Hiking the Adirondack Great Range

On our Great Range traverse in the fall of 2012, team PureADK hiked Saddleback, followed by Basin, and after a quick stop at Little Haystack, finished with the prominent and remote Haystack. A quick jaunt beyond Basin, we made the trip over to Little Haystack, only to discover that we still had a way to go before reaching Haystack’s broad and open summit.  We could see the steep last stretch of the trail to Haystack’s summit, infamously called the “Devil’s Half Mile” (even though is technically actually three-quarters mile).  After a tiring last ascent, we had made it to the top of our third High Peak of the day – the third highest 46er, at 4,961 ft.  The views from the bare rock summit of Mount Haystack are absolutely incredible.  In addition to being able to see the peaks that you just came from, this mountain offers an amazing view of the backside of Mt. Marcy.