Algonquin, Boundary, Iroquois & Wright 8-13-2018

Iroquois Peak!

"Yup. That's the McIntyre's right there. We're gonna go there next week," Kailee said while pointing at the imposing mountain range from Indian Falls last week.

She told other hikers during our trek of Tabletop that "We're gonna climb Algonquin next week."

I'm not exactly sure how she decided that the McIntyre Range would be our next hiking destination... But, it seemed like a plan to me!

McIntyre Range from Indian Falls
on 8-6-18.

Monday's forecast called for a chance of showers around 11 AM and possible storms in the evening.

The Macs are notorious for being one of the windiest places in the 'Dacks. The big goal was to tag Algonquin, Iroquois & Wright... There was also the realization that we could walk away with only one -or- none: if the elements decided to act up.

It was slightly overcast as we drove down Adirondack Loj Road. From the car, it was apparent that Algonquin's head was in the clouds. Otherwise, the skies didn't look too threatening.

We pulled into the Loj at 7:30AM and popped in the High Peaks Information Center to use the bathrooms and poke around for a few minutes before returning to the car to gear up.

 Indian Pipe.

At the register, we met a Mother and her son (he appeared to be a year or two year younger than Kailee). One quick look at her hat & pack and it was obvious that she was a Winter 46er. She told us that her son picked Algonquin as their destination for the day... I guess this was "Kids Choose the Hike" Day.

"She (Kailee) says you're going for all three today," the Mother said.

"That's the goal... But, we'll see," I replied.

The woman knew there was a chance of early rain and evening storms as well.

We walked with them for a short while before they fell behind.

The approach took us through the forest and over a bridge lined with raspberries along a beautifully maintained trail owned by the Adirondack Club before crossing over to State land. Almost immediately, the trail went from gentle to climb-time.

Getting steep!

Algonquin is the 2nd highest point in New York State. Big Al reminds you of that fact every step of the way. It's all about ele-ele-ele-vation gain!

Despite the nonstop rise, Algonquin's trail didn't have any difficult scrambles or big obstacles. (Later in the day, Kailee stated "Algonquin was easy,").

Taking quick breaks every few minutes due to the heavy gain kept our energy up!

A good portion of the trail is stone stairs. These stairs and many of other rocks that we stepped on were covered in a thin layer of slippery dirt. Fortunately, this never caused a problem. But, it was something to be aware of while moving along.

Near 3300', we arrived at McIntyre Falls. I'm sure it's an impressive sight in Spring and early Summer. But, on this day it was merely a trickle. Looking outward from the falls offered no view thanks to the clouds.

McIntyre Falls.

A few minutes later, I looked up and spotted signs of blue sky! Things were looking up -and- going up! I decided that we should go for Algonquin first.

A large group of college kids were hanging out at the Wright-Algonquin trail spilt . We said "Hello" as we passed. We took the righthand route and pushed onwards to Big Al.

The trail led us up some steep open rock pitches (which may be small slides). It was nothing complicated. We've faced much trickier situations this Summer.

A long stretch of open rock.

The trees were getting shorter. The sky was showing more signs of blue. We were about to bust out of the tree-line!

A sign warned us that we were entering the Alpine Zone: time to do the rock hop.

Entering the Alpine Zone.

Large cairns led us towards the summit. Turning around afforded impressive views of Wallface, Street and Lake Placid.

Beatiful small purple flowers and bunchberries lined the path. The sun was shining overhead. This was it!

Kailee led us on the final charge and as we reached the top -BAM- an absolutely incredible view of the High Peaks and most notable: the trap dike and many impressive slides on Mount Colden. The slides reflected different colors brightly.

Hands down one of the most gorgeous sights that I've witnessed in the Adirondacks.

Colden & it's gorgeous slides (foreground) from
Algonquin.

Walking towards the benchmark, we were greeted by the summit steward at 12:30 PM.

"Hi, I'm Mike" he said.

"We're Facebook friends," I replied.

"Justin?" he asked.

"Yup, that's me," I answered.

Mike is an active member of the 46ers and is my friend Jim's correspondent. A few months back,  Jim suggested that I send Mike a friend request in case I ever want to get some hiker info.

It was very cool to put a face to a name at 5114' above sea-level!

Myself and Mike!
With a photobomber!

I originally planned to only spend a few minutes at the summit before going to Iroquois, backtracking and enjoying Algonquin some more before setting off for Wright Peak.

So much for the plan!!! We spent an hour relaxing, enjoying the 360° vista, chatting with other hikers and Mike.

Algonquin!

Mike offered to watch our bags so we could slackpack to Iroquois. Awesome!

Just as we were preparing to go... The Mother and her young son that we met earlier arrived at the summit.

"This is his fourth High Peak," she said excitedly.

"Congratulations! Good Job!" we replied.

"Did you guys get all three?" she asked Kailee and I.

"No," I laughed, "On our way to number two now!"

We followed the exposed rock down the  western slope of Algonquin towards Iroquois. It was a quick and easy (albeit steep) drop down the rock. Kailee and I ducked into the trees on a narrow path.

Great Range.

