April 10, 2021 we headed up to Keene NY to hike Roostercomb mountain right off of Route 73. We were looking for a hike with an elevation of under 2500' (per DEC Spring hiking recommendations) and I've seen this hike a bunch of times because it's right off of the road - and thought this would be the perfect hike for this Saturday afternoon.
This was the most BEAUTIFUL day, between the weather & the hikes - I couldn't have been happier. High of 74 degrees in April in upstate NY?? Crazy amazing.
The trail starts out with a wooden bridge and a pretty flat dirt trail to a pond. You hike around the pond and then bear to the left up the trail to Roostercomb. After about a .5 mile of hiking you'll start gaining your elevation. The elevation on this hike is pretty consistent with some nice breaks of flat sections of trail for a nice break. Lots of roots and dirt trails, as you hike following a stream on your way up the mountain. On this day, it was flowing fast and was super peaceful to listen to while I trekked!
At about 2 miles into your hike you'll approach the fork in the trail - bear right to continue up to Roostercomb, or there is also the option to bear left to trek on over to the wofljaws. I actually think this would be a really fun way to hike those high peaks (saving that in the back of my mind for another day).
This last .5 mile up to the summit was by far my favorite/most exciting part of the hike. Some short slab climbs, a ladder, and some beautiful look outs directly facing Giant Mountain.
About .2 miles from the summit you'll see a sign that points to a lookout (about an additional .1 miles from this point of the trail.) We decided to check this out on our way down!
We reached the summit around 1 pm and to our surprise we were alone! Widespread views of the high peaks, gorgeous temperatures and mild wind - we were ecstatic. Snap some photos, had some lunch and relaxed here for at least an hour. On our way down the mountain we veered off the trail to check out the look out which was beautiful! This lookout overlooks Big Slide & the Brothers - and was a perfect stop to our day.
We decided against adding Snow Mountain into our loop this day - simply because we had started later in the day. But back to the car, quick stop to Stewarts for a gaterade and we were having the best day. Driving with the sunroof open, soaking in the Keene views in our tee shirts - all I could think, was THIS is what life is about.
Happy hiking & if you're looking for a fun moderate hike in Keene with gorgeous high peak views - this one is for you!
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