courtesy JInnes
As it turned out, there were a few more limited views of the undercast as we descended, although soon we had to stop looking up and focus on the trail. The sunny day's temperatures were rising and the snow and ice on the trail was melting, making everything a bit slushy. As was the case on the ascent, there was perhaps an inch or two of accumulation present - enough to make things slippery but not enough to allow any secure kick stepping. We had to carefully negotiate some steep slabs, unsure of whether or not the surface was straight snow-on-rock or snow-over-ice-on-rock. Fortunately, the microspikes continued to work well.
The messy, wet trail conditions required full attention on the long descent towards Lake Colden, making this stretch the least pleasant part of the day. Occasionally we had a nice glimpse of nearby Mt Colden to reward us.
By around 2pm we had completed the long descent from Algonquin. We were a bit wet and glad to be turning on to the main trail leading towards Avalanche Lake - the next destination on our loop route back towards our starting trailhead.
The Avalanche Lake area was as spectacular as ever, perhaps even more so with the delicate winter sunlight angling in from the west. The lake was barely frozen over (despite it being december) and the temperature was warm. Springlike, even.
courtesy JInnes
Once finished with the rough trail along the shoreline, we stopped for a snack break at the north end of the lake. The sun was perfectly positioned to shine between the walls of Avalanche Mountain and Mount Colden, bathing us in a very warm late afternoon light.
Rough Avalanche Lake Trail
Even though it was not yet 3pm, the time of year meant sunset was not far away, and we wanted to try and complete our hike before dark (although we did have headlamps). Continuing on from Avalanche Lake, we soon crossed over Avalanche Pass, and began our descent towards the Marcy Dam area. Our hiking speed continued to rise as the trail became wider and flatter, and we made the distance between the pass and Marcy Dam (or rather, what is left of it) in a fairly quick forty-five minutes.
After taking a picture of the pretty sunset glow off of Mt Colden's slides, we hurried along, walking briskly along the trail back towards Adirondak Loj and the High Peaks Visitor Center. The day had further melted the already paltry dusting of snow on the ground at this elevation, and in places there was essentially no snow at all.
Dusk was deepening rapidly as we made our final approach up the trail to the parking lot. Strictly speaking we had crossed into need-your-headlamp territory, but we were only minutes away so we carefully watched our feet for the final few hundred yards. We arrived back at the parking lot right around 5pm, meaning we'd completed the whole 18+ km (11.4 mi) loop in just under nine hours.
So, a final note: today was extra great. The temperature inversion and resulting undercast was the real show here - especially one that lasted so long into the day. The resulting views were quite amazing, and I am very grateful that we were able to experience it. If it ever looks like conditions are favourable for such a phenomena, I recommend you drop your existing plans and head for an appropriate highpoint!
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Algonquin Loop via Avalanche Pass - click map to view
Hike Data - Algonquin Loop via Avalanche Pass
Start Time:
8:11a.m.
End Time:
5:01p.m.
Duration:
8h50m
Distance:
18.27 km
(11.35 mi)
Average Speed:
2.1 km/hr
(1.3 mph)
Start Elevation:
2200ft
(671m)
*
Max Elevation:
5170ft
(1576m)
*
Min Elevation:
2123ft
(647m)
*
End Elevation:
2240ft
(683m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
3399ft
(1036m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
3379ft
(1030m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
