McKenzie

McKenzie... Oh, McKenzie...

After hiking Ampersand two weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to be a Saranac Lake Sixer. I initially wanted to KO McKenzie Mountain next. It's the biggest of the Sixer's and I wanted to take it on... But, after some thought, I decided to put it on hold for a minute.

That was about to change...

I woke up on August 1 after climbing St. Regis Mountain and Scarface Mountain on consecutive days feeling fresh.The Sixer bug had gotten a hold of me and I was loving every minute it. As I went through my morning routine, I began to have an internal conversation and it went something like this:

That was it.

At 11:30 on a Tuesday morning, I decided I was going to knock out McKenzie. I once again reached out to Sean to see if he would join me on the trails for a third day in a row. He respectfully declined and I understood that. So, I then contacted my buddy Ryen who is a good guy to call on for crazy last minute ideas. He said "Sure."

It was ON.

I quickly packed my things and picked up Ryen and we headed for Lake Placid. It was a hot and beautiful day and we had a nice ride to the trailhead.

However, we hit the trail at 2:30pm which is an awfully late time to start the hike. That didn't matter. I had determination on my side.

The Jack Rabbit Trail can save you
a mile or two on your hike to the
summit of McKenzie.

There's two trails that can get you to the base of both McKenzie and Haystack Mountain. I opted for the slightly shorter entrance-way at the Whiteface Jack Rabbit Cross Country Trail.

The Jack Rabbit trail is about a two-mile walk to base and it is mostly flat (albeit rocky) and it borders quite a bit of private property. So, if you take this route, take caution and do not trespass.

Stay on the trail. Plain and simple.

In my opinion, the Jack Rabbit trail isn't very exciting. There isn't a lot to take in. However, if one is interested in bringing a tent and camping before climbing McKenzie (or McKenzie and Haystack) there is a lean-to where you can set up camp just over a mile and a half in.

Eventually, you hit the fork in the road. Left takes you to Haystack. Straight take you to... well.. I

Take a right at the fork in the road.
There isn't a silver fork in the road...

 don't know... Right takes you to McKenzie.

Obviously, we turned right.

Immediately, the mountain hits you. You begin ascending quickly on a rocky trail caked in mud.

McKenzie is a big girl and she doesn't joke around. It's all uphill from here. She hits and she hits hard. At 3861' feet, McKenzie is just shy of being a 46er. But also take note, thanks to modern surveying, she is actually bigger than at least one of the 46er's (Couchsachraga).

Ryen and I worked McKenzie at a fast pace.  We realized we were racing the sun. We took very little time on our breaks and kept pushing forward. There were few points of relief at the pace we were moving. We dealt with a lot of mud and a lot of physical climbing under the sun's hot rays. There were a few brief moments where we turned around and quickly enjoyed the peeks of views through the trees before trucking onward. I hardly touched my camera on the way up.

Finally, we met a moment of relief. We hit an area that evened off and offered some side trails with amazing views. It felt like the summit was within our reach...

You can't see it in this pic... But, the real
summit is over a half mile to the Right.

And... we were wrong... we were dead wrong...

The trail and ledge to our left gave us a great view of the Saranac Lake region... But, when we looked to the right from that spot we could see another peak.

"I think that's the Summit," said Ryen.

"No. No... That has to be another mountain," I replied.

I was wrong.

From that point, we had to cross three or four more False Summits which included a lot of climbing up-and-down over a half-mile until we reached the actual summit which we previously viewed from the ledge. En route, there were a number of side paths which gave us more great views of the Saranac Lake-Lake Placid regions.

Finally... exhausted...we reached the real tree-enclosed Summit of McKenzie. It was the biggest

feeling of relief and accomplishment that I had felt in years. From there, some side trails gave us more breathtaking views. But, time and the sun were working against us. We took everything in pretty quickly before deciding we needed to take on the arduous task of beating the sun down the mountain.

We took a few final pictures and quickly began our descent.

