Iroquois and the Descent

After finishing lunch at the peak of Algonquin I was so rigid that I started to shiver and my teeth started chattering- I was ready to sprint down the other side to our third and final peak- Iroquois. I followed slowly behind Jared, Kasie and AJ down the other side of Algonquin- they were quite far ahead of me. My legs were resisting movement but I scurried as quickly as I could to keep them warm.

Photo Courtesy of Jared

Technically, the only way to Iroquois is on an un-marked path over “Boundary Peak”- apparently named after the boundary that separated the Algonquin and Iroquois Indians' ancient beaver hunting grounds.. It was an extremely narrow trail, and I was, once again, thankful for the over-sized rain jacket that AJ's father let me borrow as I whisked through the pines. We made it to a steep rock incline that took some time to maneuver. Thankfully Jared and Kasie have both done a lot of rock climbing before and were there to offer some assistance. Jared jumped up ahead a little and helped to hoist me, and then Kasie, up to the top. I was so excited about getting to the next step that I started to take off to the peak without looking back. Next thing I heard was a loud grunting noise and I turned around- Jared was completely hunched over, unable to breathe from how hard he was laughing. I ran over to the ledge and AJ was holding on very tightly, half-dangling over the edge and completely hugging the boulder he was lying on. After assuring us that he was safe (and just... “stuck”)... Kasie and I also doubled over with laughter. We decided to take another small break on the top of Iroquois.

Jared conquering Iroquois

We took our final set of pictures from the top of the mountains- even though it was our third peak of the trip, Iroquois was amazingly beautiful in its own way. The view was very clear- and you could see easily down to some of the valleys below- beautiful bodies of water tucked in between all of the mountains. It was quiet- peaceful- not as many people at the top of this peak.

Looking down on the valleys from Iroquois

As quickly as we got there, I was ready to turn around. Everyone was prepped for Avalanche Pass. On the way back down I had to pee for first time on the whole trip... I'll spare you the details but for any woman thinking about hiking that has never "gone" in the wild before... just be prepared.  Especially when you're near the tree line and there are people hiking down towards you.  I was literally in a pine tree.  Anyway....

We eventually made it back to where the paths crossed and started our descent around 2:00PM. At this point I was the most tired I had been all hike and was so excited we were “almost done”.  The way down was all rocks and slides – very slippery.  Although it was extremely difficult, it was actually one of the coolest things I've ever done.  We actually followed a small trickle of water from the top of the mountain and watched as it pooled into a stream, slowly growing and ended up as a waterfall in a few locations on the trail.

No pictures- sorry! I was too busy hiking down the rocks.

As wonderfully in-shape as I was, I was pretty awful at this descent.  My knees and ankles hurt VERY badly- everyone had to stop a few times for me. Jared and Kasie were much better at this part... though they they assured me it was because they are fairly seasoned rock climbers. I felt bad they had to wait for me so I tried to go faster and I hit my knee on a rock.  I was starting to get frustrated.  Eventually we even ran out of water- but thankfully were able to refill with an awesome water filter we got from AJ's dad. Water from the stream cannot be consumed directly- it's actually quite dangerous.  It is teeming with bacteria and would make you very sick even though it looks so tempting.  However, once it was filtered, it was the coldest and most refreshing water I've ever had.

Similar pump to the one we used- I'll have to do some research to buy my own!

I will also be purchasing one of these for myself- best way to stay hydrated and keep your hands free for climbing.