Avalanche and Colden Lakes

Derek and I had originally planned to hike Gray, Redfield, and Cliff mountains. Like typical men we changed our minds while enroute. 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 down shifted 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 us another opportunity to meet up with some wonderful people. We ran into Inge, Geoff and his lovely bride Emily. We had a nice chat and found out they were heading to Marshal.

Last I seen of them Geoff was trying to catch up with the ladies. It was nice to meet the three of you, and a great day for a hike.

Scarface Mountain

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 seen 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 Vanderbilt." I thought that was neat.

Distance: 6.8 miles RT (10.9 km)
Ascent: 1480 (451 m)
Elevation: 3054 (931 m)

Baker Mountain

A short late morning jaunt. A bit cool today, temps were around 11 degrees in Saranac Lake with a 20 mph wind made it feel colder. We originally planned to do Scarface mtn, but with the bitter cold temps 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)