I decided that I wanted to take the trail over The Brothers to the summit of Big Slide. The Brothers are 3 mini-peaks along the ridge to Big Slide. Depending on your perspective, they either make for great views of Keene Valley and the Great Range or they're pointless up and down (PUD). Given the fall colors, I thought it would make for a fun trip, even if I did have to park at The Garden in Keene.
"The Garden" is a parking area operated by the town of Keene for the generous cost of $7 a day. It's nothing more than a dirt road with a toll both, enough parking for a few dozen cars and two porta-potties and it's usually full on the weekend by 9am. As I pulled up, the woman in the toll both warned me to park as close as possible to the cars next to me. As I was walking to the trailhead, I heard her arguing with someone that "no, the parking lot is not full" and "yes there is enough room for you".
The trail was decidedly uphill but easy going at the start. There were hardly any rocks in the trail. Less than a mile I came to the first ledge but I was all socked in by the clouds. It was cold and wet and the sun was trying in vain to burn off the fog. The moisture in the air did make for some very vibrant colors on leaves of the trees I could see, however.
I'd come to a ledge and wonder if it was one of The Brothers, then I'd go back into the woods for awhile and come to another ledge. I couldn't really any summits through the fog but when I came to a large rock shelter, I knew I had made it to the first brother thanks to my handy guide book.
After almost two miles I came to the second brother and got my first taste of a view. Through the clouds, I could make out that there was clearly some kind of summit up ahead and there were plenty of yellow, orange and red trees in a valley below. Then I dropped down back into the woods and came to the third brother. The trail skirted some dramatic ledges but there still wasn't much for a view.
From the third and final brother, I descended back into the woods. The trail between The Brothers and Big Slide is relatively flat as it enters a very old spruce forest. Everything becomes dark and soggy, bright green moss and old man's beard abound. There's a very quaint mountain stream that carves a small niche through the moss and over the trail.
Then comes the home stretch. There are multiple steep pitches and some hikers on their way down wished me good luck. At one point the rock slabs are so steep that there's a wooden ladder of sorts. At another point I lost the trail on a rock slab by a dozen feet or so and pushed my way through a few pine trees back onto the trail, surprising a group of hikers. I probably looked like a bit of a mess. I had knitted a hat a couple days prior and excited to wear it hiking, I put it on a little early in the season and now had sweat pouring down the back of my neck.
Finally, I came to an open area where half a dozen French Canadians had gathered. I politely waited for them to make their way up a steep rock slab, one by one. It was somewhat entertaining so I had a seat and pulled out some trail mix. When it was my turn, I clapped the debris off my hands and not so expertly pulled myself up and over. And there it was, the summit.
There were already a dozen or so hikers sitting there, waiting hopefully for the clouds to part and offer us a nice view. None of them speaking English of course. I sat and listened to them slur a bunch of French sounding words together, broken up with the occasional names of Adirondack peaks in the area. After much waiting, the clouds did reveal partial views of the Great Range and the fall colors on the trees below. I imagine the views from this peak are rather spectacular on a clear day. The Great Range curves from the east to the south like the ridge of a bowl, giving you an up close view of just how long and majestic it is.
On the way back down The Brothers I got much better views. The clouds had vacated all but the highest of peaks and the wide expanse of Keene Valley was dead ahead. Beyond the valley was Giant Mountain, and from this vantage point the mountains full name of "Giant of the Valley" made perfect sense. I appears to rise a mile into the sky out of the valley. I decided it would make for a fun hike and put it on my list.
The view from a ledge on The Brothers.
I liked this cairn.
Old man's beard covering much of the old growth spruce between The Brothers and Big Slide.
A small mountain stream on Big Slide.
The view of the Great Range on the way down The Brothers.
A lone maple tree. 
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