Algonquin, Wright Mountains: Winter Wonderland (10/14/09)

This was another hike that I organized through a local hiking group, so there ended up being seven of us that went on this hike. As I kept track of the weather, as hike date approached I knew there would be a very good chance of having some snow and ice on the tops of the mountain, so when we actually saw some it wasn't really a surprise. What was a surprise was how low an elevation that the snow stuck and how much was on the tops. The trees were frosty white that morning I would say as low as 3000' and the last two thirds of the trail was in snow and ice. We were thankfully prepared and brought our traction control, for me a chance to really test my micro-spikes out. After the trip as a whole, climbing up and down solid sheets of ice, hopping from snow covered rock to rock, and wading through drifts several times up to my knees I give the micro-spikes a solid two thumbs up! Our goal going into the hike was to do Algonquin, Wright and Iroquois. Unfortunately, due to the pace of the group as a whole, the weather conditions and temps and energy levels we stopped after only doing Wright and Algonquin. I'll just have to go back and do Algonquin and Iroquois another day, which isn't all that bad since we were in the clouds on top of both mountain and had zero visibility. The overall trail wasn't extremely long, but the last pushes up both Wright and Algonquin had their share of very steep pitches, both rock slab scrambles and rock hopping. It was definitely a neat experience doing it when everything was covered in snow and ice. It gives everything a different look. Having some sort of traction was a must. It was interesting to see the change in temperature the higher you went, in the trail became more solid and no running water. We had a quick lunch on the shoulder of Wright Mt before heading back down and up Algonquin. Even being mid week and very wintery, we did encounter at least 4 or 5 parties who were also doing the hike that day. Once we got to the summit of Algonquin, we snagged a few quick photos and decided not to pursue Iroquois today. The trip back always seems to be longer than the way up, I'm sure due to several factors. Anyway, we all made it back to the Loj without any complications and I bagged #16 & 17 for this year.

Giant & Rocky Ridge Peak 9/30/09

There was a low percent chance of rain for the day and when we started the hike the temps were in the high 30's, so we really weren't sure what to expect on this hike. I had been wanting to do this hike for a while now, but had determined to hold off and do it in the peak of leaf season as it has been described as possibly the best fall foliage hike in the high peaks. I ended up doing the hike with four others from a hiking group I am apart of. I decided to do the hike out of the Rt 9 trail head, up over Blueberry Cobbles, Bald Peak, Rocky Ridge Peak, and lastly Giant. The trail to the top of Giant is eight miles and a huge 5300' ascension! Since we had enough people to spot cars we decided to do that to cut down on the mileage. By the time we actually got hiking it was 9am. The weather was mostly cloudy but no precipitation and the colors were still in pretty close to peak season. The hike up from the Rt9 trail head has many vistas and exposed rocky ridge lines that offer many great views. We kept a steady pace for most of the way up, with lots of photo breaks, so by the time we completed the hike and got down to the car at the base of the Ridge trail it was close to 6:15pm. As it was close to noon when we reached the summit of Bald Peak, we decided to stop and have lunch there. Oh, one thing that seems to stand out about this hike from a wildlife standpoint was the number of grouse we jumped. I believe over the course of our ascent we jumped at least 6 grouse! And, just before the summit of Bald Peak we came across a very chatty bird who I mimicked in conversation for several minutes. He must have been very welcoming of the conversation, lol. The trail was really quite dry over almost the entire stretch of the trek with the small exception being around Lake Mary-Louis and the small water crossing there. As we approached the summit of Rocky Ridge we crossed over some really cool alpine meadows which added a nice variety to the course of the hike. As we got close to the summit of Rocky Ridge we climbed into a snow squall, the first snow of the year! As it turned out, we were in snow on the summit of both high peaks today; the trees and grass held the snow, but the ground itself was still to warm to hold it. We stopped briefly on top of Rocky Peak for photos, but the wind was very strong and with the temps made it too cold to stay there for any longer. The descent into the col between RRP and Giant was quite easy; it was the ascent up the east side of Giant that was by far the steepest and roughest on the hike today. Even still it went by with no problems and we made it to the top of Giant with no issues. Unfortunately we were in a snow cloud so we had close to zero visibility on the top of Giant. Oh well. The last three miles down Giant were definitely the most unpleasant for me. All three are steep and rough with no breaks in the loss of elevation. As it is, I would rather climb steep than descent it. My knees don't care for it too much, heh. Anyway over all we all had a great time, on one of the toughest hikes yet. Two more bite the dust! #14,15 of this year.