In 1875, Colvin first referred to the twenty-ninth and thirtieth High Peaks as “the Wolf Jaws.” The inspiration for this name may have come from a phrase in Street’s The Indian Pass (1869) that describes “the wild, wolf jaw summits of the Ausable Range” (Carson 148). Artist Arthur H. Wyant first visited the Adirondacks around this time, and his painting of the Wolf Jaws from the side of Noonmark Mountain has led many to believe that Wyant himself granted the names to these peaks. His painting, which features the deep notch between the two peaks, provides possibly the most clear depiction of the resemblance between these peaks and a wolf’s jaw.
At 4,185 feet in elevation, Upper Wolfjaw stands just ten feet higher than its sister peak to the northeast. The peak was first ascended by mistake on October 11, 1875, by Colvin, Ed Phelps, and McKenzie when they took a wrong turn along a hike to Gothics.
