McKenzie & Moose Mountains

View from McKenzie's Summit

McKenzie Mountain (3861 ft)
(#55 Highest ADK Peak)

Moose Mountain (3899 ft)
(#50 Highest ADK Peak)

Difficulty: Moderate - Steep (not an ADK trail, but an Shore Owners Association (SOA) trail)
Total trip time (in snow): 6 hrs
(1978 ft ascent)
3.6 miles from trailhead to Summit of McKenzie
3 miles from McKenzie to Moose
3.4 miles from Moose summit to trailhead
(10 mile round-trip hike)

This was my very first hike in the Adirondack Park. I hiked this saddleback pair in October of 2007 with Martin Heintzelman. At the trailhead, it was warm and there wasn't a flake of snow anywhere. By the time we summited the peaks, which lie just outside Lake Placid, there was a sizable amount of snow everywhere! Altitude definitely does make a difference in this case. McKenzie was the first of two peaks we would summit on this day, followed by Moose. Both oare accessed by trails maintained by the Lake Placid Shore Owners Association. Walking by the giant "camps" of the shore owners on the lake near the beginning of the trail provided an interesting counterbalance to what would be the primitive and desolate summit on both McKenzie & Moose. Despite the overcast weather, it was still a beautiful view as the view of the trees quickly succumbed to the fog.

Wind Sculpting the Snow on McKenzie


Martin Heintzelman atop McKenzie


Me, pre-daypack Acquisition

Along the trail on Moose Mtn.

View from Moose Summit

View from Moose Summit