Rocky Peak Ridge Bushwhack(Giant Mountain Wilderness-Adirondacks)

Just east of Giant Mountain sits Rocky Peak Ridge, which rises to a lofty elevation of 4420 feet and is the 20th highest of the Adirondack High Peaks.  There are two usual routes to the summit, either from the west or east, both on trail.  My buddy Jim and I had been eyeballing another, much more interesting and challenging route.  We wanted to bushwhack the entire route to the summit from Route 73, but finding the best starting spot was going to be the hard part.  We spotted a first car at the primary Giant Mountain Trailhead(via the Ridge Trail), then drove SE back to an unmarked pull off along Route 73 to get started.  At an elevation of just over 1600 feet we jumped into the woods, eager to find a way up through or around the 100 foot rock fortress that stood between us and the ridge.  We clawed and climbed our way through a jumbled, rocky mess looking for a way up, emerging at a steep set of cliffs, which stopped us dead in our tracks.  After almost an hour and a half of trying, we finally had to admit defeat and turn back down towards the road.  We were both a bit upset, but vowed not to give up. 

Once back on the road, we walked NW back towards the Round Pond parking area, where we once again entered the woods, this time finding a much easier ascent along a drainage.  The woods were mostly hardwoods down low and fairly steep.  Nearing the top of the first 2400 foot knob, we found an open set of ledges which offered up our first views of the day.  This view SE back down the Route 73 valley, actually provided a look at the rocky cliffs that marked our initial turn around spot.

A glimpse of the ridge just east of us.

Jim taking in some early views to the SE.

We proceeded to climb up and over the first knob, then continue north up the ridge towards RPR.  Within minutes of climbing, we stumbled upon more open rock slabs at about 2800 feet, providing much more impressive views.  The Great Range can be seen sandwiched between the crest of Round and Noonmark Mountains(L) and Giant Washbowl and Nubble(R).

Up, up and away!  We were both elated to see more open rock above us heading towards the sky!

As we gained elevation, the views really began to open up, taking in a sweeping panorama to the south of many of the High Peaks.  Jim pauses here for a moment to soak in this look at the entire Dix Range.

After interspersing thick spruce with open rock slabs, suddenly we turned a corner and voila...we found this incredible  rock shelf with a vertical drop.  The view was literally jaw dropping. 

Dix and Nippltop to the south, with Hunters Pass between.

RPR's big brother Giant Mountain rises imposingly nearby to the west.

The Dix Range rising in the distance beyond nearby Round Mountain. 

Arriving at a bend in the ridge at 3300 feet, where an enormous open rock slab provided our broadest east facing views of the day thus far. 

From the open rock at 3300 feet, we could see our next goal, the 3925 foot bump leading up towards RPR's main summit ridge.  We knew we would probably be contending with thick spruce, but the open rock above gave us some promise.

After fighting through a half mile of dark, thick spruce and deadfall, we found the open rock!  Although the rock slab was steep and exposed, it was very grippy and provided excellent traction.

Running out of words to describe these views.

Jim leading the way, anxious to see what was around the next corner.

A peek back at the open rock we had just been down on at 3300 feet. 

One last look back at this large erratic in the open, before delving back into the dense woods.

Only yards past the  open views, the woods immediately closed back up on us, as well as extensive blowdown.

The woods along the ridge heading north between 3900 feet and 4400 feet were some of the thickest, toughest spruce that I've personally ever had to contend with.  This stretch of one mile seem to take forever and this really took a toll.

 Finally, after a long and grueling fight, we emerged at a south sub summit about 150 feet below the summit.  Here, the lower alpine vegetation allowed us to catch our first glimpse of the summit.

One final push through a thick conifer stand brought us up onto the summit area of Rocky Peak Ridge.  The view back south at the sub summit and ridge we had just ascended was very nice.  Even from this perspective it looks challenging. 

Although it was nearly 5pm, there was a small crowd of about ten people at the 4420 foot summit.  The black flies were incredibly relentless at the top, so we didn't linger.  A couple of quick summit photos and then we were off, now heading back to the car on trail for the first time all day.

The summit views south towards the High Peaks is quite remarkable.

The west view towards Giant was daunting, because we both knew that the trail drops down to a saddle between these peaks, before rising almost all the way back up to Giant's summit.

The descent off RPR was steady down to 3750 feet, but the climb back up to Giant was tough.  700+ feet of climbing was not what were looking for after the blood, sweat and tears we had put forth already.  Once up on Giant Mountain, we quickly turned south descending the ridge.  The relentless climbing did provide us with some pretty spectacular views down towards the High Peaks.

Quite exhausted, the trail part of the hike seemed to go by fairly quickly, as we enjoyed the evening views down towards Giant Washbowl and Nubble.

Arriving at the Giant Washbowl was a good sign that our day was almost over.  The fact that it was 8pm and we were both wiped out, did not take away from the beauty that surrounded us. 

We arrived back at the car fully exhausted but feeling accomplished.  We had successfully completed our bushwhack hike of Rocky Peak Ridge!  Our route can be seen below.  Nearly 4100 feet of ascent and over 9 miles RT.  Blue=Bushwhack. Black=Trail