"Climb is pretty hard. Lots of rock slide parts so be very cautious in wet conditions. Lots of ice and snow still on the trail in April. If you do this hike before June be prepared with trekking poles and microspikes / cleats for your shoes. The trail between Giant and Rocky Peak is very primitive and difficult. Whole thing was icy and snowy in April. The giant side of this trail is very steep and challenging, but the Rocky Peak side is not nearly as bad. I can imagine this route is much easier in the summer months, especially when dry. It just has some pretty steep sections. The views off both mountains are very good and pretty unique compared to other high peaks due to their location. I could see Lake Champlain and the mountains of Vermont to the northeast, Dix Mt and Gothics to the south and Whiteface to the west." — ThermarestCompressiblePillow • Apr 16, 2024

"Climb is pretty hard. Lots of rock slide parts so be very cautious in wet conditions. Lots of ice and snow still on the trail in April. If you do this hike before June be prepared with trekking poles and microspikes / cleats for your shoes. The trail between Giant and Rocky Peak is very primitive and difficult. Whole thing was icy and snowy in April. The giant side of this trail is very steep and challenging, but the Rocky Peak side is not nearly as bad. I can imagine this route is much easier in the summer months, especially when dry. It just has some pretty steep sections. The views off both mountains are very good and pretty unique compared to other high peaks due to their location. I could see Lake Champlain and the mountains of Vermont to the northeast, Dix Mt and Gothics to the south and Whiteface to the west." — ThermarestCompressiblePillow • Apr 16, 2024

"We made the summit of Marcy to see the total eclipse. About 50 of us there got to witness one of the most spectacular sights in nature. As the totality of the eclipse hit, the sky went dark and the white halo around the moon appeared. Stars were visible in the sky and colors like the sunset were visible in every direction you looked. A moment and a trip I will remember vividly for the rest of my life. " — j-mulligan • Apr 8, 2024

"Hiked with Jay, Allison and new friends Jen and Mark today on Seymour. As well as fury friends Harry and Kelly. Conditions were good till the summit approach where we were faced with 3' drifts. Micro spikes till the second lean-to then snow shoes to the summit. Views from the windy summit were spectacular! The trip down was a different story. With the fresh snow broken by the trip up the way down was fast and treacherous. I fell twice. Hurting my shoulder on a tree strike. Once down it was a death march to the cars. 22/46W." — garyogden • Feb 21, 2024

"After a longer than anticipated hiatus, our crew dusted off the gear and set the plan to re-hike Cascade and Porter for “winter” credit do blow out the cob webs. It was pleasant to not have to awaken at 2a.m. for a change. Leaving Glenville around 6a.m. we made the run up to Warrensburg where our #3 would take over driving, undoubtably armed with his homemade breakfast sandwich’s, a tradition I’m most grateful for! He did not disappoint. Geared up, we hit the trail about 8:30 a.m. Temps were comfortably in the mid 30’s with partially overcast skies. With the less than my lifetime average snow pack for this time of year, shoes were not necessary mostly below 2k feet due to snow pack <8”, in fact it was more like 4-6” rotten hardpack ice. Due to anticipated warming throughout the day and likely deeper snow above, the shoes came along for the ride. Conditions reflected mostly common sense behavior, folks had packed out the trail surface nicely with shoes back during the last few storms. Only minor left over potholes where folks had stepped off trail. The entire tread was indestructible the whole way. It’s always been sad to me this area enforces snow shoe requirements regardless of wh..." — davelaurenty • Feb 9, 2024