MattC
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- Sep 2, 2004
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Well, okay, not really. I did climb Giant and Algonquin as a kid w/ my dad, but this was my first time hiking up there as an adult. It's been a long time coming. I had not planned to go this weekend since a friend from Albany was supposed to be visiting on Saturday evening. Late Friday afternoon I got a message that he couldn't make it after all, and another message offering me a gig in Clifton Park Saturday. Immediately the whole weekend outlook changed. Saturday I reserved a campsite (for Sunday night) @ the ADK Loj and threw everything in the car. Saturday night after the gig I tried to sleep in my car but was too wired at first, so I drove an hour or so and ended up sleeping about four hours @ a rest area around Exit 25.
Sunday AM I grabbed a quick bite at the Black Bear in Pottersville, grabbed a sandwich for lunch @ a deli and headed up towards Keene. I wanted to re-do my two "childhood" peaks and whatever else I could grab, so I started w/ the obvious, Giant. I took the Zander Scott Trail up from RT 73, and ended up going to Rocky Peak Ridge first. I actually enjoyed the views from RPR even more than those from Giant. It was nice to see the Champlain Valley and Vermont in addition to the Great Range, Dix, etc. I had RPR to myself, but of course there were about 20 people over on Giant. I hung out for a while anyway, chatting w/ the friendly summit steward and another woman who had formerly been a steward and who knew a lot about alpine vegetation.
After the hike, I stopped at the Mountaineer (just to check it out, didn't really need anything), and then headed on to the Loj to check in and set up camp. Amazingly, I ran into a college friend who I hadn't seen in about five years. He was camping @ a lean-to w/ his girlfriend, so I had a beer w/ them and hung out until my eyelids wouldn't stay open any longer.
Monday I woke up feeling pretty good, ate breakfast, broke camp and moved my car over to the hiker parking area. I was on the trail @ 6:30, headed for the Macintyres. I walked briefly w/ a couple headed for Marcy, and then w/ a woman who was relived that I wasn't a bear when I caught up to her.
After a few minutes of chatting, I picked up the pace and headed for Wright, stopping for a few minutes to admire the waterfall on Macintyre Brook. I rather enjoyed the climbing, since I don't mind steepness if I'm well-hydrated and feeling well. It's nice to quickly pick up elevation too. Wright was windy and just a little hazy and I was again alone. I was bowled over by the views (especially Colden) and the alpine world. I was also pleasently surprised that the descent wasn't too rough on my knees. (All praise due to trekking poles)
Algonquin was a little hazier than Wright had been, but no less spectacular. I chatted with the summit steward and the few other folks up there for a while and enjoyed my first views of Wallface and Indian Pass. I sized up Boundary/Iroquois and decided to go for it. Took my time climbing down to the Boundary/Algonquin col, enjoying the alpine traverse experience. Then the real fun began as I scratched my way through the narrow little woods-tunnel that is the Iroquois path. I discovered some of the famous ADK mud as well. This was a really fun part of the hike. I loved being able to see everything around, and the little bits of scrambling/bouldering were nice too. That last little bit right below Iroquois summit was a fun problem to solve. I left my poles there and managed to get a foothold in the one crack in that rock. Once on the summit I sat a while digging the new perspective of Colden, Lake Colden, Flowed Lands, etc. Then it was back over to Boundary for lunch.
Side note: In the col between Iroquois and Boundary I almost got injured in a really stupid way. In one of the muddy areas there is a dead tree that is still fairly firmly rooted, but it moves. I stepped on one of the roots trying to avoid mud and this caused the tree to move forward and whack me in the forehead. Kind of like the guy in the cartoon stepping on a rake and getting whacked w/ the handle. I was really lucky to not catch a branch in the eye. Be careful of that tree!
After all this, I headed down to Avalanche Lake. I really took my time descending this steep trail and also walking around the lake. Simply magnificent stuff. Views of Colden pretty much dominated this day, since I was getting different perspectives throughout. I've never seen anything quite like the Trap Dike and I looked at it for quite a while. At the other end of the lake I spoke for a few minutes w/ a couple of climbers who had just gotten off the wall at that end.
