On Sunday morning, I got my backside moving a bit earlier than usual. Breakfast for Ziggy and me? Check. A hydration reservoir full of sports drink? Check. A clean litter box for the Zigmeister? Done and dusted. After stopping at Nori’s for a supplemental coffee, I lit out for Paul Smiths.
A hundred yards down Keese Mills Road from the VIC’s Black Pond trail head, the Saint Regis Mountain trail head is on the other side of the road. At 2838 feet, it’s far from the biggest peak in the Adirondacks.
In fact, it’s the 213th biggest mountain up here. With snow remaining up at high altitude, I wanted to continue climbing bumps like Jenkins Mountain, that I’d never summited.
Saint Regis Mountain is part of the Saranac 6. This grouping may have been created to attract people away from Lake Placid, or it might have been created to ease hiker pressure in the High Peaks. The other five mountains are Baker, Scarface, Little Haystack, McKenzie, and Ampersand.
Last summer, Ripitz, Freebird, and Powerman pulled off an epic trip, bagging them all in one day. Saint Regis would be my fifth of the six that I’ve bagged over the years. With a bridge out on the Scarface trail, it’ll be a while before I complete this list.
I slathered Bye-Bye Black Fly, shouldered the hydration pack, and started walking. From the parking lot, I walked about a tenth of a mile up a fire road. A sign pointed into the woods. I signed in at the trail register and set out.
The trail started out with a decent incline, but overall, it was dry and easy going. Once I was away from Lower Saint Regis Lake, the black flies weren’t bad. After going through a dark stand of evergreens, the trail descended for half a mile before ramping back upward. The grade was steady, never really terrible.
About a mile in, I found a sign proclaiming “Mose Sawyer Sugar Bush.” Moses Sawyer was an Adirondack character. Born in Canada in 1840, he emigrated to the Adirondacks aged 21. He worked at Paul Smiths Hotel and was a caretaker at what is now Camp Topridge on Upper Saint Regis Lake.
He was also a guide, with his more famous clients being Teddy Roosevelt and Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, the tuberculosis researcher, right here in Saranac Lake. One of his descendants is Gary Trudeau of Doonesbury fame.
In the second mile, the forest thinned out. There were some mature trees, but there was very little understory. Reading later in the day, I learned that forest fires had burned over much of this part of the Adirondacks in 1903 and 1908.
In the last half mile, the trail got steeper and wetter. Hangry black flies lurked in the muddy bits waiting for humans. There were two stretches of built steps, but there were none of the huge rock ledges that feature on Mount Colden, Algonquin and other high peaks.
The summit was partially bare — according to Wikipedia, a surveyor’s party led by Verplanck Colvin started a fire on the summit in 1876. The fire tower affords great views in all directions. But I was too chicken to go more than halfway up the stairs. I took some photos, had a bite to eat, and swatted black flies.
After grokking the summit, I started back down. The cranky right knee that dogged me on Jenkins Mountain complained again as I picked my way down the steep bits. A kilometer down from the summit, the going got easier.
Unlike Jenkins Mountain, I didn’t have solitude on Saint Regis. Yet it wasn’t crazy crowded the way the High Peaks can get. I went home, to a happy cat and a nice dinner.
Saint Regis Mountain is a nice hike for those who are new to the Adirondacks. Great views for a reasonable effort. If you can find it, Bye-Bye Black Fly works pretty well as a repellent for the New York state insect. Deet-free, it’s locally formulated right here in the Adirondacks.
Good report! What do you use to repel deer ticks?
Bill, I don’t use anything specifically for ticks. I’m told that they dislike lavender. Bye-Bye Black Fly works well enough on the eponymous insect.
Sounds and looks like a nice place to hike. Thanks for the fly repellent recommendation.
Great shots Peter but, pictures don’t do that view justice. It’s simply breathtaking up there. One has to see it to believe it. Happy to hear you made it up. Looks like you had a good weather day. Sounds like you’ll be ringing the bell soon.
That is one happy looking cat. Good stuff as always, Peter.
Thank you, Brownski. I’m one lucky cat dad.
Fantastic view in your photo of Whiteface.
Bill, I am true believer in Permethrin for deer ticks. I have sprayed my woods clothes with it and get ZERO ticks and I push through thick herd paths, thickets, overgrown pastures, deep woods, … It last along time between applications also.
What a great day and terrific view of Whiteface. I need to make this hike a higher priority of mine.