Sheperd's Tooth, Iroquois & Mount Marshall - 5/31/14

 

My primary goal today was Sheperd's Tooth, and I didn't want it the conventional way (from Iroquois Mountain).  I wanted it from Cold Brook Pass.  I knew it wouldn't be easy.  I had been thwarted previously (last October with my dog Rev).  This would be a solo trip; not even the dog was going with me.

It was 42 degrees when I got started from Upper Works.  The forecast called for partly sunny skies with the chance of afternoon showers.  I was on the trail at 7:30 heading for Indian Pass.  This was also my route last year. 

 



Nice bridge over Indian Pass Brook, just north of the Henderson Lean-to  

 I made good time, getting to Summit Rock in Indian Pass in 2 hours and the junction with the Cold Brook Trail in 2.5 hours.



A Painted Trillium colony!



Ladder just before Summit Rock in Indian Pass



The Wallface Cliff



Junction of Indian Pass and Cold Brook Trail

The Cold Brook Trail has some nice water pools in the early part of the trail form Indian Pass Brook.  I stopped at each of them to take some pictures.  They would be nice swimming holes in the warmer weather.  Speaking of weather, I wasn't getting any sunshine, and it fact the wind was picking up and I thought it might rain.

It took me an hour to climb the 1.8 miles to the height of land in Cold Brook Pass.  I went past the cairn to Marshall on the right, just a short distance west of the height of land.  I had hiked this herd path last year.

At the height of land (7 miles into my hike), I found a small cairn on the north side of the trail.  I went in the woods here looking for a route up the cliff band that guards Sheperd's Tooth.  I didn't find one so I came back to the trail and went a little further east.  In fact the trail was starting to drop towards Lake Colden at this point.  Looking up, it seemed that the cliffs were negotiable at this point.

I wasn't sure what my plan would be once I was on the Tooth.  It depended on the effort to get there.  I soon found out what that effort would be.  It was thicker than hell.  I was determined though.  There were no cliffs here, just really thick cripplebrush.  It took me an hour and 20 minutes to climb the .3 miles to the Tooth!  When I was about 10 minutes from the top, clawing my way through, I found a small pocketknife.  It didn't look like it had been there that long.  If anyone lost it, describe it to me and I'll get it back to you. 

As I was crawling up the hill the sun finally began to make an appearance.  Finally I made it to the top.  I had only been there about 3 minutes when "NikeUSA" from the ADK High Peaks Forum appeared.  I had read that he was planning to hike to Sheperds Tooth this weekend from Iroquois, but I didn't know what day.  It was quite a coincidence.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I decided to continue upward to Iroquois (I didn't want to go back down the way I came up).

The top of Sheperds Tooth is near!  Finally.

Lake Colden, Flowed Lands and Calamity Mountain from Sheperds Tooth

Mount Colden and Lake Cold from the Tooth 

 

 

 

Zoom view of Wallface

 

 

Iroquois from the Tooth

 

 

A last look from the Tooth 

 

As I emerged from the Sheperds Tooth herd path onto the open rock on the side of Iroquois, I ran into "Mamamac", also from the High Peaks Forum.  She was with several other folks; one of whom told me how to get to the plane wreck on Mount Marshall!

 

In no time I was on the summit of Iroquois, one of my favorite high peaks.  Several other folks were there taking a rest and enjoying the view.  I decided I would take the trail from the Boundary/Algonquin col down to Lake Colden, and if I had enough time, I would ascend the Cold Brook Trail from the east to go and look for the plane wreck. 

Sheperds Tooth from Iroquois 

 

 

 

Algonquin from Iroquois

 

 

The nice new bog bridges.  They are great!

 

 

 

 

It took me just over an hour to go down to Lake Colden.  The water along the way was fantastic as always.  I passed 5 groups on their way down and 2 groups going up.  I was surprised by the amount of people on this trail, but I guess its the only one up to the MacIntyre Range from the Lake Colden area.

 

It was 2:30 when I got to the Interior Outpost.  I decided to go back up Cold Brook from the east to find the plane wreck.  I was told it was about 2/3 of the way up to the pass.  I kept stopping to scout around but found nothing.  Finally at 3:30 I found it.  It is just east of the height of land, behind a large boulder that sits 10' off the trail on the Mount Marshall side. If you walk behind the boulder, you will see it.  It is just a 100 yards or so off the trail.  There is a description of what happened here if you scroll down a little ways.  The accident happened August 9, 1969 and the plane is a Cherokee 140. 

