Gandalf
New member
6/24/06
My brother Dan and I wanted to do all 4 McIntyres for our annual Solstice Hike. We set out from the Adirondack Loj at 3:30AM and turned off our headlamps after filtering water at the well-known waterfall about halfway up Algonquin. We reached Wright's summit at 5:40, where we had an excellent view of Whiteface, Moose, and McKenzie peeking above the clouds. Skies were totally clear everywhere except to the N and NE. After a quick breakfast we continued on to Algonquin, which we reached just after 7 AM. After taking a few pictures and navigating some not-too-bad mud we made the Iroquois summit by 8, not having encountered a single person thus far. Temps were perfect, cool with moderate breezes (which would diminish as the day progressed) and no bugs (yet). Views of Marcy, Colden, Lake Colden, and Wallface were spectacular.
After more pictures, a snack, and some time spent looking at the route ahead we headed SW toward Shepherd's Tooth. Below treeline, the herdpath is tight but manageable. At 8:45 we climbed to the top of this little knob, rested a few minutes, and re-traced our steps veering left onto the path down to the Pass.
This path is again tight and tricky in many spots. Perhaps halfway to the Pass, it goes into and out of a very small stream at times. We were aided by the occasional faint footprint to confirm our course. The path seemed to steepen until eventually we came out on top of perhaps a 40 foot cliff at elevation 4000'. We were just about at the Iroquois Pass trail!
Unfortunately, try as we might we could not find any route which would allow us access to the Pass. Twenty minutes were spent casting this way and that, primarily to the east/left (as per our directions). Every lead simply led to an impossible drop. As we were blundering around futilely (unfortunately probably creating a false herdpath or two - my apologies), the day warmed and suddenly little black gnat-like things and other bugs began to emerge everywhere. Reluctantly we decided to re-climb the mountain; Marshall (which we could see so clearly mocking us across the Pass) would have have to wait another day. It is possible that we stayed with the small stream too long, and that (looking as we were) we somehow missed the path leading left well before the cliffs. At any rate, I'd never heard of a stream here in my various researches into this route.
The re-climb of Iroquois was difficult (don't really have my summer "climbing legs" yet!) but uneventful. We encountered our first other hikers while having lunch on that summit, and Algonquin was mobbed (it was a rare dry Saturday, after all) by the time we regained that peak at around noon. The open rock was quite warm and many black flies were out, but they never really bothered us. The hike down the N side (stopping to re-filter at the same waterfall) was similarly uneventful. A trail crew was working perhaps a half a mile above the VanHo Trail junction. I've climbed Algonquin four times now, and the trails were in the best shape I'd ever seen them.
We reached the Loj parking lot at around 3:30PM, making for a there-and-back of roughly 12 hours, 5500' vertical, and 12.5 miles. These were High Peaks #9, #10, and #11 for Dan. I was glad to get a good view from Iroquois, which didn't have on my first climb a few years ago. Though we didn't reach Marshall (we'd planned to descend the Pass to the NNW and return to Heart Lake via the Indian Pass trail), it was still a great day of hiking.
I strongly recommend dawn three-season hikes in the McIntyres!
My brother Dan and I wanted to do all 4 McIntyres for our annual Solstice Hike. We set out from the Adirondack Loj at 3:30AM and turned off our headlamps after filtering water at the well-known waterfall about halfway up Algonquin. We reached Wright's summit at 5:40, where we had an excellent view of Whiteface, Moose, and McKenzie peeking above the clouds. Skies were totally clear everywhere except to the N and NE. After a quick breakfast we continued on to Algonquin, which we reached just after 7 AM. After taking a few pictures and navigating some not-too-bad mud we made the Iroquois summit by 8, not having encountered a single person thus far. Temps were perfect, cool with moderate breezes (which would diminish as the day progressed) and no bugs (yet). Views of Marcy, Colden, Lake Colden, and Wallface were spectacular.
After more pictures, a snack, and some time spent looking at the route ahead we headed SW toward Shepherd's Tooth. Below treeline, the herdpath is tight but manageable. At 8:45 we climbed to the top of this little knob, rested a few minutes, and re-traced our steps veering left onto the path down to the Pass.
This path is again tight and tricky in many spots. Perhaps halfway to the Pass, it goes into and out of a very small stream at times. We were aided by the occasional faint footprint to confirm our course. The path seemed to steepen until eventually we came out on top of perhaps a 40 foot cliff at elevation 4000'. We were just about at the Iroquois Pass trail!
Unfortunately, try as we might we could not find any route which would allow us access to the Pass. Twenty minutes were spent casting this way and that, primarily to the east/left (as per our directions). Every lead simply led to an impossible drop. As we were blundering around futilely (unfortunately probably creating a false herdpath or two - my apologies), the day warmed and suddenly little black gnat-like things and other bugs began to emerge everywhere. Reluctantly we decided to re-climb the mountain; Marshall (which we could see so clearly mocking us across the Pass) would have have to wait another day. It is possible that we stayed with the small stream too long, and that (looking as we were) we somehow missed the path leading left well before the cliffs. At any rate, I'd never heard of a stream here in my various researches into this route.
The re-climb of Iroquois was difficult (don't really have my summer "climbing legs" yet!) but uneventful. We encountered our first other hikers while having lunch on that summit, and Algonquin was mobbed (it was a rare dry Saturday, after all) by the time we regained that peak at around noon. The open rock was quite warm and many black flies were out, but they never really bothered us. The hike down the N side (stopping to re-filter at the same waterfall) was similarly uneventful. A trail crew was working perhaps a half a mile above the VanHo Trail junction. I've climbed Algonquin four times now, and the trails were in the best shape I'd ever seen them.
We reached the Loj parking lot at around 3:30PM, making for a there-and-back of roughly 12 hours, 5500' vertical, and 12.5 miles. These were High Peaks #9, #10, and #11 for Dan. I was glad to get a good view from Iroquois, which didn't have on my first climb a few years ago. Though we didn't reach Marshall (we'd planned to descend the Pass to the NNW and return to Heart Lake via the Indian Pass trail), it was still a great day of hiking.
I strongly recommend dawn three-season hikes in the McIntyres!
