Adirondack Great Range Traverse, New York

Jan Wellford has the FKT set September 21, 2009, 6h40m44s.

Great Range Traverse, map by Jan Wellford The Great Range is an 11-mile contiguous chain of mountains in the heart of the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. It's not clear if there is a "standard" way to do the traverse, and the www.summitpost.org page on it says "Ask ten people what constitutes a Great Range traverse, and you'll likely get ten different answers." But, it seems like doing the traverse requires summitting everything between Hedgehog Mountain and Mount Marcy, possibly incluidng Rooster Comb and Mount Haystack. As done by Wellford (see map) the route is about 25 miles with 9500 feet of elevation gain and 9000 feet of loss, starting at the Rooster Comb TH and ending at the Garden TH, both in Keene Valley. Backpacker Magazine called this the third hardest dayhike in America, and described it thus: "There's no small irony in the fact that New York's tallest peak is merely the last challenge on this classic loop-and far from the toughest. The route scales nine peaks, including six 4,000-footers and the aforementioned 5,344-foot Mt. Marcy. But numerous cols and false summits, plus heinously eroded trail beds, wear you down physically and psychologically. From Keene Valley, the murderer's row of peaks includes Rooster Comb, Hedgehog, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Haystack, and Marcy, from which you descend the Phelps Trail. Gut-check moments include a half-mile of teetering above a 700-foot drop on a knife-edge between the Wolf Jaws - inevitably followed by a steep climb - and the southeast face of Gothics, a scary-steep, exposed descent over open slab rock. There are long stretches of scrambling and ladder-climbing, and you'll need to carry enough water for the day."

Wellford provided his splits as follows:
    Rooster Comb: 38:32 (38:32)
    Lower Wolfjaw: 1:02:40 (1:41:12)
    Upper Wolfjaw: 26:33 (2:07:45)
    Armstrong: 16:37 (2:24:22)
    Gothics: 15:41 (2:40:03)
    Saddleback: 23:08 (3:03:11)
    Basin: 23:57 (3:27:08)
    Haystack: 41:24 (4:08:32)
    Marcy: 47:38 (4:56:10)
    Slant Rock: 31:50 (5:28:00)
    Bushnell falls lean-to: 18:54 (5:46:54)
    John's Brook Lodge: 18:35 (6:05:29)
    Garden TH: 35:15 (6:40:44)

Wellford also provided some "tips" for doing the Traverse:
    --The "ridge" itself is steep, rugged, and not very runnable in most places, although the 9.1 miles from Marcy to the Garden is, as is much of the 2.5 miles up Rooster Comb. Overall the hike is so rugged that I chose to use trekking poles and Montrail Hardrocks when I set my best time.
    --The only water source on the ridge is near the col in between Basin and Haystack. There are two small streams crossing the trail -- the higher stream on the way up Haystack is the most reliable. Two liters gets me to this point, and two liters takes me home from here (although you'll find plenty of water on the Phelps trail if you want to stop and refill again).