509. "Saranac Sixers" Travelin' Light Rocks 1
Another set of mini "stamp rocks" to mark some great "little climbs" in the 'Dacks!

What a nice little treat we got in the summer of 2013, when we went up to the Adirondacks to climb a few more of the 46 mountains over 4,000' in upstate NY that count towards "46-ers", only to find that there is now a much easier club to join in Saranac Lake called ... "6-ers"! Yup, there were banners all up and down the main street in Saranac Lake this summer proclaiming the existence of this newly orgainized venture to get folks out climbing the "less High Peaks" surrounding the Saranac Lake area, none of which is over 4,000', but all of which are great fun climbs nonetheless! Turns out half of them already had letterboxes on them (one being a mystery box that we planted many years ago, but don't know if it's ever been found yet), so we figured why not plant "stamp rocks" on the remaining three mountains and encourage other letterboxers to become "6-ers", too!

So, a quick doodle with the carving knife (hey, even I can carve an ampersand, a scarred-up-looking face, and my interpretation of what a Scotsman named McKenzie might look like!;-), and off we went to become "6-ers"! Hopefully we'll have more letterboxers joining us as "6-ers" soon, but please don't underestimate the time it takes to climb these three particular rocky-topped mountains, which are not "rock climbs" per se, but still require several hours of rather strenuous hiking. The first two are each about six or seven miles round trip, and the last one, McKenzie, is well over 12 miles round trip if you take in another "6-er", Haystack, as a side trip along the way to the summit, as we did that day. That being said, we decided to leave the last "stamp rock" where it could be more easily accessed by several different routes, including possibly by X-C skiing in winter, or by about seven miles round trip on the standard route for those not wishing to go the whole distance to the summit. In any case, please do your homework before going out to tackle these mountains. That is why we're not even going to give you the starting points for these climbs this time, so that you can do your own research to find out whether you're up for it or not. The climbs are definitely their own reward, but if these stamps can serve as tiny carrots or a little bit of "icing on the cake", that would be great, too!

1. Ampersand

Go to the top of Ampersand Mountain. Pass the summit, following the yellow blazes curving SE towards the former fire tower. To your left you should see a green plaque dedicated to the "Hermit of Ampersand" on a large flat southeast facing ledge. Go the flat vertical northwest face of that same ledge. Half a foot north of the northwest rock face in a somewhat secluded alcove south of a westerly pointing rock formation, find a foot-long, half-foot-high squarish rock, and under its western side, several small stones. Behind the middle 2-inch-long black stone is a 1-inch ambersandy-orangish stone with an Ampersand glued onto its underbelly.

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