Wright, Algonquin, and Iroquois
- Lost in the Sock
- Aug 16, 2020
- 4 min read
The day after completing Cascade and Porter we decided to hit our third, fourth, and fifth peaks.
We stayed at the Adirondack Loj at Heart Lake since the trailhead is from the parking lot. Parking is included if you stay here, if you don't stay here you'll pay $15 for non-members or $7 for members. We got free memberships for a year since we both work in healthcare. You'll also save money on stays, food, and other purchases with a membership. We stayed in a private room because we liked the idea of having a comfortable bed after a day of hiking. They have campsites, private rooms, or co-ed bunkbed rooms.
Some people skip Wright due to the steep rock scramble but if you want to become a 46er you have to traverse it! Some people also recommend doing Wright last because they don't want to tire themselves out too much from the beginning of the hike, but then they end up being too tired anyway and skipping it. The day we went it was threatening rain in the late afternoon and we had heard of people getting stuck at the top in the rain so we decided to do it first in case it did rain. You'll likely slide down on your butt even if it's dry so the thought of being stuck in the rain did not appeal to us.
We got to the trailhead at 0640. Sign in and hike about a mile in and you'll see a split with an arrow pointing to the right to for this hike. Its another 2.6 miles to Wright Peak. You'll see another sign that directs you to Wright peak, its about 0.4 miles from here. There are yellow lines painted on the rocks to help you find the way. Make sure to stay on the rocks! The alpine vegetation is very fragile and endangered. We reached the peak at 0840. This was our third high peak. Unfortunately the view was completely socked in (where the inspiration for the name of this blog came from!) but allegedly on a clear day you could see for miles in every direction. This peak is also rated as the windiest peak of the 46ers. We almost lost our hats a few times and I thought it was gonna blow me over. There's also a wreckage from a plane crash on this peak.
Back track a bit and keep heading for Algonquin. We reached Algonquin's peak at 1002. This peak is the second highest and has an elevation of 5114'. The view was still socked so we continued over the mountain and towards Iroquois.
When you've soaked up enough of the views you'll head back over Algonquin to go back to the Loj. We stopped to soak up the views from Algonquin since there wasn't much the first time.
On your way to Iroquois you will see a sign with a large yellow arrow pointing to your left, DO NOT FOLLOW IT. It will take you down the mountain to Avalanche Lake. Turn right and go through the tight trail through the trees to get to Iroquois peak. A lot of people turn left here and end up adding miles to their hike. This is not a hike you want to add more miles to as it is a grind already. Again, I'm going to recommend the AllTrails app, it will track you and you'll know if you make a wrong turn, it has saved us multiple times.
We reached Iroquois peak at 1048. While we were here we stopped for a snack and it cleared up! The view was incredible. It gave us the energy boost we needed to keep going.
When you've soaked up enough of the views you'll head back over Algonquin to go back to the Loj. We stopped to soak up the views from Algonquin since there wasn't much the first time.
By the time we made it back to Algonquin I had developed terrible blisters, so we had to stop for some first aid. We made this first aid kit out of a waterproof tackle box we bought at Walmart. Even though I was wearing broken in hiking shoes and Kyle had a brand new pair on, I was th one who got blisters.
This trail is hard, not recommended for beginners but at no point did we feel in danger. Bring lots of water (2x more than you think) and be safe!
I tracked our hike on my Fitbit and Kyle recorded it on the Alltrails app. It took us about 7 hours of moving time plus the time we spent taking in the views. I had 40,690 steps and we hiked at an average 38'11" minute mile pace. According to my fitbit I burned over 3,500 calories, be sure to bring enough food to keep your energy up. We definitely did not bring enough and I was very fatigued by the end.
You can find more information about this hike here
#/46 Rank Mountain Elevation (feet) Date Completed
1 38 Porter 4059 07/07/2020
2 36 Cascade 4098 07/07/2020
3 16 Wright Peak 4580 07/08/2020
4 2 Algonquin 5114 07/08/2020
5 8 Iroquois Peak 4840 07/08/2020
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