Ampersand

I recently took my friend Noelle up on an open offer to hike Ampersand Mountain near Saranac Lake. This Summer's weather has not been ideal to say the least and my most recent hiking excursion at Sharp Bridge was cut short thanks to a downed tree taking out one of the trail bridges.

Needless to say, I was looking forward to a trek in the Adirondacks and a romp up a mountain that I've never climbed seemed like a great idea... And, it was!

Ampersand is one of the Saranac Lake Sixer's and it's located on Route 3 just outside of the village. Noelle and I arrived at the trail marker and met her friend Beth who would be joining us for the trip on July 23. We hit the trail at 11:45am on a slightly overcast day.

The first leg of the trail was pleasant with little incline. We saw a variety of mushrooms and other fauna, and crossed several foot bridges over the mountains runoff.

Then Ampersand issued it's challenge... The following mile was all incline. Having bounced back from diverticulitis earlier in the year, I was not in the best shape of my life. It didn't take me too long to start sucking wind. Additionally, I had made a poor decision in apparel and wore jeans out of concern for bugs. However, aside from one muddy spot, the mosquitoes weren't biting that bad. So my denim was unnecessary and left me unnecessarily hot.

The steep part of the trail forces you to do a little bit of climbing. However, there are parts of the trail where stones were moved and positioned to form a mountain staircase. This doesn't mean that this portion is easy. The incline is daunting and the stone steps take a toll on the feet and legs.

Climbing upwards, the mountain began to give us peeks of the surrounding lakes. We also passed the remains of the original caretaker's hut which is about 100 years old. We also made a few stops and cooled off in Ampersand's chilly runoff water.

As we neared the summit, the trail finally eased up a little bit. Painted arrows guided us to the peak. Once we hit the clearing, the payoff was immediate. Ampersand's peak is largely free of trees which offered us a full 360° view of the Saranac Lakes, Ampersand Lake, a number of rivers and ponds, and of course a primo view of the High Peaks.

We stepped on the summit marker at 1:45pm, a two hour ascent. Then we found a nice spot away from the other hikers (it's a busy mountain with a lot of traffic) and had lunch and relaxed in the cool mountain breeze.

After hanging at the peak for a few hours, we packed up and made our descent. The trail gets tricky going down in a few places and it certainly takes it's toll on the knees. Aside from that, it's not too bad.

Overall, climbing Ampersand was a great idea. The payoff at the summit is damn near priceless and I was fortunate to be in good company with Noelle and Beth.

I wouldn't recommend this trail for out of shape hikers or for little kids. But, for those looking for a nice challenge this trail offers that and so much more!

Sweating as I hit the Summit of Ampersand Mt.