cliffs, but nothing really prepares you. Already hiking a few mountains prior to this moment probably didn’t help. I saw my life flash before my eyes a few times, but I did it. At the top, we sat and ate a bit. That was when I realized my hands were still shaking. I’m not someone with a fear of heights at all, so that was definitely alarming. As we took our break, other hikers approached us, telling us someone had fallen and they assisted them with a rope that hiker had packed. Safe to say I won’t be repeating this section for some time (re: ever).

I was just grateful the “tough” section was done. I told myself the cliffs were the worst part and it would be smooth sailing after that. The Adirondacks, of course, are never smooth sailing.

Next up was our approach to Gothics. I hiked this one years before, very early on in my 46er journey. I was a beginner hiker looking for great foliage views and I found them! I hoped to do Sawteeth at that time too, but hikers at Gothics’ summit told me they crossed paths with black ice, and I played it safe since I didn’t have spikes at the time.

Since I had already been up Gothics and wasn’t traumatized back then, I thought I was in the clear. Then came the cables. I focused so much energy and research on the Saddleback cliffs that I didn’t realize Gothics had its own exciting adventure. Physically I was already weak from the hours we had been on trail, so when I saw a straight incline where using cables was practically a requirement for a great stretch of trail, I realized I was in for quite the arm workout.

As we ascended, a couple hikers descended. I was just thankful to not have to descend this section. Another moment of gratitude for taking the route we did. It looked worse than it was and soon after we headed to Armstrong. I wish I could say more about Armstrong, but I have no memories of this point. I was just glad to be done with the challenging sections.

Armstrong > Upper Wolfjaws (4,203’) > Lower Wolfjaws (4,177’)

With Armstrong under our belts, we had a couple climbs left. At this point, we were chasing the sun. We ascended Upper Wolfjaws and went onwards to Lower Wolfjaws. Neither were too memorable until we found an opening on Lower Wolfjaws just after the sun set behind the mountains. Tom gifted me a 46er patch so I officially became a 46er then. What a moment.

The summit of Upper Wolfjaws, my 45th ADK peak

Officially a 46er just as the sun set.

Lower Wolfjaws > Hedgehog Mountain (3,376’) > Rooster Comb Trailhead

I finally felt relief that the day was over, despite us already watching the sun set on the day. It was defeating to realize about five miles of trail remained and we’d have to descend roughly 3,000 feet. My feet were wrecked. Mentally, I was exhausted. Tom took the lead on the descent. We headed down the W. A. White Trail toward Hedgehog Mountain, followed by the Hedgehog Trail, and lastly Rooster Comb Trail. Tom safely got us back to the Rooster Comb trailhead. Honestly couldn’t have gotten out of the woods without him.

I felt an amalgam of emotions as we drove back to my car. Delirium was the strongest feeling in that moment because I hadn’t eaten and I was absolutely exhausted.

Days later I realized what I achieved.

I had just finished the 46. I was officially a 46er – something I never saw myself achieving. People usually laugh when they find out I finished on Lower Wolfjaws (a rather unimpressive peak), but then I mention it was part of the Great Range Traverse that day. Not only did I accomplish the goal I set for myself, secretly years prior, but I also climbed another rung on the ladder toward being a Northeast Ultra 8 finisher. The Great Range Traverse was my second of the Northeast Ultras.

Overall, I’m glad I experienced the Great Range Traverse, but don’t think I’d want to rush these mountains in the future. Of course I wanted to complete them for the ultra, and I’m thrilled I did, but it was a long day. By the end, we hiked 20.8 miles with 8,300 feet of climbing. Our moving time was eleven hours, but our breaks totaled a handful of hours over the course of the day.

The magical Adirondack mountains.

With the Adirondack 46 complete, I also became a Northeast 111 finisher. Naturally, attempting the rest of the Northeast Ultras was up next.

Have you considered hiking the Great Range Traverse? Would you take on the challenge of completing it in one day?

Thru-Hike the Northville-Placid Trail in 9 Days (as a First-Time Backpacker)

The start of the Northville-Placid Trail in Northville, NY.

In July 2022, summer felt like it was rapidly coming to an end. I set my eyes on either traveling to Isle Royale National Park in Michigan or backpacking for the first time.