Avalanche Pass brought new wonders. Blowdown City, USA! Huge thanks to all the trailworkers who have probably spent countless hours clearing this area. I liked looking up at all those birch just hanging on for dear life, waiting for the next heavy rain that might send them flying. At this point I was hanging on for dear life as well, but I finally got another wind after Marcy Dam (the easier trail helped) and made it back about 5:30. After a very brief dinner at the Noonmark Diner, I began the schlep back home. This was a very, very satisfying couple days of hiking. Can't wait to talk to my pops and let him know I made it back after all these years.
Matt
Sunday AM I grabbed a quick bite at the Black Bear in Pottersville, grabbed a sandwich for lunch @ a deli and headed up towards Keene. I wanted to re-do my two "childhood" peaks and whatever else I could grab, so I started w/ the obvious, Giant. I took the Zander Scott Trail up from RT 73, and ended up going to Rocky Peak Ridge first. I actually enjoyed the views from RPR even more than those from Giant. It was nice to see the Champlain Valley and Vermont in addition to the Great Range, Dix, etc. I had RPR to myself, but of course there were about 20 people over on Giant. I hung out for a while anyway, chatting w/ the friendly summit steward and another woman who had formerly been a steward and who knew a lot about alpine vegetation.
After the hike, I stopped at the Mountaineer (just to check it out, didn't really need anything), and then headed on to the Loj to check in and set up camp. Amazingly, I ran into a college friend who I hadn't seen in about five years. He was camping @ a lean-to w/ his girlfriend, so I had a beer w/ them and hung out until my eyelids wouldn't stay open any longer.
Monday I woke up feeling pretty good, ate breakfast, broke camp and moved my car over to the hiker parking area. I was on the trail @ 6:30, headed for the Macintyres. I walked briefly w/ a couple headed for Marcy, and then w/ a woman who was relived that I wasn't a bear when I caught up to her.
After a few minutes of chatting, I picked up the pace and headed for Wright, stopping for a few minutes to admire the waterfall on Macintyre Brook. I rather enjoyed the climbing, since I don't mind steepness if I'm well-hydrated and feeling well. It's nice to quickly pick up elevation too. Wright was windy and just a little hazy and I was again alone. I was bowled over by the views (especially Colden) and the alpine world. I was also pleasently surprised that the descent wasn't too rough on my knees. (All praise due to trekking poles)Algonquin was a little hazier than Wright had been, but no less spectacular. I chatted with the summit steward and the few other folks up there for a while and enjoyed my first views of Wallface and Indian Pass. I sized up Boundary/Iroquois and decided to go for it. Took my time climbing down to the Boundary/Algonquin col, enjoying the alpine traverse experience. Then the real fun began as I scratched my way through the narrow little woods-tunnel that is the Iroquois path. I discovered some of the famous ADK mud as well.
This was a really fun part of the hike. I loved being able to see everything around, and the little bits of scrambling/bouldering were nice too. That last little bit right below Iroquois summit was a fun problem to solve. I left my poles there and managed to get a foothold in the one crack in that rock. Once on the summit I sat a while digging the new perspective of Colden, Lake Colden, Flowed Lands, etc. Then it was back over to Boundary for lunch.Side note: In the col between Iroquois and Boundary I almost got injured in a really stupid way. In one of the muddy areas there is a dead tree that is still fairly firmly rooted, but it moves. I stepped on one of the roots trying to avoid mud and this caused the tree to move forward and whack me in the forehead. Kind of like the guy in the cartoon stepping on a rake and getting whacked w/ the handle. I was really lucky to not catch a branch in the eye.
Be careful of that tree!After all this, I headed down to Avalanche Lake. I really took my time descending this steep trail and also walking around the lake. Simply magnificent stuff. Views of Colden pretty much dominated this day, since I was getting different perspectives throughout. I've never seen anything quite like the Trap Dike and I looked at it for quite a while. At the other end of the lake I spoke for a few minutes w/ a couple of climbers who had just gotten off the wall at that end.
Avalanche Pass brought new wonders. Blowdown City, USA! Huge thanks to all the trailworkers who have probably spent countless hours clearing this area. I liked looking up at all those birch just hanging on for dear life, waiting for the next heavy rain that might send them flying. At this point I was hanging on for dear life as well, but I finally got another wind after Marcy Dam (the easier trail helped) and made it back about 5:30. After a very brief dinner at the Noonmark Diner, I began the schlep back home. This was a very, very satisfying couple days of hiking. Can't wait to talk to my pops and let him know I made it back after all these years.
Matt
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