Bushwhack between Iroquois & Marshall

[lx93]

I'm just curious, has anyone ever bushwhacked from Iroquois to Marshall or vice-versa?

Distance, it looks like 1 to 1.3 miles; Marshall looks pretty manageable but Iroquois looks quite steep. Is it worse than Owl's Head slide in the White Mts.?

I've never done any ADK hikes besides Phelps & Cascade/Porter, all very easy, and I'm just going off of what I see on the Nat. Geo. Trails Illustrated map. If this can be done, it looks like it'd save approximately 6 miles as opposed to going past Lake Colden.

Thanx in advance!

 

[bushwacker]

very steep, and mostly thick going down off iroquois.
and from the top of the pass there is a path going up marshall.
not a bad hike that way, and fun coming off iroquois

 

[lx93]

Is 1.2 miles a close guesstimate for the distance from Iroquois's summit to that of Marshall?

Is the terrain very wet? According to the map, there is a tributary of Indian Pass Brook which follows a trail that goes from Lake Colden to Indian Pass Trail. According to the map, it ends shortly before where the bushwhack would be.

 

[bushwacker]

that distance sounds right, less than half a mile down off iroquois, but it will take an hour to reach the trail. lose close to 1000 ft., so it;s vey steep, some cliffs and ledges to work around, then lots of spruce. did it with full backpacks a few years ago, so it can be done. right now probably snow up higher.
there is the brook that follows the trail, one goes down to lake colden, the other down into indian pass. both start just below the top of the pass.
the path up marshall is wet and muddy, not as well used as the one up herbert brook. shouldn't be too hard to follow.

 

[lx93]

Easier to Ascend or Descend Iroquois?

Bushwhacker & anyone else who feels like they can contribute,

If you weren't coming back the way you came (I plan on bagging Mt. Colden before or after Marshall & yes, I do plan on a very early morning start), would you say that it'd be easier to descend from Marshall to ascend Iroquois, or vice versa?

 

[Gandalf]

As someone who has never hiked directly between Iroquois and Marshall (but would like to try it), I'm wondering why it is generally advised to try the bushwhack in that direction, rather than from Marshall to Iroquois. I would think that steep, thick, and cliffy terrain might be safer to deal with while climbing (also if one gets temporarily lost, one can just go up and eventually find the summit)...is the best route easier to spot while descending perhaps?

I've gathered from old VFFT threads that the bushwhack path/route up to Shepherd's Tooth and Iroquois begins after about a minute of walking east along the trail from the terminus of the Marshall herdpath...is this correct, and is it not too difficult to spot?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I'm wondering why it is generally advised to try the bushwhack in that direction, rather than from Marshall to Iroquois. I would think that steep, thick, and cliffy terrain might be safer to deal with while climbing

You're probably right, although I've done it twice, and both times to Marshall. Most recent, was on my bike ride down.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12401

I don't remember why I did it that way the first time, more recently because it was unplanned.

I've gathered from old VFFT threads that the bushwhack path/route up to Shepherd's Tooth and Iroquois begins after about a minute of walking east along the trail from the terminus of the Marshall herdpath...is this correct, and is it not too difficult to spot?

If going UP, I would think that anwyhere to avoid the cliffs would be good. If you're shooting for "The Wart".... THATS WHY PEOPLE HEAD DOWN!!! It is much easier to hit "The Wart" when going down, than it would be going up. It's much closer to the top.
Oh yeah. I never found a herd path. Others have.

Note that the Marshall herd path is very well defined. Those numerous faint paths at the top of the col and not the one. It is as you start to descend towards the Indian Pass trail, that you will see the path. It is (or used to be) marked by a large cairn.

 

[Whiteman]

Wow

I just read Pete's trip report from last year. What a slouch! He didn't even do any trail work while he was up there on that 3 day ramble!

The longest trip I even put in on my bike was around 125 miles, no gear, just my sagging ass. And I definitely wasn't picking off any 46'rs the next day (or even the next week). That was an inspiring report.

And back to the thread . . . never did that hike, but looking from the pass towards Iroquois showed some interesting terrain. I'm lookikng forward to that trip report!

 

[Neil]

You're probably right, although I've done it twice, and both times to Marshall. Most recent, was on my bike ride down.

That must have been quite a ride Pete, I thought you couldn't ride bikes in the HP's. You must have good brakes.

My then 15 year old son and I did the bushwhack after crossing the Mac Range from the slide on Wright. It was very easy. There was a very embryonic herd trail as far as the cliffs. As soon as we hit the cliffs we made a 90 degree left turn and walked easily down a ramp. Once on the trail you turn right and walk for a few minutes to the big cairn. The views of Walface from the Wart were outstanding in the late afternoon sun. The trail up to Marshall was in excellent shape and easy to stay on.