Algonquin Peak, Iroquois Peak & Wright Peak (McIntyre Range)

Date:10/11/2010

Hikers:Frank, Matt, Me

Peaks:Algonquin Peak (5114') (#2), Iroquois Peak (4840') (#8), Wright Peak (4580') (#16)

Trailhead:Heart Lake (ADK Loj)

Trip Time:9.5 Hours (20-30 minute break on each summit)

We left Albany at 5:30 for this trip to the Adirondacks. We were hoping to get three peaks in along the McIntyre Range. Our entry point was going to be the ADK Loj. We arrived at the Loj just before 8:00 and went inside to purchase a few items. Matt had under dressed for this hike even though he wouldn't admit to it. The high was going to 44° F with wind gust from 10-15mph so general consensus is to assume it's going to be colder on the summits. Matt purchased a winter hat to help him battle the elements and from the drive up to the ride home he wouldn't admit to being cold but if you look at the photos they would say otherwise. At 8:15 we hit the trailhead and started our hike in.

Frank, Matt, Me

We took the Van Hoevenberg trail from the Loj as we did when we hiked into Lake Colden. About a mile in we hit a junction where we beard right. A little over an hour in we stopped for a brief moment and realized that we were surrounded by nothing but birch trees. The hike to this point was moderate and easy at times. No scrambles just a nice steady climb.

Matt and Frank surrounded by birch trees

Just after the birch trees we came across a small water fall. The accent from waterfalls started to increase to a more moderate climb. About 45 minutes after the waterfalls we hit the junction for Wright Peak and Algonquin Peak. We took a brief rest and decided to climb up Wright first before venturing on to Algonquin.

Me and Matt at the waterfall

As we started the hike up Wright is where we first started to have sightings of ice. There wasn't a lot of ice that made it dangerous but enough to make us lose our footing. The accent was nice it started off hiking up a rock face and then it just opened up. Maybe the last .1 mile is all open and you have a great view of the high peaks region. We arrived at the summit of Wright at 10:50 and took our summit shot to the side of mountain b/c it was so windy and no place to position the camera.

Frank, Me, Matt on Wright Peak Summit

On the north side of the summit is a bronze plaque that is dedicated to a U.S. Air Force B-47 Bomber that had crashed into the side of the mountain in 1962. Some of the debris is located along the side of the mountain. We spent about 30 minutes on top of Wright for a snack and searching for the plaque.

Plaque of the plane crash and some debris

When we arrived at the junction for Wright and Algonquin, we could tell Algonquin's accent was going to be a bit more of a challenge. The climb started out as a rocky accent which turned into an icy, muddy mess. The ice coverage started to get larger which forced us to veer off the trail and take a muddy hike up a steep embankment. After our little detour the hike continued to be moderate with a couple of scrambles in the end. We reached the summit of Algonquin at 12:40.

Frank, Me, Matt on Algonquin Peak Summit

There were about 20 people on the summit were Wright had no one. We talked to a Seward of the ADK Loj and started to talk to him about his job and just the layout of what we were looking at. We saw Iroquois off in the distance and Matt was thinking about maybe climbing it another day (he had to get home for dance lessons b/c he was getting married in 2 weeks). After a brief talk w/ the Seward he said most people get over there in about 45 min to 1 hr but one time over the summer there was a medical emergency and he got over there in 20 minutes. Matt and Frank took that as a challenge and before I knew it they were sprinting down the mountain. The Seward did say we had to travel through a bog. Due to the how fast we were travelling and more or less trying to break a record in how quick we could get to Iroquois no photos were taken. The first bog we travelled through was wet and I was sinking in pretty good. We came out to Boundary Peak which isn't a 46 but I got a quick view of Iroquois and Algonquin and thought we were in the middle of both. Before I knew those guys were on the second part of the trail which was wet and almost just like a bog. We arrived at the summit of Iroquois with our saturated boots covered in mud at 1:40. We had left the summit of Algonquin at 1:05 and made it to the summit in 35 minutes. We were hauling so I would assume that it takes most people 45-60 minutes to the summit because it's 1.5 miles away from the summit of Algonquin.

Frank, Me, Matt Iroquois Peak Summit (Algonquin in background)

After 20 minutes on the summit Iroquois that offered some great views we decided to head out. We climbed out the same way we climbed in. Mt Marshall was the only summit we didn't hit on the hike b/c there isn't an easy way to hike to the summit via the range trail. We returned to the car at about 5:00 which made our first season of trying to become a 46er come to an end. For starting in July and only going on 3 hiking adventures we got 7 peaks in and we will be back out in April.