This was my second time up into the Adirondacks in winter. This time we just Burger, Wissell and I and set out to peak Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois. A quick 2 nights: drive in after work, hike drive out type of trip.
- Location: Adirondack State Park, New York, USA
- Trip Type: Hiking, Camping. Winter, Snowshoe, multi-day
- Participants: Sunshine, Burger, Wissell
- Distance: approx. 30km
- Features: Wright peak, Algonquin Peak, Iroquois Peak, Marcy Dam, ADK 46er
Day 1 – Getting to the Lean-to
First night we got there fairly late and hiked to our lean-to near Marcy Dam. It was fairly muddy in the parking lot due to it being end of winter season. If I remember correctly our lean-to was near the Ranger Cabin, one of the lean-tos was being repaired/moved. We settled in and went down for the night.
Day 2 – Climbing Wright, Algonquin & Iroquois
The next day we headed out, the day started out fairly sunny with some clouds, quite warm. We were very surprised to find a sign in the U.S.A. with French as the primary language (French is our first language). In Ontario, we have trouble getting signs in French (one of Canada’s official languages) and it turns into a big debate but here, where French is not official it’s present…
We continued on our trek to go up the Algonquin range (you actually have to hike back towards the parking for a little while to get to the trail). Since it was fairly warm at low altitude we’re basically in shorts and t-shirts, generating a lot of heat from hiking uphill. As it gets colder/windier in higher altitudes and with smaller trees, it’s shields up coats and hoods on.
We made it up a very windy Wright peak, took a video where you can see hiking poles being pushed by the wind!
Next up was Algonquin and then Iroquois, we moved fairly quickly here enjoying the view a bit before moving on to the next. It’s a bit of a down and up between peaks but not too lengthy. Most hikers stop at Algonquin and don’t continue to Iroquois probably because the view isn’t all that different and probably a bit worse.
I played a bit of “Where is Burger?” in the trees going down between peaks (see the picture that looks like there are only trees). We had some good fun sliding back down towards the lean-to. I once again got stuck head first under a tree! Just around the tree trunk there is less snow so it creates a sort of hole. Sliding down, I managed to get my head and one arm in there and got stuck, the snow is deeper than it looks! Of course Burger just laughed and took a picture before helping me get back out.
We made it back to the lean-to and down for the night after a fun day of warm hiking.
Day 3 – Getting back and Pub
The next morning some of us got real excited making breakfast, probably thinking about the beer waiting for us at the pub (Lake Placid Brew Pub) before the long drive home! It was somewhat warm and wet with snow melting so we just wanted to get out at that point. We had fun and climbed a few more peaks, trip success!
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