50 / -250
2023-04-14
Iroquois, Algonquin, and Wright Peaks
Posted by pdittman on June 9th, 2020 in Hiking/Trekking, Northeast 111

We’d planned our trip to bag our first peaks in Adirondacks in the fall 2019.  We found an awesome BnB in Keene, NY – on the northern fringe of the High Peaks wilderness area, and near Lake Placid.   All seemed in good order until COVID-19.    Early on, we all learned about social distancing and what it meant. Fortunately for us, as the COVID spring gave way to summer, businesses and trailheads in the high peaks area began to gradually re-open as the world and northern NY began to loosen its guidelines!

Having spent a good amount of time in New Hampshire’s White mountains, we had developed a certain reverence for the whites – they’re tough, they’re rocky, some are long, and all require a good amount of preparation and planning to assure our “safe return to the trailhead” (the ONLY goal of any respectful hiker).

20-20 hindsight – after this first set of ADKers, we should add the Adirondacks into that same reverence bucket! They’re tough, they’re rocky, some are long, and good preparation is required.

The weather cooperated for our first day and didn’t look promising for the second, so we decided on the longer Iroquois, Algonquin, and Wright Peaks as the first hike, intending to rest on the day after. Based on our experience in the Whites, we knew it to be a long day – targeted for about 12.5 miles – we really didn’t anticipate the going would generally be slower than the whites – after all – this is mud season in the Adirondacks (but more on that in another post).

First views of the Adirondacks, on the road to the Adirondack Loj parking

We arrived at the Adirondack Log parking area about 7:15am (we’d heard it filled before 8am, so we didn’t want to take a chance).  Gear on, signed into the trailhead register, we headed out toward Algonquin via the Van Hoevenberg trail.    It was strange, but good to see people practicing social distancing with masks and face coverings.

The first mile to the junction with Old Marcy Dam trail was good footing – definitely what we were accustomed to, and we made good headway.    It wasn’t long after that where we began to get a taste for the day and for the Adirondacks.  Rock hoping and side-stepping became to be a thing for the day.    Steadily though, we gained ground – eventually reaching some first views.

First views northward from Algonquin slopes
First views northward from Algonquin slopes – nearby Wright Peak and just to the left in the distance is Whiteface

Still time to keep moving – we reached the Algonquin summit around 11:20am – about 3-1/2 hours from our departure. Not bad, but we still had quite a bit to go. The trails themselves were not very crowded, once we left the junction at Old Marcy Dam trail, we probably saw less than about 20 people – not many, and unfortunately, not many with face masks. At the summit, the views were awesome – Algonquin is the 2nd highest summit in the Adirondacks.

Views from the Algonquin summit - breathtaking!
Views from the Algonquin summit – breathtaking!

Soon enough time to head on toward Iroquois – which we’d heard was an un-maintained trail – a herd path.   Our last experience with a herd path wasn’t so great – that was Reddington in the Maine 4000 footers.   As it happens, that day was long AND hot – this day in the ‘Dacks was shaping up to be similar…    Fortunately, it was a very well-worn path and wide enough so that we weren’t getting whipped in the face with branches at every turn.    And surprise, surprise – still some small patches of snow near the summit of Iroquois.

Last remnants of snow just off the Iroquois summit
Last remnants of snow just off the Iroquois summit

We were making decent time, summiting Iroquois just around 1pm.   We didn’t linger long.   We still had to re-summit Algonquin AND add in Wright Peak.    We headed back over Algonquin, and descended a bit toward the junction with the Wright Peak trail.   While the trail sign read 0.4 to the summit, it was a steep go the entire way – beginning straight off with a slab and a bit of scramble.    The ascent remained steep, ending with another scramble before reaching the exposed summit cone.

It was here where the heat and the day’s distance began to take it subtle toll.   We arrived at the summit around 3:30pm and while we still had some smiles, we still had some good distance and elevation loss back to the trailhead.

Still smiles on the Wright Peak, but only briefly!  Algonquin peak in the background.
Still smiles on the Wright Peak, but only briefly! Algonquin peak in the background.

The remaining trek to the trailhead was a long – only 3.2 miles on paper, but it’s a long 3.2 miles after 10 miles and nearly a mile of elevation gain (5100′)!

We arrived back at the car just shy of 6:30 – over 10 hours from our departure time.  It had been a very long day, but a good one – some beautiful views and a good taste of the Adirondacks.

By the numbers:

Distance13.85 miles
Elapsed Time10:30 hours
Elevation Gain5,148′

Comments

  1. Pingback: Hiking/Trekking

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *