"Haystack Basin Saddleback: I have been anticipating this hike for a long time with a lot of excitement about the challenge of the much talked about Saddleback Cliffs, and some dread about what a long and tough hike it would be. I knew we wanted a dry day for climbing the cliffs and ideally a beautiful day to enjoy the views. I planned to go a few times this summer and plans changed because of the weather or other factors. So when it looked like this would be the weekend I could get it done, I was nervously checking the weather forecast which changed from sunny to rainy to back to sunny to cloudy over the course of the week. I had gambled and booked a room and the forecast was back to looking ok so we decided it was a go. I drove up Friday and got there early evening to the little inn I found (private room but shared bathroom, which worked out fine and was very cute and inexpensive), which thankfully also had a great restaurant so I could eat, get packed up for the hike, and go to bed early for our 5 am start time. I met Courtney at the Roostercomb trailhead parking lot so we could take one car to the Garden trailhead lot, which notoriously fills up and then you are pretty screwed..." — kvander • Aug 28, 2021

"Kathryn and her dog Rex arrived at the B&B last night. She joined Tom and I for a trio of Haystack, Basin and Saddleback today. Nice sunny weather with some strong winds on the summits particularly Haystack. Got Tom up to #43 and Kathryn up to #25 for their 46r quest." — Nimblefoot • Sep 5, 2020

"Tom. Black and I left the Garden lot at 5:10 am. Started early to get a parking spot. Temps in the 60s. Trail up Haystack was brutal. Summited Haystack at 10:15. Spectacular 360 degree view. Best view in the whole ADK 46. Off to Basin." — garyogden • Aug 8, 2020

"What can i say,, WOW! 3 mountain day and a few bumps along the way with an amazing crew to finish the winter hiking season in the Daks. Special Congrats to Ian Hamelin for finishing his Winter 46er and to Ray Finney for finishing his Regular 46er Journey, It made for a very special time to be part of this amazing event. Have to admit was a cold, snowy and very windy day on the summits that challenged my every step but with the right gear and great guides was able to finnish the day to hike another day," — ramjet1963 • Mar 16, 2019

"Last High Peaks hike of an epic 17-peak season. Cold and windy. Brutal trails. Overcame my fear of the "Saddleback Cliffs". Basin was 10x harder. Party of 2. Camped out at Deer Brook lean-to the night before." — ndru-virus • Sep 29, 2018

"Et voilà. En un peu plus de 2 ans après s'être donné l'objectif de compléter les 46 sommets, nous en venons à bout. Le plan étant de camper près du JBL et de faire Saddleback, Basin et Haystack pour devenir des 46ers. Heureusement que le JBL n'est pas trop loin, les sacs à dos de 50 lbs sur 30km n'auraient pas été les bienvenue! Tout à bien commencé et le moral était bon, malheureusement nous n'avions aucune vue sur Saddleback et Basin, tout était dans la brume. Nous avions espoir que le ciel s'éclaircirait en courant de journée, mais une fois arrivés sur Haystack aucune vue ne s'offrait encore à nous. Lors du retour, c'est la pluie qui est arrivée, comme durant tout l'été... Après le long retour vers notre campement, nous avons pu célébrer avec vin, porto et whisky. Ce qui restera le plus mémorable, c'est le réveil le lendemain avec le chien avec la queue morte hahaha" — PL5 • Sep 9, 2017

"Deb and I finished up on Haystack today #46. Couldn't ask for better weather and such clear skies. We loved this hike and the entire 46er experience. Not our end, we will be up and down many of them a 2nd, 3rd or even 12th time in the future. Moving on to New Hampshire next, well after MacNaughton." — hbotc • Sep 2, 2017

"Solo. Haystack, Basin, Saddleback. Started out my day at around 0730, by pulling into the Garden parking area only to discover that I only had a 5 & a 20 in my wallet... And there was no attendant on duty. As the parking fee is currently $7, & I didn't want to find out what happens if you don't pay, I slipped my 20 dollar bill into the envelope with a note saying it was all I had. (Imagine my pleasant surprise when by the light of my head lamp 11.5hrs later I discovered my envelope taped to my driver's side door handle with $13 change & a "thank you" written on it! But I digress..) Despite trail conditions being wet and gross I made great time from the trailhead to the JBL, and got to Slant Rock (way cool!) in just about 3 hours. Trail maintenance was severely lacking after the JBL, most log bridges were unstable and returning to nature, very degraded. I decided to take Shorey's Shortcut (Range Trail) which being only a smidge over a mile was a tough one.. Once I got to the junction between Haystack & Basin I was sad to see that it was still super foggy despite it now being well past "morning fog" time, but assured myself it would clear up as the weather prediction had promised. WR..." — kellieirene • Sep 28, 2016

"The Real Marcy’s Playground: A One Day Great Range Traverse From the inception of my days as a hiker, I’ve strived to get better—both in terms of my mental and physical well-being. For some reason, the former has been appeased by abusing the latter to the point of misery. What exactly do I mean by that? Insanity fuels my happiness. More specifically, hiking 25 miles with roughly 9400 feet of elevation gain in one day is my cup of tea. I had been eyeing a one day Great Range Traverse for a long time. I talked it up and talked it up to the point where it seemed as if it had already been done. But had I known then what I know now, it would have been apparent that I had my work cut out for me, regardless of how good of shape I was in. The opportunity sprung up after Lauren and I discussed a great way to start off our second year of dating with a 25 mile death march through the Dacks. *** A Great Range Traverse commences at either the Garden or the Roostercomb trailhead, and often ends with a 2+ mile hike to the other lot. Fortunately, we hitched a ride back to the latter trail from the Garden late at night—but that’s a story for later. At a minimum, the hike ascends Hedgeho..." — justinraphaelson • Sep 5, 2015

"After Marcy, I hiked Haystack. I really wanted to get some views into Panther Gorge. I sort of did, but was hoping for better. Looking off the backside of Haystack, it was incredible to just gaze further west into the ADK. Next was Basin. " — newenglandwarrior • Sep 4, 2015