Hopkins Mountain – 9.22.18

Last Saturday, my good friend Brendan and I drove up to the high peaks for a long-awaited hike. Brendan is still working on the 46, so we had originally planned to hike Lower Wolfjaw from the Bennie’s Brook Slide, however, decided against it when we spent 1 hour trying to cross a high brook on the way to the base of the slide. We decided to hike a much lesser-traveled trail to Hopkins Mountain. The trailhead is located right on Route 73 in Keene Valley across from the Rooster Comb trailhead. We parked in the lot for Rooster Comb, crossed the road and started hiking via the Ranney Trail–you will see a road sign for Ranney Road which is the dirt road that the trail starts on.

The trail starts out pretty gradual but then begins to climb. It gets pretty steep but the trail itself was very nice. No huge rocks or boulders to maneuver around. It was quite pleasant! We didn’t see another person on the trail until a few feet before the summit.

Eventually, we popped up above treeline and saw this amazing view of the John’s Brook Valley. 

There were tons of people on the summit. They must have taken the alternate route up, the Mossey Cascade Trail,  because did not see anyone on the way up.  We spent about 30 minutes on the summit enjoying our snacks and taking in the views. The sun felt nice and warm. What a nice hike!

We headed back down and then stopped at the Mountaineer since it’s usually closed when we’re finished with hiking. We then drove to Big Slide Brewery to meet a few friends who had been hiking in Saranac Lake. It was such a great day in the Adirondacks!

Hopkins Mountain
Distance 5.7 mi RT
Elevation 3150′
Ascent 2164′
Time 3 hrs, 40 min (including stop on summit)

Gear used Black Diamond Distance Z Trekking Poles, Ultimate Direction Fastpack 20 pack, Osprey 2.5 L bladder, Altra Lone Peak Trail runners, Outdoor Research Ferrosi Hoodie, Suunto Ambit 3 Running watch