Katie and I were planning on hiking Algonquin alone on Friday. At a total distance of about 8.4 miles and 3000 feet of ascent, this is no small feat, but with the confidence of several other peaks behind us, we knew we could take it. Algonquin is the second highest of the 46 high peaks, and one of only two peaks over 5000 feet(the other is Mt. Marcy). At a gargantuan 5115 feet, this is a biggie.
We parked at the same parking area as for Phelps mountain, as there is some shared trail. The first 0.9 miles is the same flat and easy trail into the forester. Instead of turning left for Marcy Dam, we forged right from the fork towards Algonquin Peak. The trail didn't stay easy long as we started climbing upwards over a series of stone steps that resembled stairs. The trail was very muddy and early on we encountered a lot of mosquitoes, many more than we expected since most of the bugs seem to already be in winter hibernation.
The second mile of the hike is a lot of hopping from rock to rock, or walking through mud. Usually on the first half of the hike, I avoid the mud, but that's almost always a mistake. It's a lot easier on the legs just to trudge through it than rock-hopping and wearing out my legs early on. Eventually we passed by a couple of picturesque waterfalls and took brief water breaks. The trail intensified after these falls and we kept a steady uphill pace for a long while. Katie was nervous about the distance traveled so I checked my map software and was relieved to find we had already gone about 3 miles.
Not long thereafter we arrived at a junction that we didn't know was coming. The sign said 0.9 miles to Algonquin summit and 0.4 miles to Wright Peak. This piqued my interest so I checked my phone. Miraculously, we had cell service(at just below 4000 feet in the middle of the high peaks wilderness!). I looked up quick details on Wright and confirmed that it was a high peak. I suggested that maybe we could bag that one on the way down if Katie was feeling up to it. She didn't confirm or deny her interest at that time.
The last 0.9 miles to the summit of Algonquin are grueling! Very shortly after the intersection with Wright, we came to a very large and long and steep section of solid rock. We had scrambled up some rock before but never anything that seemed to stretch on so far into the distance, especially at the steepness that this one offered. We slowly made our way, stopping for breaks on the occasional, wonderful, boulder that rested on the side. We had never climbed such a long and steep rock before and this section alone took quite some time. Thank goodness for hiking boots because the grip was probably the only thing that got us up.
After this, we entered the Alpine vegetation zone and the trees began to disappear. We were achingly close to the summit and finally above the treeline. The views were absolutely amazing from here on out. From our perspective, it seemed like we could see the summit from our position so we were energized and started working our way up the rocky sections to the top. However, each time we'd get over the next hump, we'd see that the summit was even further away than we though. This illusion of the peak happened about 8-10 times before we saw the true summit, evidenced by the number of people resting at the top.
The summit was almost indescribable. There were 360 degree views and we instantly spotted a number of other noticeable peaks. Mount Marcy was obvious because it's the only one higher than the one we were on. We also recognized Whiteface towering over the town of Lake Placid. I saw our previous destination Big Slide off in the distance and Katie didn't believe that I could recognize it (a High Peaks Steward on the summit confirmed for me). We also had a great view of the accompanying peak that I wanted to take on, Wright Peak. We rested on the summit and spotted a 5 year old who had amazingly made the climb as well!!! The sun was out, the views were incredible and we probably could have stayed all day, but I was determined to convince Katie to take on one more.
After getting back down the difficult rocks in excellent time and getting back to the junction, I sat down for a break. I looked at Katie, practically pleading to take on one more peak. I urged that it would only add 0.8 miles to our total trip, and asked how bad it could be. It turns out, pretty bad. We hadn't done a twofer to that point and this was a tough one to take on. When she finally relented, we got going and immediately found ourselves facing steep and difficult rock sections. In fact, the whole ascent is steep and difficult rock sections.
After we'd traveled about three tenths of mile to the summit, Katie asked to stop. She was exhausted and the physical toll felt like too much. I could relate, as I was constantly stopping to catch my breath and drink water. I waited for a few minutes with her and urged her to finish. After all the false summits at Algonquin, we were worried that it was much further still than it looked. Thankfully, the end came much sooner than she expected and we both made it to the summit. Wright Peak is the 16th highest peak and also lives in infamy after a B47 plane crashed near the summit. Many pieces of wreckage can still be found and a plaque has been placed near the summit to honor those who passed. It's also known as the windiest of all the high peaks, likely due to the bareness and flatness around the summit area and no trees to block the wind. It wasn't too bad though as the weather was fantastic on this day!
At the summit, just as we began descending, I started to feel deep and painful leg cramps in my lower legs and my quads. It would be a long trip down to the bottom. We ran out of water with over a mile left and our pace dipped well below average, even on the fairly flat last mile. Katie had to take off my boots for me because reaching down to my feet caused so much pain I couldn't get them off myself. All in all, this took us 7 hours and 15 minutes as we started at 11 and finished around 6:15. More experienced hikers might have also added the third Iroquois Peak, which was another short trip from the Algonquin summit, but we'll have to go back for it.
We missed out on seeing the B47 plaque because of our exhaustion but we are very proud to have conquered two peaks in one day. This is a fairly common way of completing the peaks as many are close together and this hike will serve as good practice for future hikes where we may combine even more in one day. Not sure how many more we will do this season before winter arrives, but it's nice to have 1/9th of the peaks under our belt, and especially the second highest out of the way!
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