    

The Mount Marshall plane wreck

 

 

The inside, looking towards the tail 

 

The left wing clipped a tree, broke off and lies nearby



Well now it was 3:45, and I was at the height of land of the Cold Brook Trail.  I decided to climb Mount Marshall from cold Brook and then go down the Herbert Brook herd path instead of going back down the Cold Brook Trail.  Just as I was at the cairn I came across a woman heading east on the Cold Brook Trail.  I described to her where to find the plane wreck.  She was excited since she did not know there was a wreck in the area.

I had forgotten how rugged this herd path to  Marshall is.  I was starting to get a little tired at this point.  At 4:30 I was on top of Marshall.  It was now time to high tail it down to Flowed Lands and out the Calamity Brook Trail.

I made it...

 

Iroquois and Sheperds Tooth from Mount Marshall 

 

I passed several groups going down Marshall (including a 3rd member of the High Peaks Forum, YanaLG).  Nice meeting you.  There were also a couple groups climbing who had to be camping in the area.

 

I reached the Herbert Brook lean-to (my ADK adopted lean-to) at 5:40 and gave it a quick inspection.  The were 3 people taking an afternoon nap in there.  They had gone to see sunrise on Mount Marcy this morning and were now catching up on sleep.

 

Next I made quick work of the Calamity Brook Trail and signed out at exactly 7:30 PM.  Same time that I signed in.  My last goal was to get back to Schroon Lake and catch some dinner before the restaurants closed.  I was successful!

 

My journey to Sheperd's Tooth is now complete.  I ended up covering a lot more ground than I expected to today, but it was a great day.  There were no bugs.  While walking though the re-route section of the Calamity Brook Trail, I was really enjoying the perfect weather at the end of the day.  More pictures can be found here on my Picasa Web Album.

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  19 miles

Hike Time:  12 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 5500'

 

  

 

The route (click to enlarge)

 

 

a closer look at the main part

 

National Geographic map



Iroquois Peak - High Peaks Wilderness - 5/31/13

I had a 3 day weekend ahead of me.  Friday looked like it was going to be the only rain free day.  The forecast for Saturday and Sunday was calling for intermittent thunderstorms.  The whole weekend was supposed to be hot; close to 90°.

I made plans for Friday to be my big hiking day.   The rest of the weekend could be short filler hikes as the weather permitted.  I know, I know, real hikers hike in the rain.  Don’t be fooled; I’ve done my share of hiking in the rain, but sometimes I try to work around it; at least the majority of it.

My plan was to start from the trail head at Upper Works (near Newcomb, NY), and hike to Flowed Lands, to check on my adopted lean-to (Herbert Brook Lean-to).  That hike is 10 miles roundtrip via the Calamity Brook Trail.  Once at Flowed Lands, I would decide where to go.  My top two contenders were Hanging Spear Falls or Sheperd’s Tooth.  I’ve haven’t been to either one.  Hanging Spear Falls would be the easier of the two.

I started out at 9:30.  It was already 75° and warming rapidly.  The trail had some sloppy mud sections, but not too bad considering all the snow and rain of the last week.  I made it to the Herbert Brook Lean-to at 11:30.  Things there looked good.  I placed a new broom there, took some pictures and inspected the general vicinity.  My dog Rev was with me.  I gave her a snack and then she wanted to move on.  She has no patience for sitting around.



The Herbert Brook Lean-to with the Macintyre Range in the background

I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to sit at the lean-to without being bothered by any bugs.  Certain spots this time of year are horrible, especially when it is hot and humid.

Since it wasn’t even noon yet, I decided I would try to head for Sheperd’s tooth, a small bump off the end of Iroquois Peak (between Iroquois Peak and Mount Marshall).  The shortest option would be to take the Cold Brook Trail to Cold Brook Pass, then bushwhack to Sheperd’s Tooth by skirting right of a band of cliffs and climbing through a chimney at the end of the cliffs.  I didn’t know how this would be with the dog, so I chose the longer option of taking the trail from Lake Colden up to the col between Algonquin Peak and Boundary Peak.  From there I could go to Iroquois, then have a short bushwhack to the Tooth and back.

