Iroquois, Boundary, Algonquin & Wright Peaks - 6/24/12

Some of the most most accessible alpine terrain in New York lies in the Macintyre Range (Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois) of the High Peaks Wilderness.   Mount Marshall is also part of the Macintyre Range, but its' summit is below treeline.  Leesa and I had been on Algonquin and Wright previously, but had never continued on to Iroquois, so today was the day we decided to do that.

Wright Peak from the tree line of Algonquin

The weather forecast was good for the morning, but questionable for the later part of the afternoon, so we got on the trail about 7:15 AM.  The climb to Algonquin is short and steep with a vertical gain of about 3000 feet in 3.8 miles or so.  The trail becomes quite rocky and has one steep long rock slab that is also sometimes wet.  Wear some sturdy footwear with good traction.

Leesa going up Algonquin

We climbed pretty quickly, and we enjoyed the fact that we were somehow mostly devoid of bugs for the majority of the day (very un-Adirondack like, especially for June).  We reached the summit of Algonquin at 9:45.  The only person on the summit was an ADK summit steward.  He told us he had arrived at the summit  around 9 and that he had only seen one person before us at the top.

Mount Colden from the summit of Algonquin

We continued on and soon left the marked trail for the Iroquois herd path.  At the beginning of the herd path, there is a trail sign pointing to the left, and on it is written Iroquois with a right arrow (see picture below).  The herd path was easy to follow.  There was one muddy quagmire shortly after the start, but not too muddy after that.  

Lake Colden and Flowed Lands from the summit of Algonquin

We reached the summit of Iroquois at 10:45; an hour after leaving Algonquin.  What a great summit, and we had it all to ourselves.  We sat down to eat part of our lunch.  The weather was fantastic.  After owning the summit for awhile, we returned to Algonquin at exactly noon. 

Boundary Peak and Iroquois Peak from Algonquin

On the way back, I decided to climb Wright (so Rev could claim it!).  Leesa decided that she would slowly continue her descent, knowing that Rev and I would catch back up to her.  When Rev and I reached the summit, we talked with another summit steward.  There were about a dozen people on top of Wright when we got there.  We stayed for about 5 minutes and then dropped back down to catch up to Leesa.

Iroquois from Boundary Peak (Wallface Cliff at right)

We found her about halfway back to Adirondack Loj.  Once rejoined, we all made our way back to the car.  We had our boots off by 3:15 PM.  Still nice weather.   We didn't see any rain until 6 PM while driving home.

The start the Iroquois Herd Path trail

We unleashed Rev briefly to negotiate the mud on the Iroquois herd
path and gave her one moment of freedom on rock for a photo op

The summit of Iroquois

Rev getting some good snacks on Iroquois

Algonquin from Boundary Peak

Climbing back up Algonquin (from Boundary Peak) 

Heading down Algonquin (only to head up Wright Peak) 

Mount Colden from Wright 

Algonquin from Wright

Hike Stats

Hike Distance:  9.95 miles

Hike Time:  7 hours 45 minutes (including stop time)

Total Vertical Gain:  4660'

Trailhead Elevation:  2095'

Algonquin Peak Summit Elevation:  5114'

Iroquois Peak Summit Elevation:  4840'

Wright Peak Summit Elevation:  4580'

Our route shown in blue (click to enlarge)

My Iroquois, Algonquin & Wright Peaks GPS Track