First Adirondack Peaks

[John S]

Well, that’s not entirely true. I did enjoy a fine afternoon with Little Bear, Prino and Big Moose on Hurricane Mountain during last year’s BBQ but on this trip I finally found my way to some of the higher peaks.

Friday morning of the recent Spence and Maddi BBQ weekend, SherpaK, funkyfreddy and I set out from the Loj for the three 4K peaks of the MacIntyre Range. Having been to Algonquin and Iroquois before, freddy left us at the Wright spur path to explore the airplane crash site while SherpaK and I continued up the range. On this otherwise fine day, the ceiling was just a few hundred feet too low and we were in the clouds when we reached the Algonquin summit. Now and then the brisk breeze would open a view for a fleeting moment, just enough to see that there’s lots out there but too little to have gotten a feeling for the region.

We pushed on over Boundary and picked up the trail to Iroquois. This was my first encounter with an ‘unofficial’ trail and it looked pretty good to me - you might get scratched below the waist or soaked if it’s wet but you certainly won’t get lost. A few more of those fleeting views opened up on the summit and again on the return to Algonquin, revealing the steep side of Colden, its namesake lake and Flowed Lands. Nice stuff but, unfortunately, still only snapshots.

Freddy caught up to us on Algonquin and we headed for Wright on the way out. While the wind was brisk on Algonquin and Iroquois it was almost gale-like on Wright once we were out of the trees. First, I stowed my hat to keep it from blowing off the mountain. Nearing the summit, I had to reach back for my jacket’s hood and tighten it around my face to keep my glasses from blowing away. The last few steps to the top, I was on all fours. What a summit!

For the day, it was a good hike on great trails with fun people. I missed getting a sense of the DAKs as a whole but it did get better, much better, on the next outing.

On Sunday, SherpaK, LindaLu and I hiked up to a lean-to near JBL, thinking about doing Big Slide if time permitted. Arriving about 3:00, I over-estimated how long it would take and decided not to go, so SherpaK went by himself. In hindsight, I should have gone with him as he was back by 6:15, of course boasting of great views from a terrific peak! It may not be a total loss, however, since I now know of another shorter hike that might be worth saving for a winter trip.

Monday morning we set out for a loop over the Lower Range, starting with Lower Wolf Jaw and returning via Ore Bed Brook. Having her own goals for this big trip east, Linda left us after Lower Wolf Jaw with plans to meet up later at The Hostel in Keene Valley. It seemed like everything this day was steep, rough and rocky but the rewards were there in spades on a mostly blue-sky day. We had views on each peak except Armstrong, which was still in the clouds from a quickly passing shower. Gothics, however, was just fantastic with views everywhere - across the lake to Dial, Nippletop and Colvin, up the range over Saddleback to Marcy and Haystack et al, and over to Friday’s trek on Wright, Algonquin, Boundary and Iroquois, which by then was looking as familiar as the Whites. Finally, a panorama which gave a sense of the whole of the High Peaks! Gothics was now a favorite high place and it didn’t end on the summit. Those cables are really cool! I was a bit intimidated at first since there’s no slack at the very top and I had to bend over too far to feel comfortable. After the first anchor, however, I was walking upright and on my way. By the end it seemed more like insurance than life-support. Thank you, Pete Hickey!

Everything after the cables defined anti-climatic but we still had loads of fun. We had a mellow hike out, picked up the rest of our gear at the lean-to, found Linda at The Hostel and savored a late dinner at the Noonmark. On Tuesday, we retrieved our tents from Spence and Maddi’s place, gave our final thanks to our very gracious hosts and headed for the ferry.

I enjoyed some really good hiking up there. I think I’ll be enjoying more in the future.

 

[funkyfreddy]

Hi John, It was great to meet you and hike with you and Sherpakroto up Wright's and Algonquin. Glad to see you had a good time the rest of your stay in the ADK's. I'm going to try and post some pictures. Hope to hike with you again soon. Thanks, Fred

 

[Jay H]

Hey John, the first time I was on the Gothics cables (This was before it was removed and then replaced), I kind of did the same thing, I would use it for a bit and since it was dry, decided it was a lot easier simply to walk down the slope, it's not seriously crazy steep and when dry it's not that hard to descend without them, at least IME.

Glad you liked the peak:

here's a 360deg panoramic from Gothics I took a few years ago:

Pano on Gothics

Jay

 

[John S]

Jay, thanks for the panorama. I soon would have forgotten some of what I saw that day.

At one point SherpaK pointed out an eagle-shaped slide but I can’t remember where it was. It looks like the one on the peak at both ends of your panorama. Is that Giant, with Rocky Peak to the right?

 

[WCTDave]

Why wouldn't you use the cables? They're both faster and safer; especially with a 30lb pack on. I'm not one to back down from risky terrain (ie. descending the brothers is driving rain) but it just seems like discarding the cables is a needless risk to me. Though I'll admit that maybe I'm just jaded because I always hike with a "full" pack?

Regardless, glad John's first ADK HP experience was so enjoyable. If you go back and do Big Slide, I would recommend the Big Slide via Yard route...longer but more secluded and a nice waterfall mid-way up Yard. You can then descend either via Big Slide or The Brothers if you're heading back to Garden.

 

[rhihn]

Why wouldn't you use the cables? They're both faster and safer; especially with a 30lb pack on. I'm not one to back down from risky terrain (ie. descending the brothers is driving rain) but it just seems like discarding the cables is a needless risk to me. Though I'll admit that maybe I'm just jaded because I always hike with a "full" pack?

When we did the cable route, I remember thinking I'd hold on to the cables for dear life, but when actually doing it, found it easier just to hike up without them (these were the old, first set of cables). Going down I think I remember grabbing them a couple of times to keep myself from snowballing too fast downhill, but that is all. For some reason I remember my pack weight that day, having weighed it at JBL - 23 lbs.

 

[Jay H]

Regarding the cables, I would certainly use it when it's wet, icy, snowy (in addition to crampons of course)... but the particular day I did Gothics it was sunny and beautiful. I started to use them then found out that I had simply enough traction to let go and simply shimmy down.

John S: It sure looks like Giant and RPR, I believe it is. When I was on Santanoni Peak, one could just make out the top of Giant and RPR and coincidentally, it looks the same.

That pano came out OK, the seams aren't as good and there is ghosting involved. I don't recall if I used the pano software that came with my Canon or even if I had the Canon for that trip but I've since started using Panorama Factory (shareware) and not the canon software.

Jay

 

[prino]

Jay, thanks for the panorama. I soon would have forgotten some of what I saw that day.

At one point SherpaK pointed out an eagle-shaped slide but I can’t remember where it was. It looks like the one on the peak at both ends of your panorama. Is that Giant, with Rocky Peak to the right?

Hi John,

Nice meeting up with you again at the BBQ. Glad you had a good week of hiking in the Daks. Those slides at both ends of the panorama are indeed the ones on Giant. The bottle slide on the left and the mighty Giant slide to the right...One slide i'll never forget climbing. It made Tri-Pyramid feel like a walk in the park.

-Phil