Sawteeth Mtn.

Father’s day, today my dad, son Derek, brother Rick, and I set out to hike Sawteeth.We arrived at the Lower Ausable parking lot after dropping off Derek and Dad at the beginning of the road. We were at the trail head at 6:41am and were off on our hike. I picked this hike for Fathers day because my father and brother had never done a high peak, so I figured this would be a fairly easy one, in that you start out with a long walk before climbing, this was nice for me also because it gave us time to slowly warm up.We arrived at the lower Ausable lake at 8:50am, had a drink and shed some cloths and continued on. When we arrived at the water fall I was amazed, this was a very relaxing and beautiful site, and I could have taken a nap here.We were about halfway up from the lake when I turned around and looked down at my Dad and brother, both completely out of breath and Derek and I we hardly breathing, and my dad said “gees, you guess aren’t even huffing”, Derek and I looked at each other and at the same time asked if he wanted us to slow down.We arrived at the junction with the trail to Sawteeth and the other to Gothic’s at 11:30am, I thought we were making good time, and I also again thought this would be a nice place to pitch a tent; it was a nice place with nice views. We took some pictures and had a few sips of water and continued to Sawteeth.The summit of Sawteeth was reached at 12:30pm; we all enjoyed our rest, had lunch and took many pictures. There was another man at peak that took a picture of all of us, this we framed and have in our family room in the house.We arrived at the trail head at 4:52pm and were out of woods, it was a beautiful day.

Algonquin and Iroquois Peaks

On April 17, 2005 we set out to hike these two peaks, on a very nice day. This was another great day of hiking. Its funny how some days we describe as "epic" and others were just great hikes. This was one of those "epic" day hikes as we all felt strong all day. The 4 of us hiked these two beauties on a weekday, which has many advantages compared to a weekend. We would not see another soul until we returned back to Algonquin from Iroquois peak. Unfortunately I cannot remember the exact start time, or ending time, but I do know it was done entirely in daylight hours. The trail is well traveled and is a popular hike, so naturally it sees a lot of traffic. It is a steady uphill once you get past the junction where the trail goes to left and heads towards Whales tale. Continuing right to follow the main trail it is a steady climb that has a few areas with views to rest. The area where the trail crosses in front of the falls of the MacIntyre brook is really a nice area for a break with some pretty views. From here on it is a steady climb and a few areas to scramble up. The next stop for us was at the junction with the trail to Wright Peak. This area seems like a popular area for a break. Just past this a bit after you round the corner as you head to Algonquin you come across a short steep section where, at the top you start to rise up out of the tree line. It was perfect weather to be above treeline and on that ridge. Once we arrived at the summit of Algonquin we could see our next destination, Boundary and ultimately Iroquois Peak. The trip over to Iroquois was pretty uneventful, and before we knew it we were there. This could be a dicey area when the weather changes. But that goes for anytime you are above treeline. The return trip was uneventful as well, and before we knew it we were back on the flats headed out. It was a great day with great friends.