Hannah the hiker

Scarface sits at 3,054 feet and is part of the Saranac Lake 6er challenge!

This hike is pretty mellow, but could be long for folks who do not hike often. According to my GPS the entire hike was 8 miles with 1,821 feet in total elevation gain.

There is a small parking lot at the trailhead which is conveniently located next to a gas station. So, if the lot fills up I’m sure you could sneak a parking spot in there.

I went on May 13th with my brother, his girlfriend, and Cash. We started on the trail around 1:30 pm. A somewhat late start but we had plenty of daylight to finish the hike. The beginning of the hike is very easy with hardly any elevation gain. You walk on a bridge over Ray Brook and pass over the Adirondack Scenic Railroad trail which is pretty neat. The trail isn’t complete yet but when it is it will be available to use for atvs, hiking, biking, and camping. It will stretch about 34 miles! I am excited to check it out when it’s all done.

At about the 2 mile point on the Scarface Mountain Trail you will veer to the left instead of going straight. If you continue straight you will miss the top of Scarface completely. The trail is well marked and clear of blowdowns so it is easy to follow. After taking a left you will begin to gain about 1000 feet in elevation in 2 miles. It isn’t terrible, just take your time. Since the trail is in such nice shape I didn’t mind the uphill walking. There was hardly any mud so you don’t really run any risk of slipping.

You kind of level out in the last half mile to the top and it feels like you are just walking forever until you actually reach the meager looking summit. It is completely wooded with a small handmade sign that says “Welcome to the top!” There is a nice smooth rock to sit and rest on once you’re up there though, so that’s a plus. It was about 4 miles to get to the top, AllTrails states that its 3.4 miles, what a lie. It took us 2 hours, we took quite a few breaks.

The way back down was nice and easy. We only saw 4 people the entire way which was surprising. It was such a nice day out I thought there would be more hikers.

We got back to the car around 5:30.

Overall thoughts on the trail

I think this would be a good intermediate hike simply because of how long it is. The elevation gain is pretty gradual but only really sneaks up on you in the last 2 miles to the top.

We took lots of breaks as we are a little out of shape so it took longer than usual to hike. With that being said, taking lots of short breaks ensured that we weren’t totally wiped when we got to the top.

Cash did well on this hike. There were some rock jumps that were a little tall that he could manage but if you have a small dog you might have to pick them up and carry them in certain parts.

There were some streams throughout the first two miles of the hike so having water available is not an issue.

Overall, a great hike and it checked off another of the Saranac Lake 6 for me! Just McKenzie mountain left.

What I brought:

• 20L hiking daypack
• 2L water bladder
• 1L water bottle (for Cash)
• Mini first aid kit
• Altra Lone Peak 6s
• Altra gaitors
• Wool hiking socks
• Running shorts
• Tank top
• Light windbreaker
• Baseball cap
• Sunglasses
• Garmin InReach mini 2
• Cash’s backpack
• Water and food bowl for Cash
• Leash
• Headlamp
  • Food!
  • Fig bar
  • Cheez-its
  • Peanut Butter
  • Dog food
  • Cheese for Cash
  • Apples for Cash