A hot one on the MacIntyres

I figure that a hike has worked out just right if I run out of water just as I arrive back at the car. Friday was such a day as I hiked to Algonquin and Iroquois. It was a scorcher and although I was on the trail at 7am it was really humid on the early flat part of the trail. Thankfully as I got higher up there was a stiff breeze and the humidity dropped. I really love to hike Algonquin. It is a relatively short hike but has plenty of short but fun scrambles, a lot of terrain above treeline and views that can't be beat. There is a really fun section of steep slab just after the split to Wright peak. Fun when dry on the way up that is, not quite as much fun on the way down. I had picked up a few rocks from the pile at the parking lot and dropped them off at the sign as you approach the summit. The stewards use these small rocks to "fence" off the areas where fragile vegetation is growing to keep hikers on the rock while at the summit. It is probably a great job to be a steward spending your work day at a summit although I know my knees could not handle the "daily commute".

I took a few photos on Algonquin before heading off down to the trail to Boundary and then Iroquois. It is a drop of about 500 feet to the trail but there is the distraction of the straight ahead view of Boundary, Iroquois and Wallface. The trail between the peaks is a narrow one with sharp stuff on either side. I guess it has been dry this summer because I remember some nasty mud pits along the way from my last hike to Iroquois. You end up scratched and a bit dirty but happy! As you arrive at Iroquois there are two short but steep cliffs to scramble up. The great thing about Iroquois is the silence. Hordes of people make the trek to Algonquin but few go the extra mile over to Iroquois. I can't think of many better spots to sit with the sunshine with a nice breeze blowing as you enjoy the view. Not much to say about the trip back other than the climb back up Algonquin is tiring and the descent back to the LOJ is steep and rocky so you have to watch where you step to avoid a faceplant (which is worse when there is no snow covering up all the rocks).

More pics from the hike.

Mt. Adams Fire Tower, now with new railings

I was lucky to spend Saturday working on the restoration of the fire tower on Mt. Adams. The restoration is a project undertaken by the ADKHighPeaks hiking forum. I joined 3 forum members: Jack (ADKJack) and Rob (vieWseeker) from Syracuse and my hiking buddy Ken who is an engineer who studies masonry and concrete as building materials. I'm guessing Mt Adams has to be the best job site Ken has visited in a long while! We met Rob and Joe in the Allen parking lot at Upper Works at the civilized time of 8:30 and loaded up. Joe had brought some packs to borrow as we were carrying railings and posts for the fire tower stairs. I should add that is nice to arrive in the Allen lot without the sense of impending doom that comes with the 20 mile hike to Allen.

We set off in our various sandals or water shoes which were the footwear of choice because of the two water crossing that are at the beginning of the trail. To start, we waded across the Hudson river. There used to be a bridge but it was washed away by the runoff from huricane Irene last summer. Next came the "floating" bridge across Lake Jimmy. This engineering marvel has seen better days due to high water level but some recent maintenance work (thanks guys!) has left it passable. The iffy (or fun depending on how you look at things) part is that two of the early sections are loosely held together by some rope and they sink up to your knees as you walk on them. There is a tentative step from one to the second which is fine if you wait for the other side to sink before moving your second foot ahead. Of course one's fellow hikers look on with supposed care that you make the successful crossing but they also have cameras at the ready if it should all go wrong!

From the other side of the Lake Jimmy the trail to Mt Adams soon departs from the Allen trail and it starts up immediately. It is steep all the way but not too long and after an hour or so we arrived at the summit. The summit is wooded with just a small clearing around the tower. We first went up to check out the view. Wow! In all directions are glorious views from the Sewards, Santanonis to Skylight, Marcy and Redfield and all the way round to Wallface and MacNaughton. After some initial picture taking it was down to work. We installed posts and then railings on each flight of steps and attached chicken wire to provide something resembling walls to stop people who may slip from falling off the structure. At one point a dog arrived and appeared to want to join in but he didn't look like he had a firm grip on the tools so we suggested he "stay" down below! The sun came out later in the day which prompted another round of picture taking. It was a quick trip down the steeps and in no time we were crossing Lake Jimmy (no one fell in) and then perhaps the second highlight of the hike which was cooling off by floating in the Hudson!

It was great to be able to do something helpful for the High Peaks hiking community as well as enjoying the stellar views from Mt. Adams. As we packed up to leave, Jack was threatening that next time we would carrying up bags of concrete. I say bring it on!

See more pics