FKT: Sarah Keyes - Saranac Ultra 6er Challenge (NY) - 2020-03-15

Athletes
Route variation
Standard route
Gender category
Female
Style
Supported
Finish date
Total time
7h 44m 58s
GPS track(s)
Photos
Report

After having my spring races cancelled I was eager to use my fitness and being that travel is currently limited I decided to go for a local route in my home mountains. After getting some trail beta on conditions Saturday I gathered some supplies and Sunday March 15, 2020 I decided to try the winter Saranac 6er Ultra Challenge. Being that this FKT starts and stops in the center of town at Berkley Green, we waited til we heard the bells toll for 7am and started our watches. Unsure of exactly how to track this activity on my watch I opted to start the activity in the park and then paused the watch for the driving segments as to not skew my pace and moving time. This FKT is a choose your own adventure type, being that traditionally people have done the peaks in their own desired order. I chose to get the longest and what I consider toughest peak done first, McKenzie. McKenzie is notorious for being steep and eroded, yesterday also being quite icy and hard to follow between false summits. After picking my way down ice burms with traction devices that failed I made my way to the Haystack herd path just a short jog up the Jackrabbit Trail. Next came Scarface, a mix of glare ice, dirt and packed snow; my least favorite of the peaks. Upon returning to the truck my crew surprised me with a new pair of micro spikes that would prove priceless for the next mountain, Ampersand. Ampersand has probably the best bang for your buck of any of the smaller peaks in the Adirondacks. Short and steep this 2.5mile trek in gains 1700', mostly in the last mile and a half. Where there weren't huge ice melts the trail was nicely packed runnable snow. The longest car travel came next out to St. Regis where I changed shoes and refueled. The snow had started to get soft in the sun and my quads at this point were cramping. I saved the shortest for last, Baker Mountain, an easy 1.6miles RT; that local favorite has never felt so hard. Our final stop was the Berkley Green to ring the 6er Bell that sadly wasn't hanging at 2:44pm. Total time including driving of 7:44:58 for a new overall FKT and winter FKT!