The Great Range is a range of mountains in the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness of the Adirondacks, that includes some of the tallest mountains in New York. The range is most commonly split into two sections, the Lower Great Range and the Upper Great Range, but is sometimes hiked as one called The Great Range Traverse, which is either done as a single day or multi-day hike, and part of the Northeast Ultra 8 challenge. The range is about 12 miles long.
Mountains
The Great Range is made up of 7 peaks, which are Lower Wolfjaw, Upper Wolfjaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, and Haystack. Some often mistakenly consider Sawteeth and Marcy a part of the Great Range, though that assumption is technically incorrect.
Traverse
Hiking this range in its entirety is often done starting at the Rooster Comb Trailhead on Rt 73 in Keene Valley, summiting each mountain (with the option of adding Marcy) and then proceeding down the Van Hoevenberg to the Adirondack Loj at Heart Lake. When done this way, the hike spans almost 20 miles with almost 9,000 ft. of elevation gain.
Camping
Most camping options require descending off of the range and then re-climbing the following day to continue on. The range does pass through the Snobird campsite, although by the time you’ve reached it, only two climbs remain in the range. Many will opt to push and do this hike in a day and save the weight of their camping gear, since the best camping option is towards of the end of the route, effort-wise.
Terrain
The range contains many steep sections and navigates some of the most notoriously difficult stretches of trail in the entire Adirondack Park, including descending the Gothics Cable route and the Saddleback Cliffs.
