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Click on the thumbnail to the left to see a map that shows a profile of
the third day's hike. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see larger
images.
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No bears took our food. The only bears that came near us were in Katie's
head. We decided we would hike up Algonquin today. From the NW shore of
Lake Colden it is 2.1 miles and 2,350 vertical feet to the peak of Algonquin.
That's a lot of up, as seen in the picture. We only brought water, lunch,
and some other essentials in our packs. The rest of the gear stayed at camp.
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After a couple hours of climbing uphill we were getting good views of
Mount Colden and the peaks to the E. Numerous times on the climb we had
to scramble up large slabs of rock, sometimes using our hands. Accordingly,
the guidebook states "this trail is not recomended for backpackers in either
direction." I don't know that we would say that, but the hike would be worse
with a full pack.
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The alpine zone-what a welcome site. The tall maple trees cease, then
shrubby firs take over, and finally the bare rock of the mountains peak
prevails. It is important above treeline to stay on the marked trail (rock)
to prevent trampling alpine plants and vegetation.
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The trail is marked above treeline by large piles of rock called cairns.
Small yellow stripes are painted on the cairns and periodically on the
rock to direct hikers. Katie is coming up to the first cairn in this
picture.
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Looking to the SE from Algonquin Peak you can prominently see Wallface
Mountain. This is where we were in the past two days. Scott Pond
is to the right of Wallface in this picture. It is above the valley; we
now see why the hike up to it was so grueling at the end of the first day.
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After 3 hours of strenuous uphill hiking, we were officially on the summit
of Algonquin Peak! Another hiker was kind enough to take our picture.
The cooler air and stiff breeze was a welcome change from the sticky
humidity we had experienced in the previous days.
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Here is Katie looking off at the impressive slides on Mount Colden. Mount
Marcy (the highest peak in the Adirondacks) is at the top of the picture.
Lake Colden is in the lower right corner of the picture.
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Here's something Aaron has always wanted to do... stand atop a mountain
and turn 360 degrees while taking pictures. 12 pictures completed the
task. Then an image stitching program was used to connect the pictures.
So enjoy the view from the top of Algonquin Peak.
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After eating lunch and enjoying the view, we began the hike back down after
an hour on top. On the way up, we had scoped out some nice swimming holes.
We stopped at this waterfall on the way down for a refreshing dip.
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