Savich Trek: HIKING THE GIANT!

Mount Giant is considered the "giant of the valley" for those in the Keene Valley. It's huge size can be seen from several surrounding peaks, standing at 4626 feet above sea level. The trailhead is easily accessible from Route 73 just outside of St. Hubert's. There are three trails that lead to the summit. Roaring Brook trail is closer to St. Hubert's and is 0.5 miles longer. There is a much lengthier route from New Russia which is closer to 7 miles one way. I chose to hike the Chapel Pond route because is the most sce. We parked at Chapel Pond and walked to the trailhead on Route 73.

After signing in at the hiker's log book, we started up the mountain. It's a gradual climb with several switch-backs but overall an easy start. David and I were pretty sore from the day before but we were able to maintain a steady pace. The weather forecast for the day was partly cloudy although it seemed to be mostly cloudy when we started until later in the day the sun finally broke through. Most of this trail is climbing the ridge line, therefore we had several great lookout spots as seen in the photos below.

First lookout--Great Range in the distance; Route 73 below

First lookout--Chapel Pond

First scenic break

Washbowl

Bridge at Washbowl

Panoramic view--Washbowl in the foreground (second lookout)

We stopped at every lookout point to enjoy the views and hydration. About an hour and 45 minutes into the hike we came to the 0.7 marker. At this point the trail became flatter and it was a pleasant feeling for the joints. Shortly thereafter we came across these signs and we really didn't know which was a better choice out the two. On the ascent we chose OVER BUMP and on the decent we chose AROUND BUMP. We then realized that the trails come together further up but it was a matter of walking around or over a large rock outcropping. There are some nice views of the final ascent if the OVER BUMP route is chosen. Better to use AROUND BUMP when descending.

At last we came to the final intersection before the summit. Later we will make a turn here to hike over to Rocky Peak Ridge mountain.

Once at the summit we were amazed at the great views even though most of the peaks appeared hazy. After a few summit photos we found a nice spot to sit down and enjoy a nice break before the next challenge of the day.