It took us just under an hour to reach the McKenzie-Haystack fork in the trail. It took an additional 20-30 minutes to get back to the car. I was beat as we walked along to the trailhead. At 7PM, we reached my car. I changed my shirt and socks, and threw on a light sweatshirt and we made our way back to a footbridge near the trailhead to relax for about 20 minutes.

I caught my breath and reflected upon the past three days as the mountain runoff played soundtrack to my thoughts. Every part of my body was tired. I ached. I was scraped up and bitten up...

Rock Men watched over Ryen & I as
we relaxed near the McKenzie trailhead.

 But, it felt great. I had KO'd McKenzie. I was looking forward to rest... But, I was also looking forward to the rest... of the Saranac Lake Sixer's!

Four were down.

Two more to go.





If you are out of shape or a small child... You probably shouldn't climb McKenzie. She's a big girl at 3861' and throws a lot of wrenches at you. The shortest route (Jack Rabbit) is well over 7 miles and there's quite a bit of physical climbing involved. Also, Don't start this mountain as late in the afternoon as we did (2:30PM). Start much earlier. Go at a relaxed pace (Unless you're Crossfit Jesus) and enjoy the hike.


McKenzie Mountain has two entrances. The first on Rt86 in Ray Brook and the one we took off Whiteface Inn Lodge Lane, a left off Rt86 on the Jack Rabbit Trail (which shaves off a mile-or-so).

Ryen Climbing McKenzie,

Scarface

Of course, a mountain with a name like Scarface would be located next to two prisons.
Much like the famous Al Pacino character which shares it's name with, Scarface is a bad boy.

...Alright, maybe not a bad boy... But, for a 3054' mountain, it is pesky.

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?"

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,

View from the ledge.

 then give Scarface a shot!

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.

Enjoying dinner in the shadow of the Sixer
bell in Saranac Lake after hiking
Scarface Mountain.

 

Sean Cools off in the crystal clear runoff during our descent.

St. Regis Mountain

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.

St. Regis Mountain's trail never got too difficult and we were able to reach the Summit at 12:50 at a very relaxed and comfortable pace.

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.

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.

DEC Junior Naturalist Program

      I started taking Kailee camping for her first times two years ago (2015) and at that time I learned of the NYS DEC Junior Naturalist Program.

It's a neat little project for kids to be entertained and educated while camping at one of select NYS Parks. Kids up to 13 years of age are allowed to grab a Junior Naturalist project book and play Nature Bingo, a crossword, animal identification and other games. They will love the expose on the yearly featured critter (this year was a chipmunk!) and learning about proper campsite etiquette and safety.

Upon completion of your stay at the campground, the kid shows their "completed" book to the Ranger and he gives them a badge displaying the aforementioned featured critter (yay chipmunk!).

  Kailee really loves working on these books every Summer and getting her impressive badge. She was 4-5 years old the first Summer we took camping trips and she kept calling it her "Smart Book.

"Wait, Dad! I Gotta work on my Smart Book!"

Now, grabbing a DEC book is a "must" of every camping trip for her.

And, I've gotta say... I wouldn't mind being able to grab my own book just for the sole reason of playing Nature Bingo!

The DEC Junior Naturalist program really is a great thing. Aside from paying park admission fee, the program and badge are free and it serves as a nice time-piece souvenir from the trip.

Kailee gives the program a thumbs up and a high five and so do I. Check it out the next time you go camping with your youngsters.

More information and a list of participating parks in the NYS DEC Junior Naturalist Program can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/21673.html .

Pictured Top-Bottom: 2015/Monarch, 2016/Bat, 2017/Chipmunk!)

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.

Little Haystack Mountain (Onchiota)

In my last story, I discussed our experiences & reviewed the Buck Pond path at Buck Pond Campsite.
It was a very easy trail, but at about the middle point of the trail, we noticed a re-purposed DEC sign with "Haystack Mountain" written on it with a faded marker and an arrow pointing to our right.


