The summit of Iroquois is another High Peaks gem. High, completely treeless, and lightly-visited, I easily consider it to be one of the top ten best summits of the Adirondacks (based on its scenic quality, solitude, and interesting approach options). For example, on this beautiful weekend summer day, there were only two other hikers on the summit with us. There was sure to be ten times that many over on nearby Algonquin.
Our route from here was simple - traverse over the spine of the MacIntyre Range, over Boundary and then Algonquin, and then down towards the Loj area. Julie had an ambitious plan to also visit Wright Peak along the way, thereby giving companion Mike his 50th Adirondack 46R peak.
The hike from Iroquois over to Algonquin was a pleasant stroll through mostly alpine terrain. Again I had not been this way in the summer in quite a while, and I was impressed with all of the high-quality wooden planking that had been placed over the boggy sections of the trail. It is now especially pleasant to hike to and from Iroquois along this trail.
The hike along the crest of the MacIntyre Range gave us a first-class view of the huge new landslide scar on Mount Colden. The landslide, caused by 2011's Hurricane Irene, also completely scoured Mount Colden's Trap Dike, leaving it completely barren and rocky. I've climbed the Trap Dike many times, and I'm now curious to go and do it again, to see how things have changed.
Soon we arrived at the start of the climb to the top of Algonquin itself. Ty was feeling a bit winded from what was turning out to be quite a stiff and challenging hike, so we took our time on the final bit of ascent. We arrived at the top just shy of 4pm. As predicted, there were at least twenty people milling about on or near the summit, along with the ADK summit stewards.
Flowed Lands from Algonquin
