Rain and responsibilities conspired to keep me off the hiking trails this summer – until Friday. On the first day of September I grabbed a late season chance to challenge myself with a good, long, strenuous trek up one of the Adirondack High Peaks.
I choose Sawteeth, which stands 4,100 feet in elevation, making it the 35th highest among the 46 over 4,000 feet. The peak is aptly named because of its multiple summits that, from a distance, give the appearance of teeth in a saw blade. It rises sharply above Lower Ausable Lake and stands just south of the Great Range.
There are two approaches up Sawteeth. The shorter route begins on the Weld Trail toward Gothics and takes a left turn up the north slope. The longer route is called the Scenic Trail. Following the advice of others who have experience with this peak, I ascended by way of the 3.1-mile scenic trail and descended by the shorter 2.6-mile route, making a circle of 5.7 miles. But that’s not the entire hike. Before getting to the actual trailhead at the east end of the lake, it is necessary to walk the entire length of the privately-owned Lake Road. The distance from designated parking for hikers to the lake is 3.9 miles, so the trek covered a total of 13.5 miles. From end to end, the Lake Road gains 700 feet in elevation. The ascent up Sawteeth nets another 2,275 feet.
Sawteeth’s summit doesn’t feature a broad expansive view in all directions, but it is spectacular in its own way, and the Scenic Trail includes a little of everything – a challenging scramble along the lake shore over big boulders, several severely steep climbs that require use of all four limbs, and occasional ladders leaning against massive rocks that can’t be scaled without them. But this arduous climb is made much more bearable by five outlooks that afford gorgeous views of Lower Ausable Lake and the peaks to the south, east and west. The sheer drop at the edge of the outcrops is enough to make your fingers tingle, but they allow the hiker to see the lake from higher and higher perches, and eventually to also see Upper Ausable Lake and distant peaks stretching out behind it.
The first summit of Sawteeth is treed, but at the second, you are looking directly into the massive slides on Gothics, Saddleback, and Basin, with Marcy and most of the Great Range in good view. It’s a different perspective than I’ve gotten from any of the other high peaks – mesmerizing, really, even if not wide open.
On the descent there are multiple views of the Gothics slides, and just before reaching the junction with the scenic trail, I was rewarded with a nice overlook of Rainbow Falls – a 150-foot vertical cascade into a deep ravine. I’ve been to the base of the falls twice before. This was the first time I had seen them from above.
After hikes like this, I am grateful for strong enough lungs to get up and strong enough knees to get down. I need more time than I used to, but I’m not sure that isn’t a blessing. I was in no hurry on Friday. The design of the trail bid me to adopt a leisurely pace, and I did. On the way down, I met two men a little older than me who were also avid Adirondack hikers. We shared memories and observations from our high peaks excursions, and one of them told me that most people don’t take the scenic trail up Sawteeth because “all they’re interested in is ‘bagging’ the peak,” so they take the shortest route up and down.
I get the whole “peak-bagger” thing. I’m just not into it. I am often asked if I’ve scaled all 46 of the high peaks. My truthful response is, “no, only about half of them, but maybe I’ll get there eventually.”
I just might, really, but it’s not the sport for me that it is for others. I have great affection for these mountains. When I see grand peaks up close, like I did on Friday, I feel privileged. When I enjoy a 360-degree panorama on an open summit, I feel transported more than triumphant. And on the way up and back down, I am grateful for wildflowers, brooks, cascades, and all sorts of interesting fungi that bring color and beauty to the journey.
I rather enjoy the moments when I see a trail marker in the distance or high above me but no easy way to get there. Sometimes it’s a matter of solving a puzzle, finding where to put a foot or where to grab hold with a hand in order to cross a swollen stream or pull myself up over unforgiving rock. I even laugh in those moments when the only way up – or down – is obvious, but causes me to say (to the trail-cutters or the trail, I’m not sure which), “You’ve got to be kidding.”
These hikes – portions of which are noted in trail descriptions as “mostly level,” “gently sloping, “moderately steep,” “steep,” or “with poor footing” – remind me of various life passages I’ve already completed and make me wonder what sort of path lies ahead. Hiking is pregnant with metaphors for life. Maybe, in the end, that’s what is so appealing about it. Yes, it is a welcome diversion. But on the other hand, a good, challenging hike always puts me more in touch with my life and myself. It is also a form of prayer – a communion with the Creator and creation.
©2017 by J. Mark Lawson
Thanks for your reflections and your great photos, Mark!
Posted by: Michael Salamone | 09/14/2017 at 05:56 PM