For whom the bell tolls.. it tolls for ̶t̶h̶e̶e̶ me. Please forgive the artistic license I have taken in co-opting the lofty thoughts of John Donne and Ernest Hemingway for use in an ordinary trip report but on Friday I completed my Saranac 6 then afterward stopped at Berkeley Green in Saranac Lake to ring the ceremonial Saranac 6er bell a half dozen times. Other than the tolling of the bell there was no fanfare, no speeches, no applause... hell, no witnesses, but it was nice to celebrate the completion of this list in an unique way even though it wasn't ever high among my hiking priorities. My Saranac 6 was not "Ultra" and unless there's some special recognition for finishing in 476 days then it was just another run-of-the-mill conclusion of a 6er round. My finishing peak was Haystack. There's a certain symmetry to that since I finished my ADK46 on Mt Haystack and now my S6 on Haystack Mountain. And yes, I planned it that way. For the record my favorite old-time wrassler was Haystacks Calhoun.
So I approached Haystack via the Jackrabbit Trail. There's nothing remotely special about this trail, probably because it's a ski trail. Wide, gently graded, and just full of small loose rocks. It reminded me of the parade scene in "Animal House" when Flounder released 10,000 marbles into the path of the Niedermeyer's ROTC platoon. Seemed like I nearly turned an ankle a hundred times walking up and down this trail. The Jackrabbit Trail does not lead to Haystack's summit though. You have to go off trail to get there. I had sketchy details about a possible herdpath so I packed a pair of pants, some gloves, and had a route planned with compass bearings with the thought I would be bushwhacking the last third of a mile (as the crow flies) to the top. What a waste of extra weight and planning. I got to the height of land just northeast of the summit and immediately discovered a small cairn marking the start of a well-trodden herdpath. You'd have to be purposely avoiding it not to find it. No special clothing needed. No compass either. There's never a chance to lose this easy trail. I quickly covered the half mile and 300 feet of elevation gain from the cairn to the summit. A very easy walk that was much more scenic and remote feeling than the trail I approached on. They may as well mark the trail and maintain it. The path is so beaten down I can't see it going away any time soon.
The view from the Haystack summit is great. About a 180 degree panorama starting from the Sentinel Range to the east, around to Pitchoff, Cascade & Porter, the Great Range from Gothics to Marcy, the Macs, Street & Nye, MacNaughton, the Sawtooths, Scarface, the Sewards, and finally Ampersand and Saranac Lake to the southwest. Plus a bunch more I've left out. I spent some time chatting with a couple who were working on the Saranac 6 while in town on vacation then headed back down the hill. I was out of the car for just over two hours total including twenty minutes on the summit.
That was the end of my afternoon but I actually started that morning at Catamount Mountain which is located just north of Whiteface. What a gem! Fantastically fun hike. If you've never been... go!!! The trailhead is on Forestdale Road northwest of Wilmington. Seems like a very lightly traveled road. No cars as I drove down it. Just two flocks of wild turkeys crossing the road. Over a dozen BIG turkeys. I wondered why they were crossing the road but was chicken to ask them.
The parking area is just off Forestdale and is big enough to probably hold 25 cars or more. I was the only car there to start the day. Anyway, the first 0.75 miles of the trail is pretty flat gaining only 200 feet of elevation. The trail then begins climbing moderately to steeply through the forest for the next 0.6 miles gaining another 750 feet of elevation. You come out of the woods at the base of a near vertical climb up a chimney in the rock. The trail gets very fun from there to the summit. See pics below for a blow-by-blow of some of the more interesting parts and to get a flavor of what the trail is like. There's some steep climbing for the next little ways (another 150 feet of ele gain) until you come to the bump at 2800' where you get an incredible view of the climb you have remaining.
From where you come out of the woods to the summit the trail is a bit confusing to follow at times. There are lots of spots where you just don't see your next move. One, because a lot of it is on open rock with sporadically-placed and sometimes misleading cairns and two, the trail markers aren't particularly easy to spot along the way. Seems like you're always searching for them in confusing spots and unable to find any, and when you don't need them they were always staring you right in the face. This was easily the most counter-intuitive trail I've ever been on. Not that I ever strayed more than twenty or thirty feet from where I should have been but I had maybe a dozen instances of being confused on which way to continue on a MARKED TRAIL. Go left and find nothing... walk back and go right. Or vice versa. A mild irritation but all a fun part of the experience given the terrain.
So the last 0.6 miles gains 450 feet going in and out of the woods and with some more fun scrambles on the open rock. Overall a great climb. You arrive at the summit to awesome views. Esther & Whiteface and Moose & McKenzie to the south with the Santas, Sawtooths, and Seward peaking up behind them off in the distance. Averill & Lyon to the north along with Taylor Pond and Silver Lake as well as Union Falls Pond and Cranberry Pond to the northwest. And a close up view of the Stephenson and Wilmington ranges to the south and southeast. There are some trees up top but if you poke around you can get clean views in all directions.
On my way down I ran into two women ascending then another half dozen people just a few hundred yards from the trail register. A small crowd on gorgeous day on a gorgeous mountain. Between Catamount and Haystack I had a nice 10-mile walk with about 2800 feet of elevation gain for the day. A solid medium distance outing and an extremely fun day.
Pictures from my day...
Start here on Forestdale Road. The trailhead sign says 2362 feet of elevation gain. Holy cow is this wrong! Not matter how you slice it the elevation gain on the ascent isn't more than 1600 feet. Figure it out on a topo map or use your GPS to be more precise, but even counting some tiny ups and downs for the round trip you never come out with more than 1700 feet total.
The trail down low on the flats...
Typical section of trail on the climb to open rock...
Looking up at what awaits you...
The chimney climb...
About halfway up inside...
Looking back down on what you just climbed from about 20 feet above the exit of the chimney...
Typical sections of trail...
View of the Wilmington Range as I was perched precariously on the edge of a huge drop-off...