To my surprise, almost all accommodations for Isle Royale were booked months in advance. I thought it was a difficult national park to access due to the only modes of transportation being an hours-long ferry ride or a small, costly seaplane. Apparently a remote island with no roads in Michigan is a highly sought-after vacation destination!

Disappointed that I wouldn’t be kayaking along Isle Royale, I pondered where else to venture to. My gaze lifted from my computer screen to where my wall calendar was.

July’s image was a summery scene in the Adirondack wilderness. It took seven months of this calendar year for me to realize the map illustration next to the days of the month. The illustration followed lakes foreign to me in an area I felt so at home in. I discovered this seemingly endless web of rivers and wooded forests was the Northville-Placid Trail.

I looked the trail up. The Northville-Placid Trail began construction in 1922 and was completed two years later. It is one of the oldest hiking trails in the United States taking hikers along a 138-mile point-to-point trail from Northville, NY, and ending, of course, in the town of Lake Placid.

This would be amazing, I thought to myself. Naturally, I pitched it to my best friend despite knowing she’d say no. It’s an eight-to-fourteen day thru-hike in some of the most remote corners of the Adirondack mountains. We day hiked 4,000 footers a handful of times, but we’d never done anything like this.

The surprises that summer continued. “Let’s do it” was her answer. It didn’t take her (and myself) long to realize we had no idea what we were in for.

About two weeks after we decided to try backpacking out for the first time, we found ourselves waking up before sunrise in our cabin in Lake Placid to pack our bear cannisters and our packs before our ride in the morning. Yes, we were packing for our trip the morning of. Again, total amateurs.

We had an honest-to-God Cheryl Strayed moment attempting to put our packs on for the first time to get them into the trunk. We were successful (and a little scared at how heavy they were) and met our incredible driver at the Lake Placid Historical Society’s History Museum parking lot.

Bob’s cheerful smile alleviated the stress built up from the backpack fiasco. He talked to us about fishing in Alaska, stopped for us to grab coffee, and told us stories of every town we passed through on our way to Northville.

Bob runs Bob’s Shuttles out of Piseco, New York. I found him through the Northville Placid Trail Facebook group a week before. He gave us tips for the trail and even stores hikers’ re-supply boxes in his garage. I couldn’t imagine having to carry 8-14 days’ worth of food. He’s a true gem.

Update: Though he stopped his services in summer 2024, he was a pivotal part of our NPT thru-hike. There are other driving services advertised in the Facebook group.

He dropped us off at the starting point in town, took our photo where we look incredibly vibrant and naïve, and said he’d see us in a few days in Piseco. Fingers crossed.

Here’s a breakdown of my nine days thru-hiking the Northville-Placid Trail:

Day 1: Northville to Woods Lake (13 mi, 2,300 ft gain)

The beginning of the hike is anti-climatic. We hiked three miles in the blazing sun during one of the most humid days along an asphalt road. Cars honked and people waved to cheer us on. At the end of the three-mile trek, we met a woman who told us of a bear sighting in the woods we were entering. Shortly after, a firefighter told us the same thing. Truly a lovely start for two girls who had never slept in the backcountry before.

We welcomed the tree-covered trails once we got there, and after about a mile, we took a lunch break. We regretted only grabbing coffee for breakfast when Bob stopped for us, and begrudgingly ate lunch early. A tortilla, two buffalo flavored chicken packets, and a little Nutella after sweetened the deal.

Pro-tip (from a beginner backpacker): figure out high caloric food because that lunch will get squashed rapidly down your throat on a hot, humid day carrying thirty-pound packs.

West Stony Creek Crossing

The West Stony Creek crossing, the water crossing I was nervous about getting through, was low, and easy to traverse. However, after heavy rains, we heard it could be impassable.

We made our way to Woods Lake, where our driver Bob told us to not camp at because it can get rowdy. The gorgeous Woods Lake is easily accessible by cars and only a .1 mile walk –making it an easy spot to access for the lake views. As we approached sunset, we decided to stay despite Bob’s warning. We took a dip in the lake we had all to ourselves, and I experienced the most magical sunset.

We woke up abruptly in the middle of the night to a couple locals having a good time. They went out on the water blaring music in a boat and returned the boat right next to our tent. Should have listened to Bob.

Day 2: Woods Lake to Canary Pond (14.6 mi, 2,000 ft gain)

After disrupted sleep at Woods Lake, we slept in and ate our oatmeal gazing at the gorgeous lake in front of us. We passed a few tiny bodies of water (Rock Lake, Meco Lake, and Silver Lake) before reaching our destination.