I knew that the trail from Lake Colden was steep, but I had forgotten how rugged it was.  There is quite a bit of rock and boulder in the trail.  It was pretty, since it followed a brook, and the water was high, but it didn’t cause any problems even though in some spots it was flowing in the trail. 



The start of the trail from Lake Colden to the Algonquin-boundary Col

Some of the tiered waterfalls alongthe way

and a water slide

I did notice that I was climbing a bit slower than usual due to the heat and humidity. It was the first really hot climb of the season.  By the time I got to the summit of Iroquois, I think it was around 3 PM.  I assessed my options.  It was going to take another 45 minutes or more to go to Sheperd’s Tooth and back to Iroquois; at which time I would still have a nine mile walk back to the car.  I decided to head back.

Sheperd’s Tooth isn’t going anywhere.  I’ll go back to get it when I don’t have the dog with me.  Iroquois in and of itself is a great peak.  The views from the tooth are just more of the same.

A look at Sheperd's Tooth from the summit of Iroquois

Algonquin in the background

Mount Colden from Iroquois



Flowed Lands from Iroquois

Rev on Iroquois

On my way back over Boundary Peak I stopped to talk to some trail crew who had a bundle of wood all banded together on the summit.  They said it was going to be used to build some bog bridges in the cols on either side of Boundary.  Those will be welcomed.  The bog between Algonquin and Boundary had one especially bad spot.

Going down, as expected, was much quicker than going up; tough on the legs, but faster.  I got back to the car at 10 minutes before 8.  A group of four persons were just heading in; two men and two teenage boys.  I don’t know if they planned to hike by headlamp or not, but they didn’t have much daylight remaining.



Looking east to Mount Colden from near the Algonquin/Boundary Peak col

My route for the day (Click image to enlarge)

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  18.6 miles

Hike Time:  10 hours, 20 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 4600' 



Wright, Algonquin & Iroquois - 2/28/13

Since these 3 peaks are all above treeline, the conditions can be vastly different from trip to trip, especially in winter.  I hadn't yet done them during the official winter season, although I had been up there before in deep snow.

My dog Rev and I headed there on the last day of February, on what was a decent day in terms of temperature and wind speed.  The temps were mild (low 30's in the valley) and winds were light.

We started from the High Peaks Information Center (HPIC) at 9:45 AM.  Seven people had signed in ahead of us.  We ended up passing all 7 before the Wright Trail junction.  That meant we got to make first tracks.  There was 4-6 inches of new snow below 3500', and perhaps 8-12" above that elevation.  I wore my snowshoes the entire trip.

 

The sign just before treeline

I dropped my pack and we headed for Wright Peak first.  There was no ice and the above treeline rock was mostly exposed.  The snow was just in the crevices.  Visibility wasn't great, but without any wind it wasn't bad.

Looking at the summit of Wright

The side trail to Wright Peak is only .5 miles long and is in the trees for about half that distance before you get above treeline.  We reached the summit at exactly 11 AM.  We didn't stay too long since we had 2 more peaks to do.  As we were coming down, two men that we had passed were on there way up.  The other 5 had turned around before the junction.

 We returned to the junction and I picked up my pack and we continued towards Algonguin.  Shortly thereafter is a section that is sometimes tricky in summer or when there is ice, but now it was just snow and we climbed right up.

We noon we were on top of Algonquin.  I've been on the summit many times and I think the winds on the summit during this trip were the lightest I've seen.  We continued on to Iroquois.  One of the things I was doing on this trip was breaking out the trail for Cory D who was in the process of trying to break the record for the fastest ADK winter 46.  I knew he was going to be passing through later in the day.  I was doing what I could to stomp down the new snow on the trail.



 At the col between Algonquin and Boundary Peak, I brushed off the sign that points to Lake Colden.  It was covered in snow.  The path to Iroquois is an unmarked herd path and it bears right at the sign.  We continued on the herd path.  It was mostly discernible although I stepped off the path into deep snow twice.  12:45 PM found us on the top of Iroquois.  The view of the Wallface Cliffs was obscured by clouds.

At this point we began to retrace our steps back after I left a "Go Cory" message in the snow.  As we were reclimbing the back side of Algonquin we once again ran into the 2 men we saw earlier.  We were going to go down to Lake Colden and loop around and go back via Avalanche Pass.  They didn't head for Iroquois.

