Iroquois, Algonquin and Wright via Avalanche Lake

Wright from Marcy Dam

The previous night I ran into Ian whom I met last year.  As we began talking I found out that he ran the Escarpment Trail.  I told him my plans for today.  Since he was with his brother and nephews, we planned to hike out to Avalanche Lake together.

The Adirondack Loj puts on a hearty breakfast for its guests.  One never leaves when one plans to.  I left just before 9am, but Ian and his crew weren't ready, so I headed out.  I had been out to Avalanche Lake only once before and it makes a worthy destination by itself.  About two miles out, I reached Marcy Dam.  Another spot that can be enjoyed.  From here one gets an awesome view of the slide on Wright.  It's hard to believe people ski down it.

From Marcy Dam its another two miles to Avalnche Lake.  The last bit there is a fair amount of elevation gained.  It appears a few people have skied out this way.  Soon Colden and Avalanche Mountains are in view.  Colden with all of its scarring, looks particularly impressive.

Avalanche slide

I reached the lake in less than two hours, making decent time.  I was surprised to not see anybody on the lake.  Though quite confident it was frozen, I chose to take the trail.  I regretted this immediately.  The trail has many narrow bridges and numerous ladders.  This is not fun in two feet of snow and with snowshoes on.  A couple of those bridges span some fairly deep crevasses.

Avalanche Lake

A good look at Trap Dyke

My eyes started to wonder over to the lake.  I then spotted someone walking on the lake.  As I recognized it was Ian, he was talking into the camera mentioning he was looking for a guy named Chris.  After some time, I found a spot to get onto the lake.  I guess after yesterday's hike to Marcy, Ian's nephews needed some rest.

Through our discussions last night, I knew Ian was a significantly stronger hiker than I.  This would work out quite well as I pushed myself the entire time.  The trail up to Algonquin from Avalanche Lake is one of the steepest in the Adirondacks.  In just under 2 miles, the trail ascends about 2,500 feet.  This is a task under normal conditions.  We would be doing this in 2-3 feet of snow.

As expected, the trail didn't appear to have any recent traffic.  Ian broke trail the whole way, but mostly he fell through less than a foot.  As we ascended, the trail steepened.  There were numerous times when we put one foot forward to only slide back two steps.

Truly winter

Steep!

Colden

Getting ready to put on layers

The weather cleared, but the winds were forecasted to be significantly stronger.  We caught a glimpse on our walk on Avalanche Lake.  Going up the trail we were well protected and we constantly de-layered.  Once the dwarf pines became prominent, we started to feel some cold, bursts of wind.  When we reached the col, the wind was quite stiff.  We met a guy who came from Iroquois.  He looked at our snowshoes and told us, we will be post-holing all the way up.

Both Ian and I are significant;y lighter than this guy and we didn't have too much trouble.  There was more ice than deep snow.  We reached the summit in good time and a whole lot of wind.  I took only a few pictures, my hands got too cold, too quick for anything more.  We high fived, knowing this was a great accomplishment.

On Boundary, with Iroquois ahead

Lake Colden and Flowed Lands

Iroquois

Algonquin from Boundary

The ascent up to Algonquin was quite windy, but surprisingly quick with little traction problems.  From the Heart Lake side, I had to turn around one winter because I just didn't have enough traction from my snowshoes.  The descent would be icy, but it was quite manageable.  We ran into a guy who had skied up above timberline.  Apparently, he wouldn't be going much farther because his quads were shot.  Imagine that!

Algonquin looms ahead

Rime Ice

Heading up Algonquin

The ridge up Wright Peak we would be going up

Ian and I were quite determined to get up Wright and we made it to the junction before our designated time.  The first part of the ascent, I was shot.  It's steep, but I was worn out.  We reached a ledge that surprisingly  I ascended without much difficulty.  Soon though, I had some problems on the thick ice.  I managed with some help.  The wind was quite strong.  We also met a guy who was with his dog.  Pretty hardcore.  The dog didn't seem to mind.  He appeared to be happy to be out.

Ian leading the way down Algonquin

Wright Peak

Mt Colden

Big Slide from Wright

Most people summit the three of these mountains as an out and back from Heart Lake (I did previously).  When we were on the summit, we called our feat the Trifecta Plus.  All three via Avalanche Lake.  I struggled a bit going down so I just got on my butt and slid.  I had great difficulty going down the ledge, but Ian helped me through.  Yesterday, I had no difficulty whatsoever with microspikes.  It was a good learning experience, finding the limits of my snowshoes.

The descent was quite peaceful compared to the bitter winds above treeline.  It took me 7 and a half hours to complete the Trifecta Plus in winter.  Now it was time to enjoy a great meal with new found friends.

Near sunset

Even snowmen do hand stands

Mt Jo and Algonquin entering the Loj

The ski jumps