Adirondack - Algonquin Peak

On January 29^th 2010 I got my first taste of winter backpacking. My two friends and I decided to climb Algonquin Peak. Algonquin with its elevation 5114 ft / 1559 m is the second highest peak in the Adirondacks. The plan was to start from Adirondack Loj, hike up to Lake Colden, spend the night there, climb Algonquin Peak and go back to the Loj.

We arrived at the Adirondacks Loj at about 11:00 AM on Saturday January 29^th. We checked our gear, pack all bottles of water, put the snowshoes on, and after signing in at the register we took off toward Lake Colden. It was the first time I had snowshoes on my feet. First few steps felt little bit awkward but after few hundred yards I got in to the rhythm and they literally became extensions of my feet. We reached Marcy Dam about 1:00PM all felling good and high in spirit. The weather was good. Temperature was hovering around 22F(-6C) and it was mostly cloudy with some occasional light snow. At 2:30 we reached Avalanche Lake and stop for little snack and hot tea. It got little bit chillier as temperature dropped few degrees so after few minutes we continue to the Lake Colden. We arrived at the Lake Colden around 3:50 and found our campsite for the night near the Outpost. I got little chillier so I changed my wet fleece and put my small down jacket on. Within few minutes we had out tents sat up and started to cook some hot meals for a supper. Slawek caved in the tent and got his stove going very quickly. It felt like a summer in our tent. Wes and I hung outside a bit and then we all hid inside the tent for some hot soup and drinks. The night was quiet. There was some clothes that need to be dried so, we used our body heat to dry them inside our sleeping bags. It is not the most pleasant thing in the world but necessary evil if you want to have nice dry jacket and gloves in the morning. We also kept water bottles inside the sleeping bags to pervert them from freezing. We all slept well through the night. The temperature dropped to around 0F(-17C). We woke up few minutes after 6:00AM. It took us some time to separate from the warmth of the sleeping bag. For me the worst thing was to tuck my feet to the frozen boots. We melted some snow, ate breakfast, got some hot tea for our thermoses and started to pack. We left our camp around 8:30AM and started our ascent to the Algonquin Peak. The weather was very similar to the day before: temperature around 20F(-5C), mostly cloudy with some light snow. However there was some sun occasionally peaking out so we hoped for some nice views from the top. My feet were a little bit cold on the beginning but after maybe 30min of hiking I was happy to notice that they got warm and comfortable. The hike was much more strenuous and demanding than yesterday. To reach the top we had to ascent 2350’ over 2.1miles. I had the lightest backpack so I started to lead the way. As we were climbing higher the landscape was becoming more and more beautiful. The tress were covered with very thick blanket of snow. Endless whiteness all around us. These beautiful serene surroundings made me feel very peaceful inside which had very positive impact on my physical condition as well. Around 11:15AM we reached the tree-line. We stopped to bundle up because it got colder and the wind started to pick-up. We put our balaclavas, goggles, warmer gloves, had some warm tea and stared our final approach to the peak. We met some people just above the tree-line, some going down and some heading to the neighboring Iroquois Peak, which doesn’t have an official trail but you can still safely climb it. We exchanged greetings and continued on. As we proceeded above the tree-line conditions became more difficult. It was windy and icy. Visibility was poor and our hopes for some nice views from the top basically vanished. We reached summit just before noon. At the same time there was a large group of people approaching form the other side. As we learned later it was some mountaineering school. It was windy and foggy so visibility was very poor. We stayed few minutes, took some pictures and started our descent. We arrived at the Loj at 2:40PM. Tired but very happy; we took off our snowshoes, packed our backpacks and drove back home.

It was my first winter backpacking experience and I think I got hooked. It requires much more thoughtfulness, preparation and physical stamina then summer hiking but it is also much more rewarding. I will definitely be back for more.

Hike Summary
Distance traveled: ~13 miles
Elevation gain: ~2936′ feet
Three happy guys