On the heels of summitting Ampersand Mountain last week, I realized that I had completed one of the Saranac Lake Sixers. In the following days, I was asked by a few people if I was trying to be a Sixer.So it got me thinking and I decided to go for it.
I chose St. Regis Mountain to be the next in line and asked my friend (and sometimes bandmate) Sean to go with me since he lives near the mountain and because I haven't seen him in a while. Today's hike (July 30) ended up being a really nice hike, with great conversations under perfect weather.
I met Sean at the trailhead and we made our way past a lake with a little waterfall and river at 11am. The trail starts with rolling hills for the first mile or so until you hit the mountain. It's a nice trail although there were a number of areas of heavy mud due to all of the rain this year. The mosquitoes weren't really an issue despite having read reviews that said they were out like crazy this year.
We were greeted at the top by Carly, the mountain's firetower steward. She was extremely nice and gave us information about the tower and the mountains, lakes and rivers that encompassed our view.
I can't underestimate how great the view is on St Regis. The peak is mostly cleared and leaves you gazing outwards towards the High Peaks.
As we ate lunch, we were surrounded by huge dancing dragonflies and a curious chipmunk ran over to Sean looking to be fed.
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| The recently renovated 100-year old fire tower. Each part was carried up the mountain to restore it. |
We also made a quick run up the firetower which was a bit nerve-racking but it did give us some brief enhanced views.
This was a pretty fun trail and I didn't feel worn out by the 6.8 mile round trip at all. I would highly recommend hiking St. Regis Mountain to others. It's a relatively easy trail with an astounding payoff.
St. Regis Mountain trailhead is located on Keeses Mill Road right down the road from Paul Smith's College.
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