Haystack Mt

Sunset over the Saranac Lakes

After the Loon Lake hike, I hit up the Blue Line Brewery in Saranac Lake for a very tasty Split Rock ale which reminded me of the beers I had in London.  It's set in an old car wash which makes it quite interesting.  I then drove a few miles up Route 86 to the trail head for Haystack Mt.  This is a different mountain than the 46er peak with the same name.

Former car wash now the Blue Line Brewery

Haystack from Route 86

This would be a late start and I'd definitely be walking out in the dark.  I had a headlamp, but not two.  As I was walking up, a woman commented about my late start.  I told her I want to see the sun set.  The trail is a little over 3 miles with only a little over 1000 feet elevation gained.  Most of it is on the mile spur trail to the summit.

The sun set at around 7:30 so I reached the summit with time to spare.  Views were mostly to the south towards Scarface, Ampersand and Oseetah Lake.  With a little effort I found some views toward Saranac Lake.  It's been a while since I watched the sun set, so it felt quite nice.

Marcy and the MacIntyre Range

Scarface and the Great Range in the distance

Ampersand and Oseetah Lake

The Sewards

The walk down was quite uneventful, but I regretted only having one headlamp.  I made it down the steep sections under twilight, but needed the light for the last hour of walking.  If my lamp crapped out I may have had to spend the night in the woods with the temperature dropping into the 30s.  I plan to carry two for now on.