The hiking poles dangled below my body as I wedged myself between a tree and a very large rock. This was a difficult move, but I shimmied up the rock, feeling strong. I then tried to swim through some small pines that ended up punching me in the eye. I came to a clearing with no trail markers, no discernible trail and only options to go down. But I knew the summit of McKenzie. This was not the summit.
I was lost, on top of a large rock I could barely climb up with no clear way to know where I was.
I slammed my sticks into the rock, yelling at the wrong turn that brought this misfortune. I was on the clock - trying to break my won fastest known time (FKT) for unsupported male I set last year on the Saranac 6er.
I centered myself, slid down the huge rock and started looking for the trail again. I found it faster than I anticipated and was back on course. I knew McKenzie tortured climbers with false summits, so I wasn't surprised to descending again.
Until I grabbed onto a tree branch that moved unexpectedly on my descent. I had grabbed that tree before. I slammed my sticked into the ground and turned around again to head up the mountain. I had descended 150 feet in 5 minutes and needed to climb it again to get back on the path.
On only the second mountain I was lost, losing time, and losing confidence. Multiple times on McKenzie I wondered if I quit now. It seemed like today wasn't my day.
Yet, the run didn't start out that way. It also didn't end that way!
The Saranac 6er involves hiking 6 mountains around the town of Saranac Lake. You have to start and end in the town center. I did Baker, McKenzie, Haystack, Scarface, Ampersand, and St. Regis.
This year was 2 miles longer because you couldn't park near Baker, but had to run one mile to the trailhead. This turned out to be a strong warm up as I summited quickly with a beautiful view from an overlook. After tapping the summit marker, I turned to descend and was three minutes ahead of my goal.
Things started strong on McKenzie, albeit challenging, because trying to climb a mountain is hard. I had forgotten. Running hills in Manhattan doesn't prepare you for the challenges of Adirondack mountains! McKenzie is the most technical climb. Many times I dropped my sticks to climb up large rock formations.
It had rained a lot the week before my attempt so that trails were sloppy. The biggest concern was mud-covered rocks causing slipping and sliding. The Brooks Caldera proved to be a key mountain companion for this FKT attempt! (more to come on that in another blog post. I was shocked by how well they performed.)
I was going strong until I was turned around. And then was turned around again. Back on the trail, and going in the right direction, it became a mental game. I'm surprised by how climbing a mountain is so mental. I needed to stay in it. I was busy beating myself up for losing time and wasting energy to ascend and descend a section twice. Once was painful enough.
I made it to the actual summit of McKenzie and it was stunning. The views from the actual top were all fog, but it was deafeningly silent. (Once I make more space on the blog, I'll post videos from this run!) It was shocking as I expected wind to howl through. The silence took my breath away. It felt like a gift after all the noise of climbing, failing, getting lost, and berating myself.
"Stay in the game Tim. Stay in the game."
After managing not to fall on my face, I made the turn to Haystack. Well, I fell on my butt, but it was a gentle fall without any lasting pain - hooray! This summit and trail feels like it's all downhill after the technicality of McKenzie. This quick ascent was a confidence booster. I then crushed the descent back to my car. When I saw the downhill pace on my watch, I felt a surge of energy towards my goal. Maybe it would be possible to break 9 hours, ifjust my own record from last year?
I corrected my mistakes from Scarface last year, not going past the summit (which is just a white piece of plastic nailed to a tree!). As I was attempting to move quickly, I didn't spend much time at the views along the way. As I write this from Manhattan, my soul cries out for those soaring views of trees, mountains, and lakes.
I needed to switch watches because one was dying (not part of the plan). I'm glad I brought both watches, otherwise, the attempt would not have been official. After recording the watch switch, I was back in the car and driving to Ampersand. My legs were glad for the break.
My playlist for the drives was the Haken set list from their live concert in NYC. Major shout out to my brother Will for turning me onto them two months ago. Their driving rhythms and soaring melodies have powered me through many runs. This includes a new marathon PR and this FKT attempt.
Ampersand is the mountain I know the best and it almost broke me. My legs were rebelling at this point, but I still had legs for the flats and downhills. The steep incline up Ampersand crushed my body one step at a time. While I was able to keep moving, my energy was lagging and I questioned my ability to keep going.
Did I push it too hard on the first 4 mountains?
Was assuming my marathon training would carry through too optimistic?
Did I get fueling wrong?
Why was my body feeling so wrecked?
I can hear the responses now - you were tired because you were doing something a little over the sanity line? Fair enough. And I can't wait to climb more mountains the next chance I get!
The ascent of Ampersand came one step at a time. And it was beautiful. Every time I've made it to the top of Ampersand the screaming winds on the top of the exposed rock was terrifying. I wanted to get down as soon as possible. This year it was peaceful and the 360 degree views were amazing!
Part of me wanted to stay at the top for a while, have a drink, eat all my food, and take a break. Yet, the FKT was beckoning, so I spun around and went back down. Later, when I was looking at my time for Ampersand, I hit the same time as last year. I was shocked. I thought I bombed my FKT attempt with my Ampersand struggles.
The watch switch was a gift. I wasn't sure exactly when I started (I knew it was after 6:45am and before 7am) and so I didn't know if I was on track for my goals. All I could do was give it my best. Time and time again, I find this to bring out the best in me. The ability to listen to my body, assess my capacity and respond wisely has always brought out the best in me.
There was St. Regis left, which was a 6.6 mile round trip, but very runnable. I was ready for the last mountain. The path through the first two miles is rolling hills and beautiful. I made it to the climb with some energy left in the tank, even as the stone staircases slowed me down.
There's this amazing fire tower at the top of St. Regis that makes the summit more exciting. My spirits lifted as I saw it through the trees, and broke onto the summit. After two quick videos I began my descent. I could run well when the trail was smooth and downhill. Anything upwards was a challenge and I found myself quickly out of breath.
The pull of the car and being done was strong! Seeing the sign in booklet meant I was almost there! I'm so grateful for the park rangers that maintain trails and keep an eye on these books. The extra minute it took to sign in and sign out on each trail is well worth it!
The timer only stops when you return to the town center. So I drove quickly, aware that I was close to hitting sub 9:20, but not sure I would make it. Driving was smooth for the trip until I encountered some speed-limit aware drivers close to town. The steering wheel some more aggressive tapping in those few minutes.
I turned into the parking lot, jumped out of the car, and limp-sprinted to the Saranac 6er bell.
Two years in a row I had run 6 mountains in under 10 hours. Last year it took me 9 hours and 39 minutes total. This year was 9 hours, 18 minutes and 55 seconds! Another new FKT.
I'm still shocked at that time after my struggles on McKenzie. What an amazing day and what a gift.
I'm hoping for at least two more posts on this run. One about the shoes and another about all the people I dedicated the run to. My friend Glen gave me the idea to dedicate it to friends and mentors who've impacted me during my time in Saranac Lake. It's a long list of amazing people. Can't wait to tell you more about them!