After living in Utah I thought I was a pretty proficient hiker. When I came across the Saranac Six challenge I thought to myself “how hard can that be?” I’ve hiked numerous peaks in the Wasatch Range. I should be able to bang out six peaks in the Adirondacks. It not like these are the Rockies or anything. This will be a walk in the park, right?
Well…sort of. I came to discover that hiking in the Adirondacks is a bit different than hiking in Utah. All of the six mountains that I endeavored to summit started the same way. First you do a literal walk in the park to the base of the mountain, and then you begin a steep and rocky climb to the top. Take that pattern, wash, rinse, and repeat and bing bang boom you’re a sixer. Only it wasn’t that simple.
Chrysa and I learned about the challenge after doing some research about the Village of Saranac Lake. The plan was simple, climb six specific peaks in a single season and you are a winner. The bonus…we already had one peak under our belt!
The first up of the Saranac Six was Baker Mountain. Put this in the books as done. In fact I did this one again in the fall because it was so accessible. Baker Mountain was a peak we literally stumbled upon while doing a morning run. Chrysa had planned a route that took us past the trailhead so up the mountain we went. It’s only .9 miles but it’s a nice workout with great views at the top. We even made it back home in time for lunch and to get to work.
Next up was St. Regis Mountain. I don’t really keep a list in my head of top 5 or ten hikes, but if I did, this hike would be near the top. This one was also a significant upgrade in difficulty. Baker was .9 miles and St Regis was 6.8. Thankfully I had researched the trip ahead of time and allotted plenty of time. I had also picked a beautiful weather day. It was warm but not hot, there was a nice breeze, and there was full sun. The views were tremendous, the hike was strenuous but not super difficult, and the terrain wasn’t wet or muddy. I loved this hike and would (and have) recommend it to anyone.
After the high of St. Regis came the low of Scarface. To be honest, I knew this was going to be a tough one. Sometimes when you have a goal to reach, and you know one of the steps isn’t going to be your favorite, you suck it up and just get it done. That’s how Scarface was for me. There isn’t a cleared summit (the trail just sort of ends with a tiny marker at the top), it started to rain, and I fell down and scrapped up my elbows. Although it was a rough go on this one, I did end up having a good time. I also soothed my bruised elbows and ego by getting pizza and cocktails. I finished with good memories.
Speaking of good memories…Ampersand Mountain! Another top tier hike. In fact this might be a tie with St. Regis. Again..great weather, 360 view at the top, maybe a little more difficult than St. Regis, but overall wonderful. Ampersand had the benefit of being at the very start of fall, so a little color change on the leaves. If you are ever in the Adirondacks this mountain is a must.
After Ampersand came Haystack Mountain. Now we’re getting into the nitty gritty of this post. Haystack and McKenzie Mountains share a trail for much of the way. This gave me a great heads up for my final hike of the six. Much like St. Regis and Ampersand the weather was wonderful the day I hiked Haystack. I was now fall and the leaves were shades of yellow and red. At the top of Haystack I could see towards Lake Placid and I just make out Saranac Lake and McKenzie pond from one of the off trail overlooks. After hiking I felt great about doing McKenzie Mountain, which I had heard was much more difficult.
My final peak to conquer was McKenzie. I had already done a third of this one when I hiked Haystack. I had previously made mental notes of how few trail markers there were. I had also noticed that there trail was going to be pretty wet. I was pretty sure that I would be OK though. Sure…the fall was over and the time change had happened. Sure…there was a false summit and clouds were rolling in. I was going to do this even if I had to finish in the damn dark. Except no. This hike was nuts. First off it isn’t really a hike. It’s mostly a river walk/boulder climb up an unmarked trail which is actually a stream. By this time I got to to the false summit I knew I was sunk. By the time I got to the iced over ravine that lead to the saddle before the actually summit I knew it was game over. My ego said “keep going” but it was over. I turned around and said good bye to my chances of being a Saranac Sixer. And it really was good bye. Chrysa and I were moving the following week.
Head held low I turned and walked back the way I came. I got back to the van in the final moments of twilight. However, I didn’t feel defeated. I managed to come to my senses at the right time. I didn’t bring warm clothes, or food, or a headlamp. I would have been in real trouble if I continued to the very top. I made a good decision that saved me from being a statistic. They didn’t have to send the rescue crew after me and I’m VERY happy about that. As it turns out I failed at being a Saranac Sixer but I succeeded at being a Saranac Five and Three Quarterser.
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