A visit to the MacIntyres

Finally a cool of couple of days this past weekend in this otherwise sultry summer. Mike and I had discussed a hike to get Allen off his list and Saturday looked like a prime day to make a go of it. Alas I got derailed with an unavoidable appointment and Mike went it alone with roaring success. At home on Saturday I was a little disappointed at missing a good day for a hike. Sunday didn’t look near as good with risks of thunder showers after lunch but I decided to go for it anyway. Besides, I had a new body I wanted to test out. Umm, rereading that last sentence perhaps I should clarify, I have a new camera body – my personal body is the same old slightly scruffy one I have had for a while now. Drove down to Lake Placid to camp at South Meadow Saturday night. Perhaps an early start would get me up and down before any lightening was spotted.


Early morning light is worth the effort
South meadow was jammed with a Saturday night crew but I found a few square inches to jam my tent and set the alarm for 3:30am… perhaps I would get up and make a sunrise summit the next day. Alas when the bell went I looked to the sky and could see not a single star  so I went back to bed for another hour. Didn’t sleep much and decided to get going early to stay ahead of the crowds that would surely be out on such a prime summer day. Made the short drive to the Loj and was the first to sign in on the day. Headed up the Algonquin trail with my headlamp burning bright. Sure enough, still hiking in the trees, the clouds parted and I would have got a sweet sunrise had I left at my original time. Ah well, next time for sure. At the junction for Wright I made the quick decision to pop up and see if I could find the plaque dedicated to the B47 bomber crash in 1962. Short hike up above the trees and now the warm humid air gave way to a cold, blasting wind. Donned a jacket and made my way out onto the summit to look for the memorial. Indeed after a short search I found the right boulder just to the north of the main summit with the plaque and the small collection of debris left behind. For those curious the trail comes around the south side of the summit and the plaque is over on the north side. A few small cairns show a path down to it.


Small memorial
Back on the Algonquin trail I headed up confident that I would have the rare treat of the summit of Algonquin to myself. The last few pitches of the trail are pretty steep but I kept looking back to see if anyone was chasing me up the trail. Plodded up the last pitch only to find two individuals packing up camp on the summit. They were spread out over a nice pitch of rare, arctic grasses and were tromping back and forth collecting their gear.

“Ummm, you fellas know it’s illegal to camp above 4000 feet in the summer?”
“Oh yeah, but it was an emergency we got up here late and it was too dark to go down either side.”
“Sounds a little like an emergency of your own making… couldn’t you have realized earlier on in your hike that you weren’t gonna get over the peak before night fall and turned back?” I said.
“Oh, well…, um…, we didn’t want to drive all the way down from Toronto (why did they have to be from Toronto!) and not make the summit – It was pretty tough out here last night so I think we did well to make it through the night!”
“NO, you did not do well. Friendly advice from me is to pack and get off the peak before the summit steward gets up here. She will take a less friendly approach and have a big, honking ticket for you!”
”But it was an emergency... ”
“Again, No, it was not an emergency….”
Headed off towards Iroquois with these two scooping up water for their water bottles from a small puddle. Sigh…


Clambering up Iroquois
The ridge walk to Iroquois is always fun open-rock walk and then a tight little trail through the krumholtz before another scramble up Boundary and then Iroquois. The traditional big mud holes were there but none too wet so I made good time. At Iroquois I sat and enjoyed some lunch and took a few shots before starting my trek back. Met my first hiker of the day (apart from my friends on the summit) on Boundary and then another group at the junction down to Lake Colden. Took this trail down and its reputation as a steep climb/descent is well earned. Some might even say it is “murderously steep” so I was in part grateful I was at least descending although that too can be pretty tough on the joints. The trail eventually dips into a brook and follows it down (and down and down). Earlier in the year this brook would have several stunning waterfalls but right now there is little more than a trickle of water spilling through the rocks. Still it made a nice spot for a second break.


A bit grey in the pass by midday
Rejoining the main trail through Avalanche pass the clouds had moved over and the views were not ideal. Add to that it was now mid day so the crowds were charging through the jungle gym of a trail along the lake. Lots of folks headed up Trap dike on probably a good (and dry) day for this route to Colden. From the pass it was a quick tramp back to the Loj where I cleaned up and hit the road. Picked up a sandwich at Saranac Lake and the rain started to fall just as I pointed the truck for home. Good timing all in all and another good hike in the park. The new camera performed admirably well but I must say it is pretty heavy. Not sure it will make it on too many epic hikes as I’d rather carry something lighter… but I’ll find a lot of good uses for it I’m sure. Straight back in to the heat and humidity at home… Will September never come?