Leaving

Yesterday I left the Adirondacks. Summer is over. The leaves have changed and fallen. It has become wet and chilly. So I will share with you one of my last adventures in the North Country.



Sometimes, I find that I spend a long time in one place only to find something of great beauty right before the end. Last weekend, I and two of the backcountry stewards decided to set out on what we planned as a day hike up and over Algonquin and Iroquois, two of the 46 highpeaks. Algonquin is the second highest peak in the state of New York and Iroquois stands right behind it. After making a swing by Marcy Dam which had been torn apart by hurricane Irene and the lake above it left a mud field, we set out up Algonquin. The ascent is a steep one as one gains over 3,000 feet in elevation in about 3 miles, with each mile steeper than the last. Although we had a clear day, a week of cold and rain had left behind a layer of ice that diminished the choices for footholds on the rocky last mile. As expected, the view from the top was spectacular as one could see Mt. Marcy, Whiteface, several other highpeaks and down into Avalanche Pass. After lunch and some photos, we continued on to Iroquois which provided that solitary mountain top experience that one seeks. With only one other visitor, we felt like we had reached some far off place rarely touched by man. In addition to seeing what we could see before, we could see Algonquin and Wallface, the largest cliff in the whole park.



With the plan of stopping by the interior outpost for some hot tea, we headed down the backside of the mountain. This trail is a another step one the winds its way back and forth over rushing mountain stream. The interior outpost is a place for those working for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to spend the night when they need to be in the backcountry, a command center in emergencies and a base for the caretaker who looks after trails and campers in that area. A fire in the late 1990’s took the old outpost down and under the flusher economy of that era, they were able to rebuild a beautiful log cabin in the Swedish Coping logs style and with a wood stove and most of the modern amenities. At one of the backcountry steward’s suggestion we decided to spend the night. Luckily for us, there were extra blankets, mattresses and food since we had not planned on staying out for that night. In the end, one more steward and a ranger joined us for the night. So I ended up spending the night in one of the most beautiful placed in New York talking late into the night about adventures that had been had in the woods that were my home and playing cards.



The next morning we hiked out, circling Lake Colden and then walking through Avalanche Pass. This hike took us through a deep valley with cliffs rising from both sides and over a trail that at times hung from these walls. We could look up at Algonquin and Mt. Marcy to see where we had been on previous days. It was Saturday of Columbus Day weekend and people were streaming into the park so we felt a little smug from having stayed at the cabin and to be leaving ahead of them all.