Baker

I enjoyed climbing four of the Saranac Lake 6ers while my daughter Kailee was vacationing in Maine. During that time, I decided that I would do Baker Mountain (or Mount Baker as the locals call it) with her since it is the smallest of the bunch.

We drove to Saranac Lake on August 8. It was one day after her seventh birthday and I figured the hike would be a nice way to continue the celebration.

Baker's trailhead is right in town next to the lovely Moody Pond. I could tell by the number of cars in the lot that it was a popular hike. The trail register confirmed that... There was no spaces left in the book to sign in. So, I crammed our names and the date in on the top edge of one of the pages. We spoke to an older couple at the register for a minute and then began our way up the hill.

There's two paths that you can take to the Summit of Baker. The marked trail leads to the right and an unmarked trail heads left. I had read online that the left trail is easier & since this was the first full mountain Kailee was attempting we took that route.

My simple summary of the left trail is... Don't take the left trail.

The Bug Zone.

It was by far the buggiest trail I had been on all Summer. A constant swarm of mosquitoes followed us up the hill despite being doused in bug spray. Additionally, the left trail is rather unremarkable aside from some ledges near the Summit. Those ledges can be reached from the Summit anyways... So, I suggest taking the marked trail and checking them out after you reach the peak.


The peak of Baker is very nice and it only took a mere thirty minutes over 0.9 of a mile for us to get there. One can take in views of McKenzie, Haystack,

Village of Saranac Lake viewed from Baker.

Scarface, Ampersand, the High Peaks, lakes and the village of Saranac Lake from Baker's ledges.

About twenty minutes after we arrived there we bumped into the couple we saw at the register.

"Oh, you finally made it up here," said the man.

"What are you talking about? We've been up here for 20 minutes," I replied with a hint of sarcasm.

We chit-chatted with them for a few minutes before they decided to make their descent.

At the Summit of Mount Baker.

Kailee & I then enjoyed lunch on a ledge overlooking the village. It was still pretty early in the day. The weather was nice and we began discussing what we should do for the rest of the afternoon.

Then, out of the blue, I had an idea. I asked Kailee if she would want to try hiking Haystack. She thought it was a good idea. So, now we had a newly improvised plan in place.

We finished our lunch and took a few pictures before descending on the marked trail. It was much nicer than the first trail and I regretted not taking it up... But, what can ya do? Live and learn.

McKenzie viewed from Baker.

We passed a lot of people as we made our way to the trail register.

Mount Baker is by far the easiest of the 6ers. Kailee had zero problems with it. It is a family friendly hike and it's a good starter mountain.

We got in the car. Five of the Sixers down for me. One down for Kailee.

That was about to change... Very soon.

Mount Baker is located next to Moody Pond on Forest Hill Ave in the Village of Saranac Lake.