New Year's Day 2015: Algonquin

Caroline at Heart Lake with Mt Jo in background

Today’s plans changed a multitude of times.  The original plan was to drive to Lyon Mountain.  That would have been my last ADK/Catskill Fire Tower hike.  Johnny Rocket had difficulty getting his monstrosity of a pack ready and since it was already 10am, Caroline suggested we do something from the Loj.  This sounded good to me since I didn’t feel like driving a half hour.  Since Caroline had never been to Tabletop or Phelps we decided to do those.  This would change when we reached the junction for Algonquin.  I think Caroline wanted to go above timberline in winter for the first time, so we decided to head for Algonquin. 

Algonquin is easily one of my all time favorite mountains.  It’s easily accessible with only four miles to reach it’s lofty summit.  The last 500 feet of its summit is above timberline, making it feel like a real mountain.  There are numerous waterfalls along the way and anybody who knows me, knows how I love waterfalls.  Algonquin is situated in a perfect spot with outstanding views in every direction. 

 

Johnny Rocket snack break

Trail up is nice

The rocket on his way up

About halfway up, Johnny Rocket called it a day.  The Rocket had a big day on Tuesday when he did Colden.  In winter, 14 miles is serious stuff.  The Rocket felt it.   Caroline and I stopped and had something to eat and we were off.  The going got tough at this point.  Just above the Wright trail junction it gets amazingly steep.  A few times we both slid a little bit.  We both agreed this would make a great slide.  Above this point we covered our faces as much as we could before reaching timberline. 

 

Steep.  Makes for a great slide.

Caroline on her way up the slide

Wright Peak (or the petri dish)

We were warned by fellow hikers that it was quite windy and icy.  I noticed they all had full crampons while we only had microspikes.  Based on past experience, I felt microspikes were more than up to the challenge.  I plan to do a gear review based on my experience from this hike. 

It did not take too long for us to come across some ice.  There were only a couple sections that were a bit tricky.  The much greater hazard was the wind.  I kept quite warm.  None of my extremities ever got cold (only when I took off my gloves to take photos).  We eventually made the summit.  The wind was one of the heaviest I’ve experienced.  Caroline had to hold me up a few times, otherwise I would have been blown off and I’d be at the bottom of Avalanche Lake. 

 

Caroline on Algonquin's icy summit

The route above timberline to Algonquin is marked by cairns.  Caroline asked, “what do you do if there is two feet of snow?”  I said, I would make sure I had a compass.  This also could apply when visibility is low.  I could kick myself for not paying attention while on the summit.  Of course from the summit, we headed towards Iroquois.  The consequences of this mistake are low, since we could have taken a trail to Avalanche Lake.  But still, it’s a needless mistake.   

About halfway down I was pretty certain we went the wrong way.  I wanted to be sure, so we went almost all the way to the col with Iroquois.  If I were on my own, I probably would have turned around sooner.  I would have started the right way down, but most likely would have turned around once it didn’t look right.  I would have kept turning around.  Most likely infinitely.  I still would be up there, bouncing back and forth over the summit of Algonquin. 

We turned back after discussing going down to Avalanche Lake.  This would be a good call.  We made it back up and  down with no problems.  We both stayed warm despite the winds.  Once below timberline, we had a quick bite to eat.  We reached the top of the slide.  This part of the trail easily dropped 60 feet.  I drew a line in the snow and we were off!  We picked up quite a bit of speed.  Caroline won round 1.  We went up for another.  This time I won, but I’m sure Caroline recalls it differently.  I cannot recall how long it’s been since I’ve had this much fun. 

The slide

Too much fun

We continued down.  We continued to slide down the trail with mixed results (I have a nice bruise from one of my misadventures) and had a nice conversation.  Caroline had a good laugh at my iced up eyelashes.  She suggested this would make a good theme for Burning Man.  Finally I have a theme!  Now I’m ready to go.  This was a wonderful way to start the new year.  

Nice and Sexy.  Burning Man here I come!