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I'm still pretty new to the forum but I figured I would post my trail report from this past saturday.
9/10/04:
arrived at Upper Works around 9PM and fell asleep all to quickly
9/11/04:
Woke up around 6 and was on the trail by 6:45. I decided to hike up over Indian Pass to the trail going over Cold Brook Pass. The fog was pretty thick for the first hour or so but I was surprised to find that it had broken by the time I reached Indian Pass (~8:30). The view was great because the fog still persisted in the valleys. Wallface was amazing and seemed so big (more on this later). I continued on but had to slow down to a snails pace (from my usual 3 mph or so pace) due to the wet rocks and trees. As I climbed down over an endless number of boulders down the middle of the stream most of the time I remembered why I had hated this trail so much when I hiked it a year earlier. At many points the trail markers seem to be haphazardly nailed to trees along both sides of the stream leaving me to try to figure out the best route down (which seemed to always be right down the stream)
.
I finally reached the intersection with Cold Brook Pass and started on my way to Lake Colden. By now the sun was up (and in my eyes blinding me half the time). This trail was also VERY muddy and wet but I enjoyed it. It winds it's way through a number of interesting sections of forest. I don't think I will be doing this trail again either because of the fact that it to ran right down the middle of the stream/streams and was even more difficult to navigate in the thicker sections of the forest. I didn't see one boot print or sign of travel through most of this trail until I passed a woman going in the opposite direction (i wanted to warn her of the mud but decided not to). She was the first person I had seen in almost 3-4 hours.
Finally got to Lake Colden and to the Algonquin trailhead and started up what turned out to be another trail/stream (noticing a pattern here). I've been looking for a good challenging climb and this one definately did the trick. Steep and long but alot of fun. I met some cool people along the way and passed quite a few people huffing and puffing there way up to the top. I got up to Algonquin around 11:30 and stopped and ate lunch. There were quite a few people on the top (15-20). The view was absolutely amazing and the sun felt great but I tired of the crowds so I decided to hit up Iroqouis and then start my long hike back to upper works. The "trail" to Iroqouis was very muddy and there were quite a few bottomless pits of mud that threatened to suck my boots right off my feet. I made it to Iroqouis and quickly understood why many feel it is better than Algonquin. I chatted with a family that was there for a bit then started heading back to the trail down Algonquin. This part was by far the worst of the day due to the fact that there really was no safe way down. The rocks were all wet with water running down many sections. I managed to slip only once and bang me knee against a tree but I made it down to the bottom in one peice. I picked up my pace (finding that after 15miles of hiking I still felt great and had tons of energy) and made it back to Upper Works (via the calamity brook trail - also very muddy) around 4-4:30.
All in all a very satisfying 21mi hike. My favorite was seeing the looks in peoples faces when they would ask me how far I had hiked or how far I still had to hike to get back to the trailhead
. They quickly understood why I usually hike alone (I've found no one that wants to do the hikes that I like to do). I've only done 3 peaks so far (marcy last weekend and now Iroqouis and Algonquin) but I definately see myself doing ALOT more this fall and next summer. The slide up Colden Mtn looked like alot of fun. Anyone up for hiking it sometime in the next few weeks?
Total Mileage: 20.9
Elevation Gain: Approx 4700'
Injuries: 1 Scraped Knee
Time: 9 hours
9/10/04:
arrived at Upper Works around 9PM and fell asleep all to quickly
9/11/04:
Woke up around 6 and was on the trail by 6:45. I decided to hike up over Indian Pass to the trail going over Cold Brook Pass. The fog was pretty thick for the first hour or so but I was surprised to find that it had broken by the time I reached Indian Pass (~8:30). The view was great because the fog still persisted in the valleys. Wallface was amazing and seemed so big (more on this later). I continued on but had to slow down to a snails pace (from my usual 3 mph or so pace) due to the wet rocks and trees. As I climbed down over an endless number of boulders down the middle of the stream most of the time I remembered why I had hated this trail so much when I hiked it a year earlier. At many points the trail markers seem to be haphazardly nailed to trees along both sides of the stream leaving me to try to figure out the best route down (which seemed to always be right down the stream)
. I finally reached the intersection with Cold Brook Pass and started on my way to Lake Colden. By now the sun was up (and in my eyes blinding me half the time). This trail was also VERY muddy and wet but I enjoyed it. It winds it's way through a number of interesting sections of forest. I don't think I will be doing this trail again either because of the fact that it to ran right down the middle of the stream/streams and was even more difficult to navigate in the thicker sections of the forest. I didn't see one boot print or sign of travel through most of this trail until I passed a woman going in the opposite direction (i wanted to warn her of the mud but decided not to). She was the first person I had seen in almost 3-4 hours.
Finally got to Lake Colden and to the Algonquin trailhead and started up what turned out to be another trail/stream (noticing a pattern here). I've been looking for a good challenging climb and this one definately did the trick. Steep and long but alot of fun. I met some cool people along the way and passed quite a few people huffing and puffing there way up to the top. I got up to Algonquin around 11:30 and stopped and ate lunch. There were quite a few people on the top (15-20). The view was absolutely amazing and the sun felt great but I tired of the crowds so I decided to hit up Iroqouis and then start my long hike back to upper works. The "trail" to Iroqouis was very muddy and there were quite a few bottomless pits of mud that threatened to suck my boots right off my feet. I made it to Iroqouis and quickly understood why many feel it is better than Algonquin. I chatted with a family that was there for a bit then started heading back to the trail down Algonquin. This part was by far the worst of the day due to the fact that there really was no safe way down. The rocks were all wet with water running down many sections. I managed to slip only once and bang me knee against a tree but I made it down to the bottom in one peice. I picked up my pace (finding that after 15miles of hiking I still felt great and had tons of energy) and made it back to Upper Works (via the calamity brook trail - also very muddy) around 4-4:30.
All in all a very satisfying 21mi hike. My favorite was seeing the looks in peoples faces when they would ask me how far I had hiked or how far I still had to hike to get back to the trailhead
. They quickly understood why I usually hike alone (I've found no one that wants to do the hikes that I like to do). I've only done 3 peaks so far (marcy last weekend and now Iroqouis and Algonquin) but I definately see myself doing ALOT more this fall and next summer. The slide up Colden Mtn looked like alot of fun. Anyone up for hiking it sometime in the next few weeks?Total Mileage: 20.9
Elevation Gain: Approx 4700'
Injuries: 1 Scraped Knee
Time: 9 hours