Wright was in and out of the clouds every few seconds on the way back

The trip back was fast on the now packed trail.  We stopped for lunch on Algonquin and the sun actually partially came out for 2 minutes while we were on the summit.  It then disappeared for the day.  From Algonquin we went straight back to the car and signed out around 3 PM.

 

On this trip, the snow had been sticking to the snowshoes while below 3500' since it was close to freezing.  Up higher, it was colder and the snow was nice and fluffy.  Any one who climbs these peaks in winter should be prepared with a compass in case a white out comes in.  It is quite common in winter and clouds kept blowing in and out on this day making visibility poor at times.  Above treeline it is easy to get disoriented if there are no easily identifiable landmarks.

Hike Stats:
Hike Distance:  ~ 10.5 miles
My Hike Time:  6.5 hours
Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 4000'

 

A map of my route (Click image to enlarge)

 

A topo with the route

Iroquois, Boundary, Algonquin & Wright Peaks - 6/24/12

Some of the most most accessible alpine terrain in New York lies in the Macintyre Range (Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois) of the High Peaks Wilderness.   Mount Marshall is also part of the Macintyre Range, but its' summit is below treeline.  Leesa and I had been on Algonquin and Wright previously, but had never continued on to Iroquois, so today was the day we decided to do that.

Wright Peak from the tree line of Algonquin

The weather forecast was good for the morning, but questionable for the later part of the afternoon, so we got on the trail about 7:15 AM.  The climb to Algonquin is short and steep with a vertical gain of about 3000 feet in 3.8 miles or so.  The trail becomes quite rocky and has one steep long rock slab that is also sometimes wet.  Wear some sturdy footwear with good traction.

Leesa going up Algonquin

We climbed pretty quickly, and we enjoyed the fact that we were somehow mostly devoid of bugs for the majority of the day (very un-Adirondack like, especially for June).  We reached the summit of Algonquin at 9:45.  The only person on the summit was an ADK summit steward.  He told us he had arrived at the summit  around 9 and that he had only seen one person before us at the top.

Mount Colden from the summit of Algonquin

We continued on and soon left the marked trail for the Iroquois herd path.  At the beginning of the herd path, there is a trail sign pointing to the left, and on it is written Iroquois with a right arrow (see picture below).  The herd path was easy to follow.  There was one muddy quagmire shortly after the start, but not too muddy after that.  

Lake Colden and Flowed Lands from the summit of Algonquin

We reached the summit of Iroquois at 10:45; an hour after leaving Algonquin.  What a great summit, and we had it all to ourselves.  We sat down to eat part of our lunch.  The weather was fantastic.  After owning the summit for awhile, we returned to Algonquin at exactly noon. 

Boundary Peak and Iroquois Peak from Algonquin

On the way back, I decided to climb Wright (so Rev could claim it!).  Leesa decided that she would slowly continue her descent, knowing that Rev and I would catch back up to her.  When Rev and I reached the summit, we talked with another summit steward.  There were about a dozen people on top of Wright when we got there.  We stayed for about 5 minutes and then dropped back down to catch up to Leesa.

Iroquois from Boundary Peak (Wallface Cliff at right)

We found her about halfway back to Adirondack Loj.  Once rejoined, we all made our way back to the car.  We had our boots off by 3:15 PM.  Still nice weather.   We didn't see any rain until 6 PM while driving home.

The start the Iroquois Herd Path trail

We unleashed Rev briefly to negotiate the mud on the Iroquois herd
path and gave her one moment of freedom on rock for a photo op

The summit of Iroquois

Rev getting some good snacks on Iroquois

Algonquin from Boundary Peak

Climbing back up Algonquin (from Boundary Peak) 

Heading down Algonquin (only to head up Wright Peak) 

Mount Colden from Wright 

Algonquin from Wright

Hike Stats

Hike Distance:  9.95 miles

Hike Time:  7 hours 45 minutes (including stop time)

Total Vertical Gain:  4660'

Trailhead Elevation:  2095'

Algonquin Peak Summit Elevation:  5114'

Iroquois Peak Summit Elevation:  4840'

Wright Peak Summit Elevation:  4580'

Our route shown in blue (click to enlarge)

My Iroquois, Algonquin & Wright Peaks GPS Track