Much like the famous Al Pacino character which shares it's name with, Scarface is a bad boy.
I had another day free of responsibilities and decided to knock out another Sixer in back-to-back days. Once again, I teamed up with my buddy Sean.
We were both feeling good after the previous day's adventure at St. Regis Mountain and were looking forward to another good time.
Our hike got off to a later start then planned thanks to Sean's GPS giving him poor directions. He met me at the trailhead and we began our trek around 12:30 PM.
The trail begins by crossing train tracks and then a foot bridge built by prisoners in the 1980s over Ray Brook. Just before the bridge there is a bench with a plaque dedicated to Captain Paul John McKay of the Australian army who passed away on the mountain in 2014.
The trail continues for about two miles to base and it's pretty even ground until you get there. On the left was what looked to be the remains of an old caretaker cabin and there was an older man with his dog sitting there waiting for his wife to descend the mountain.
When you get to the mountain there is a beautiful runoff that parallels the trail. The water was incredibly clear and cold and we used it to cool down on both our ascent and descent. The incline picks up pretty quickly and the trail is very rocky which makes it rough on the legs. That being said, it was probably the least muddy trail that I've been on this year.
We ran into a lot of hikers on their way down and chatted with most of them. We even bumped in the the wife of the man we chatted with by the cabin remains. It seemed that many people we ran into were hiking Scarface for the same reason that I was (to become a Saranac Sixer) and we exchanged info on the mountains that we had climbed with quite a few hikers.
The trail continues upwards for another mile with nice forest scenery surrounding you. Eventually, you hit Scarface's sole ledge which offers the only view of the landscape. It's a nice little ledge to relax and have lunch on (which we did after making our way to the Summit).
At this point, the trail becomes much easier. You continue forward for another half mile and pass a few false summits. Then you zig-zag your ways along the trail through the trees until you come upon a small circle in the middle of the woods. There's a small round white marker on a tree that says "Scarface Mtn." And, that's the Summit. We got there around 2PM.
Shortly after we got to the Summit, the man we ran into earlier showed up. He boogied his way up Scarface! He asked us "So, this is the Summit?"
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| Summit. |
"Yes," we replied.
"Good. I can tell my wife that she didn't make it to the real Summit," he said.
We continued chatting and he imparted us with some good words of wisdom:
"If you ever want to do the 46ers, mountains like this are good practice and they prepare you for a lot of them. Many of them don't have any views at the top."
Sean and I were well aware before we departed that morning that Scarface didn't offer many views. That didn't mean we didn't have a good time. We had great conversations, jokes, and lots of nature to keep us entertained.
If you're looking for views of the landscape or are an inexperienced hiker... Then, Scarface may not be for you. I also wouldn't recommend this trail for little kids. However, if that doesn't apply to you,
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| View from the ledge. |
Also, my personal opinion: If you are attempting to do the Saranac Lake Six, then you may want to consider doing Scarface somewhere in the middle so that you sandwich it between mountains with better views.
How to Get There: Take Rt 86 from Saranac Lake towards Lake Placid. Turn Right on Ray Brook road and continue past the prisons. The trailhead will be on your right.
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| Enjoying dinner in the shadow of the Sixer bell in Saranac Lake after hiking Scarface Mountain. |
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| Sean Cools off in the crystal clear runoff during our descent. |
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