Little Haystack Mountain Trail Marker - Onchiota

I turned to Kailee and said "What do you think I'm going to say?"
She rolled her eyes and sarcastically replied,
"You're going to say 'Let's do it'."

And, so we gave it a shot. The beginning of the trail isn't too hard at all. With it being peak leaf season, we were surrounded by a sea of yellow. We also noticed that it felt warmer on the side of the mountain than it did down at the campground (it was a really cold day).
In no time, the trail leads one between some large boulders. Under some of them were openings, but we weren't in the mood to try our hands at spelunking.


Surrounded by yellow!

Little Haystack Mountain doesn't have DEC markers to let you know you're still on the trail. However, the trail is marked by tape strung around trees by other hikers.

We eventually came upon a hill full of decent sized boulders. We didn't realize that if we kept pushing forward a little that we could take an easier path upwards. Rather, we climbed a few hundred feet up the boulders before rejoining the trail, (we did take the correct way down).

Climbing through the boulder field wasn't too difficult and we continued on our way upwards. Then, we hit a point where it seemed good to stop and rest. We had an outstanding view of Lake Kushaqua from that juncture. From my estimation, we were 70-75% of the way to the top.


View of Lake Kushaqua from Little Haystack Mtn.

That was also the spot where we called it quits. We hadn't planned on tackling a mountain when we set out on the Buck Pond path. We were ill-equipped to go further. I didn't have the right shoes on and we would've needed more supplies and probably a rope (since Kailee is only six).  That being said, we were happy with what we had accomplished and I was very proud of Kailee's effort.

We made our way down Little Haystack and continued on the Buck Pond path. Even though we didn't reach the summit, there's always a chance that we will someday in the future.


Little Haystack Mountain

Rant Time: Little Haystack Mountain is one of at least three Haystack Mountains in the Adirondacks. It shouldn't be confused with the High Peak "Mount Haystack" which is the 3rd tallest mountain in the State, or the other Haystack Mountain that's part of the "Saranac Lake 6'ers" which is about ten miles south of Little Haystack.

Could we come up with a better naming system? Instead of reusing names & causing confusion? Could we maybe number them?

-End Rant-

In closing, we had fun on this trail and it offers more challenging conditions than the Buck Pond Trail. It does hit a point where it's probably too much for younger kids. But, I don't think there's anything wrong with a family giving it the old elementary school try and turning back when it becomes too difficult. For teens & adults, we say "Give it a shot!"

How to get to Little Haystack Mtn: Take Route 3 to Gabriels-Onchiota Road and turn right on it. Drive six miles to Buck Pond Campground. The Buck Pond Trail starts right off the main campground road.

Buck Pond Path

Kailee and I spent the last (NYS DEC) camping weekend of the season at Buck Pond in Onchiota. The campsite is a fantastic place with gorgeous views in every direction, and the experience was enhanced by it being peak leaf-peeping season. I'll speak more about the campground at a later time and would like to focus the hiking portion of or weekend in this piece.

The trail at Buck Pond Campsite is really easy to find and it can be enjoyed by anyone! Whether you're on foot, bike, or wheelchair, you can handle this trail -and- every inch of it offers lovely views of Lake Kushaqua.

-Buck Pond Trail - Lake Kushaqua on the left.

The Buck Pond trail runs along the old D&H railroad line and is the smoothest, easiest trail that I think I've ever been on. If you follow the trail to the end, you'll hit the the road and it's time for you to turn back towards the campground... Or, you can push on and see Mud Pond and the start of the Saranac River.

We had some funny moments on this trail. I'm a fast walker and because the trail is so easy, I would end up about 30-40 yards ahead of Kailee. So, I would stop and yell "On your mark, get set... Go!" And, Kailee would run towards me with a big smile on her face.


-Lake Kushaqua as seen from the Buck Pond Trail (Old D&H Line).


The trail itself is about a mile long each way and there are minimal risks... But, it offers beautiful scenery every step of the way, and it's accessible to anyone!
This is extremely easy trail is aimed to be easy on the eyes and feet... And, in those regards, it delivers!