As we were catching our breath, the view nearly stole it from us again. Visibility stretched to the curved horizon, as we beheld the sprawling Adirondack wilderness. We admired the earthy monuments of the high peaks to our south, and the far reaching hills of the New York North Country. Reaching the peak of Ampersand Mountain is truly a rejuvenating experience, reminding you that life’s value is found in awe striking moments such as that.

This past Sunday, I hiked Ampersand with Mikey, Belinda and Cole.

Ampersand is a mountain nestled in the northern area of the Adirondack high peak region, located in northern New York. The mountain itself is not a high peak. However, a distinguishing feature of the mount is its very large peak area with a true and clear 360 degree view - a characteristic that it shares with only a few other mountains that are not a sanctioned ADK high peak. A moderately - agressive 5.4 mile hike, the route 30 trail head (found between the Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake) leads you to a hike that takes you up 1775′ vertical feet to a breath taking view.

My crew caught a beautiful early spring day: 45 degrees, clear blue skies, and a light breeze only on the mountain top. The trail was still covered with melting snow pack. Almost 2 feet deep in places, our feet would sporadically drop the depth as the ice cap on the snow was spotty in places.

The hike was rather difficult as we gently glided along the snow packed route without the aid of snowshoes. The ascent proved to be especially difficult, as the trail does not take to very many switch backs. In places where the pitch was considerable, we had to employ a rather awkward sidestep as we reached for whatever growth we could use to aid our climb.

It had been sunny and warm in the days previous, leaving us a wonderfully clear and dry peak area. As we were catching our breath, the view nearly stole it from us again. Visibility stretched to the curved horizon, as we beheld the sprawling Adirondack wilderness. We admired the earthy monuments of the high peaks to our south, and the far reaching hills of the New York North Country. Reaching the peak of Ampersand Mountain is truly a rejuvenating experience, reminding you that life’s value is found in awe striking moments such as that.

The descent was the most exhilarating part of the trip. Mike bravely took the first few steps off the peak, onto the steep descending pitch, only to straighten out and swiftly land on his ass, and subsequently body luge at a frightening speed about 30 feet down the trail before he was able to regain control. What followed was a fast paced slide down the mountain, whether it was on our feet, our knees, or, as Cole tended to do, on our rears. We turned almost an hour and a half of ascent work, into literally 10 minutes of descent. What a great time!

The group retired to car, our stabilizer muscles exhausted from fighting the slick trail conditions. The view off the top of Ampersand is a view not to be missed.

Anybody else have an experience with this mountain?

See you out there!
- jbrickman