We had a late start to our day, which did not deter us, other than we did not see as much as we wanted, we did meet our objective (Gray Peak). We signed in at the trailhead at 8 am on the dot. The sky was a beautiful blue, with not much of a cloud in sight. As the day wore on this would change and gradually the clouds would roll in, but not sock in the summits.
The trail was a hard crust of ice and some powder snow (less than an inch). This season has been horrible for snow accumulation. This makes hiking not as enjoyable in some regards. While the lack of snow does allow the ability to hike further with micro-spikes and not show shoes, it makes it hard on the feet wearing micro-spikes all day.
We made good time to Marcy Dam, just...
{This was a complete hit, alongside a juicy-Italian marinated grilled chicken breast this afternoon}
TIP: Make extra Italian dressing (separately), to marinate your chicken overnight
Makes about 6 servings
Salad Ingredients:
6 small zucchini, spiralized *( CleanFoodCrush.com/Spiralizer )
1 small red onion, sliced
1 pint organic cherry tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup black olives
12 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained
Fresh chopped parsley as garnish
Clean Eating Homemade Italian Dressing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 Tbsp Italian herbs
1/2 tsp dijon mustard, no sugar added
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4...
The first half of this trail follows old roads over relatively flat terrain through coniferous forest and past rippling brooks. Eventually, the trail begins a steady climb. Side trails lead to an open ledge with views overlooking Oseetah Lake and the Saranac Lake chain. The other views on the trail require some bushwhacking, and the summit itself does not offer a view.
This wraps up my winter Saranac Lake 6 list. It was 16 degrees when we left the truck with little to no wind. Perfect hiking temps. We saw about 12 other people on the trail, one of which was a troll. He asked if I was from the upper peninsula (seen my license plate), I told him I was, then he pointed to the center of his open hand and said "I'm a troll, from...
Derek and I had originally planned to hike Gray, Redfield, and Cliff mountains. Like typical men, we changed our minds while en route. Actually, the dynamics of our hike changed from the previous high peak hike, we were off to a late start, and snowshoes. This was the first time this season snowshoes were needed (required).
We opted to make this a conditioning hike, and downshifted and took a nice walk into Avalanche and Colden lakes. It was a 10.04-mile round trip hike that offered some beautiful views. I made my attempt at capturing this, but nothing compares to actually standing on the lakes soaking in the views. Our change of plans diverted us from taking the trail to lake Arnold and going straight up to Avalanche lake. This gave...
A short late morning jaunt. A bit cool today, temps were around 11 degrees in Saranac Lake with a 20 mph wind that made it feel colder. We originally planned to do Scarface mountain, but with the bitter cold temperatures, we chose something shorter in case the dogs had any issues. Both dogs did fine, and we all had a blast.
Distance: 1.8 miles RT (3 km)
Ascent: 884 (270 m)
Elevation: 2452 (747 m)