Between the two High Peaks, we climbed Boundary. A 4800' peak that lacks the prominence & isolation to be considered a High Peak. Boundary itself is very cool. It's above tree-line and offers a similar view as Algonquin but has the distinction of offering the bonus view of Big Al and Iroquois!

Throughout the afternoon, large ravens hovered over the mountains and shrieked. A few flew right by us as we walked.

Algonquin from Boundary.

We had a recurring joke as we proceeded. Anytime that either of us would say "Right," the other would respond:

"No. Wright's over there," and point in the general direction of Wright Peak.

Passing the cairns, we dropped down back onto another path through stunted pines with puncheons over some boggy terrain. The climb of Iroquois was pretty easy and had one optional scramble near the summit.

Iroquois Peak.

We had Iroquois (the 8th tallest High Peak in NY) to ourselves. It was really nice. Colden's slides continued to put on a stellar performance. In the opposite direction was a close-up view of Wallface's craggy mean-mug.

Wallface from Iroquois.

Just below the summit, I spotted Sheperd's Tooth. It's a cool rock outcrop that one may receive a badge for visiting. We mulled over going down to the Tooth. It was right there and I was quite sure that I spotted it's herd path. Ultimately, because of the time of day and not wanting to add extra elevation gain/loss to our trek... I decided to leave a visit to the Tooth for another day.

Sheperd's Tooth.

Kailee later said that Iroquois was her favorite peak of the day. I get it... It has a wonderful vista and it was nice to be the only people there!

Great Range, Marcy & Colden from Iroquois.

On our way back to Big Al, we decided to "race."

I reached Boundary first. But, my legs tired on the descent and Kailee took a strong lead on the re-climb of Algonquin and cleanly beat me to the finish.

Whiteface & Lake Placid from Algonquin.

We had lunch and continued chatting with Mike for quite a while.
Mike was impressed by the fact that Kailee and I have worked our way through a number of smaller & mid-size peaks and told us "You're doing it the right way."

We didn't make a "Wright is over there," joke.

"You're doing it the right way," he said, "I got so caught up with the 46 and am just learning that I overlooked so many great places!"

There are so many amazing peaks in the park! Go out and see them!

It was time to descend and give Wright Peak a try. So, we said our farewells with Mike.

Trail Split!

Arriving back at the trail junction, we had only 4/10th of a mile to go to the summit of Wright. I ditched my pack near the junction and carried Kailee's pack up. Again, it was another steep climb. There was one scramble near the top that neither of us had a problem with. Soon, we were at the top.

Kailee charging up Wright Peak.

Kailee found a pile of rocks in front of a "Rock Drop" sign.

"Yeah, I forgot to bring one up," I said.

"I didn't," Kailee replied.

"You brought a rock up?" I asked.

"Yup," she said as she pulled a stone from her pocket and tossed it onto the pile.

Maybe that's why we lucked out with the weather!

Algonquin and it's slides from
Wright.

Wright (16th tallest High Peak in NY) would make a nice hike on it's own. But, we both agreed that it was the lesser peak of the day. Although, it offered an excellent view of  Lake Placid, the Great Range and some slides on Algonquin.

Wright Peak.

A few other hikers arrived shortly after and took our pictures for us.

After our photo-op, we left the summit to find a short side trail that led us to some interesting pieces of history.

View towards Whiteface from Wright.
Sign indicating the summit to the right
and the plaque to the left.

In January 1962, a B-47 Bomber running a low altitude practice mission from Watertown to Plattsburgh was obliterated when it slammed into Wright Peak at high velocity.

The plane's four man crew were killed and it took months to find their remains. One of the airmen was never found...

 Landing Gear.

 Remains of the B-47 Bomber.

A large piece of landing gear and some other chunks of the plane lay on the ground with a nearby plaque honoring the troops. Small metal pieces of the aircraft are scattered among the rocks and gravel underfoot. We collected a few small pieces off the ground.

Memorial Plaque.

It was getting late in the afternoon and was time to head back to the Loj. We began our descent.

We stopped at McIntyre Falls to refill our water. There was a group of campers there & we chatted with them briefly before continuing our way down.

We arrived back at the trailhead before 8PM... Just  in time for sundown. A wonderful three peak day (four including Boundary).  This adventure put us at a total of 18 High Peaks!

Back at the car, we changed out of our sweaty clothes. Kailee put on her bathing suit and took a quick dip in Heart Lake.

Afterwards, we popped by the Loj and helped ourselves to some refreshments: a coffee for me and a water for Kailee.

This was a spectacular day of elevation change, views, history and fun!


One Final Observation Regarding Algonquin:

Algonquin reminds me of a much bigger version of Cascade.... Both mountains involve steep climbs, long stone stairways, & limited views until the final push. They have large open summits that offer wide open 360° vistas... They also have a sorta similar view from (obviously) different angles. To the one side is Lake Placid, the Olympic venues and the surrounding communities. On the other is a wonderful view of the High Peaks! 

Kailee on Iroquois.
Her "favorite" peak of the day.

Hike Stats:

12.4 Miles
11:50 total time including over 3 hours of Summit time (not including other breaks).
Total Ascent: 4764'.
Total Elevation Change: 9420'.