Hiking Rooster Comb and Snow Mountain Loop – 11.14.20

Yesterday Alicia and I decided to go on a hike in the High Peaks Wilderness Area—the Rooster Comb / Snow Mountain Loop. The trail starts in Keene Valley on route 73.  I hiked Rooster Comb with Jordan a few years ago in the winter and I loved it and have always wanted to go back. Now seemed like the perfect time! I have been maxing out my hikes at around 7 miles and right now that seemed like the perfect hike. We arrived at the parking lot at around 8:30am to find it only filled with a few cars. I wasn’t sure what to expect since this lot is usually full on the weekends, but I guess with it being November, there are less people out hiking.

We briefly considered hiking Lower Wolf Jaw but decided against it. Ha! The trail up to Rooster Comb is somewhat gradual and well-maintained. It does get steep up near the top, though.

I had forgotten there is a fun ladder near the top.

Once we got up near the summit, there was a junction with a trail to a lookout ledge that offers some gorgeous views.

When we got to the actual summit we stopped and had a snack. There were 2 guys that were just leaving when we got there so we had the spot to ourselves!

After a brief break, we headed back down, losing a lot of elevation (I forgot how steep it gets near the summit of Rooster Comb!) we arrived back at the junction and took the Flume Brook Trail to get to Snow Mountain.

We enjoyed the views on Snow for a little while. It was pretty chilly up there.

My knee felt pretty good during the hike! Hiking uphill feels a lot better than hiking down. On the descent, my good knee was actually bothering me! I’m hoping that won’t be a reoccurring issue.

We hiked back down to the junction and continued on the Flume Brook trail until we got back to the Rooster Comb trail we hiked in on, and continued back to the car, completing a ~6.5ish mile loop.

Rooster Comb and Snow Mountain Loop
Distance ~6.5 miles
Elevation ~2358’
Total time (including stops) 4 hrs, 35 minutes