I was thrilled to have our campsite to ourselves with no easy access for cars to drive up to. We were beyond sweaty from another grueling heat wave day, so a dip in a pond was starting to feel like an NPT routine we could get behind.

Little did I realize that something in the water kept leeching onto me and turns out, it was actually a leech! We swiftly jumped out and decided maybe it wouldn’t become a daily ritual on trail.

Day 3: Canary Pond to Piseco (14.5 mi, 1,600 ft gain)

Our saving grace was knowing we would reach Bob on day 3. We had absolutely no service and were hopeful getting into a town would help. We also had a package that Bob kindly let us keep in his garage of our meal refuels and other items. Piseco was the point where my friend was contemplating leaving trail. I enticed her with a hotel stay and when we reached Bob’s Garage, we booked a night at The Inn at Piseco Lake. They offer a thru-hiker’s discount, but even without it it’s worth it. We left behind some oatmeal packs at Bob’s for the next thru-hikers, as we were extremely over it two days in. A nice shower without worrying about leeches was refreshing.

Day 4: Piseco to West Canada Lakes (16 mi, 2,500 ft gain)

Out with Oatmeal… In with Mashed Potatoes

We exchanged oatmeal for mashed potatoes, and used the inn’s microwave to cook this fine dining breakfast of champions.

With renewed spirits (mostly thanks to the shower and an absorbent towel), we embarked toward the part of trail I was most excited for: the West Canada Lakes. We had some turkeys trotting aggressively around us as we started the day, but we avoided the beatdown as soon as we entered the woods. At this point, my feet were blistered and legs bug bitten. My friend convinced me to hike in socks and Crocs… and I finally agreed. It completely down poured our last two miles, but we slogged our way to West Lake Lean-To #2, only to discover a group of college kids embarking on an orientation camping trip. I remember thinking that I wished I had one of those back in college! My other wish was simultaneously that they weren’t there so we wouldn’t have to set up our tent in the rain a little ways away.

Day 5: West Canada Lakes to Cedar River (16.4 mi, 1500 ft gain)

We awoke to dampness, a norm on the NPT in early August. Canada Lakes were rainy, so we didn’t linger too long in the morning. All of our clothes were still soaked, and it was tough to sleep because despite elevating my feet, they wouldn’t stop tingling. I created my own pillow by wrapping my rain jacket around my Ziploc bag of “clean” clothes. Clean is relative on trail.

This morning was rough if the trail images above didn’t give that away. My socks and boots were wet with my first step. The trail’s swamps joined together with last night’s rain to create a large lake. The slog was only two miles, but lasted two hours.

Wakely Dam Camping

As we entered Wakely Dam, we passed by a few campers. To our surprise, a bit of trail magic appeared. A camper saw our packs (and probably our faces) and offered ice cold Pepsi cans. I don’t even like Pepsi, but in that moment, it tasted like pure sunshine. Turns out they were from Northville, NY, so they were delighted to hear we had hiked from their home to this spot.

We washed our dirty clothes in the Cedar River Flow, but with the humidity, they did not dry overnight. Clean, damp clothes may almost be worse than dirty and dry ones.

Day 6: Cedar River to Lake Durant (12.2 mi, 1300 ft gain)

A shorter mileage day in terms of distance, but not feeling. It was wonderful to get into the Lake Durant campground, book a campsite, and set up camp with plenty of daylight left though. I walked down to the lake for a short dip. We finally caught up on journaling and showered in the campground showers. We laid inside our tent for hours before we succumbed to sleep.

I usually sleep well in the woods, but with wet socks all day, my feet were blistered beyond repair. My camp sandals (chacos) only made it worse. One of the top priorities in town the next day was to find a pair of Crocs if I hoped to continue the trail.

Day 7: Lake Durant to Long Lake (14.5 mi, 1800 ft gain)

We left Lake Durant with puffy eyes set on our next resupply in Long Lake. Bob wonderfully left our second resupply at the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake. To keep spirits high (and to have company on this thru-hike), we booked a night at the hotel to recharge once we made it.

This was the second rainy day on trail and we would reach the highest point of the entire trail just past Tirrell Pond at 3,008 ft in the Blue Mountain Wild Forest. Rain fell consistently as we had the longest stretch of wooden planks, a quarter-mile, lined with wet ferns brushing up against both sides of our bodies. My feet were utterly drenched. Once we reached the parking lot, my shoes came off immediately.

Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake, NY

We barely reached service enough to call Jim, one of the sweet owners of the Adirondack Hotel, who gave us a ride into town. There’s very little a burger, beer, and a Stewart’s milkshake can’t fix. It was just the fuel we needed to explore four stores before finding a pair of Crocs in my size! My hopes of finishing the trail in the next three days were high.

The sunsets along the Northville-Placid Trail were unreal, and this view just steps from the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake was no exception.

Day 8: Long Lake to Cold River (12.5 mi, 1300 ft gain)

It was tough leaving Long Lake for the trail. We ate at a diner before our ride back to the Northville-Placid Trail. With new crocs in tow, things were looking up. We knew we were roughly 2/3 done, but we still had a third to go. Southbound hikers informed us of plenty of blowdown in this last section to top it off.

We walked along Long Lake, stopping at Plumley Point for lunch. It felt like the best day on trail yet mostly due to weather and views. Long Lake truly goes on for a long time (so it felt) and the heat wave finally broke. If I was to hike the NPT again, I would spend an extra day soaking in the lake views.

We continued on with our sights set on one of the Cold River lean-tos. We would’ve loved Lean-To #3 because of its higher vantage point of Cold River, but a father-son duo celebrating their last hurrah before the son went off to college occupied it. Cold River Lean-To #4 was right along the water. Not a bad consolation prize. True to its name, it was our first chilly night on trail. On one of the last nights, I finally got to wear the leggings I had carried for eight days but hadn’t used. The father and son came by to let us know of a bear sighting, but sadly it never said hello to us.

Day 9: Cold River to Lake Placid (24.2 mi, 2,800 ft gain)

Sitting on the rocks taking in the morning cold, we sipped our coffee. So refreshing after so many sweaty days. Each morning we were packed up and on the trail earlier than the day before. Things were in a groove it felt like.

The smell of pine and sound of the Cold River filled the air during the first few miles of the morning.

We passed through Shattuck Clearing, awed at views of the Seward range (that I was tempted to summit), and explored the Rondeau Hermitage site. We hit ten miles by noon and decided to keep going to our spot for the night.

There was a tricky spot to navigate here with a massive tree log serving as a bridge. I was impressed I managed to walk across with my pack with ease. We approached our lean-to for the night in the late afternoon. Moose Pond had a beautiful lean-to, but the pond wasn’t easily accessible. With 15.2 miles behind us for the day, and several hours of daylight to go, we thought we’d do what we hadn’t done yet: a twenty-mile day.

It didn’t feel like the final night at Moose Pond, so we decided to tackle on the additional nine miles to finish the trail a day early. It felt amazing to hit a twenty-four mile day for our finale, and even better to make it to Big Slide Brewery for their honey pepperoni pizza that might’ve been devoured in record time.

Note: Mileage and elevation gain are rounded up to the nearest tenth.

A few recommendations:

1. Purchase both the Northville-Placid Trail Map and the latest edition of the Northville-Placid Trail book. Both come in a pack for $30 from ADK.org.

2. Use Piseco and Long Lake as refueling stations if you need them, not Blue Mountain Lake. Blue Mountain Lake adds a handful of miles in one direction that you may not be up for. The post office there also could be closed depending on when you make it in.

3. Do not rely on phone signal. We had no service with T-Mobile or Verizon the first three days from Northville to Piseco for us. We only had service at The Inn at Piseco Lake when we connected to wi-fi.

4. The Northville-Placid Trail is extremely isolated. Over the span of nine days and 138 miles traversed, we only saw 1-2 groups (whether it was a solo hiker, a couple, or a college group closer to the end) daily. There is little room for error if you are injured or need assistance until you reach the town milestones: Piseco, Long Lake, Lake Placid. Plan accordingly.

The Northville-Placid Trail only furthered my love for the Adirondacks. I had only hiked a handful of the 46 at this point, but it instilled in me a desire to complete them all. The remoteness of this trail appealed to me, despite the challenges being very isolated in the woods can create.

Have you heard of this thru-hike? Would you do it?

If you enjoyed this post, check out other hiking adventures:

Hike Esther Mountain in the Adirondacks

9 Hikes Around Lake Placid

Take on the Vermont 5 Hiking Challenge