Ampersand Mt.

Place: Ampersand Mt.

Town: Near Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake in Adirondack Park

Get there: From Saranac Lake, take NY Route 3 West about 8 miles to parking area on right and cross the highway

My Hike: Ampersand has a special place in my heart because it was the first mountain I ever hiked. I hiked here on a weekend trip to see my friend Jenna at St. Lawrence University. Its an easy 3 hour hike and we had a picnic at the summit. The trail is well marked; it was a bit tricky at points because it was muddy but I think it is really doable for anyone. It was a pretty dismal day weather wise. It rained and we had no view at the summit, but I still loved every second. The best part was feeling like we were inside a cloud on the summit. We nestled into a rock crevice to escape the wind and just ate sandwiches and watched. I felt like we were stargazing. We looked out off the summit (into the clouds) and every once in a while the clouds would lift and we would get really excited about the little view that we had waited so patiently for.

Of course, just as we got a quarter of the way down the mountain the clouds seemed to be lifting, but no regrets here. The wind was really strong on the summit (at one point we felt like we were going to be blown over so we sat down on the rock).

Ampersand is not one of the Adirondacks 46 high peaks. It's 3352 ft high so it misses the 4000 ft mark, but it was a spectacular summit. There's Lots of room to explore on the huge completely rock summit. Toward the top of the mountain there was also some fun off-the-trail places to explore and climb around (picture a jungle gym for adults).

This mountain is highly accessible as a day trip. It only took us about 2 hours to get to the top. You can really take your time and enjoy yourself, and the rewards at the top are great. It was a great 1st mountain experience.

Warning: It is a popular mountain (Potential Hermit Types Beware). I went in late September on a rainy Saturday and still saw about 20 other folks. The good news is you can really spread out on the spacious summit.