Hiking with Nate, Micah and Cliff in Rocky Peak Ridge and Algonquin regions
August 2006

Three men, their gear and a Jeep	we park and gather gear	crossing the North Boquet at a swimmng hole
shoe washing area	checking out Shoe Box falls	view from above the falls
we head up to camp	and back down to enjoy the water and	warm some water
have dinner	visit old beaver dams at dusk	in the morning, the sky lightens as we head out to the Jeep
breakfast at Chapel pond on the road to the Owls Head trailhead	we climb	and reach Owls head
with wide views	a mucky pond	we wander trailless toward the Bald/Rocky Peak Ridge col
the river split -- our landmark on the river	festooned shelf mushrooms on the climb (Oyster mushrooms, I'm told)	these look cool too (a gem-studded puffball)
we climb toward the col	we climb from the col to a view along the ridge	wide views back north
zoom down onto owls head	we climb	reaching the lower bump on Rocky Peak Ridge with its views for lunch
which includes cookie sandwiches	zoom view	heading toward the peak
Cliff fails his traditional timer shot at Lake Mary Louise	OK, a bit of mud	view back on the ridge-top lake
wide view from treeline	we reach the main peak	and enjoy the view west
pondering the meaning of the hole in the rock	it serves to hold water and reflect upon its surroundings	there is lots of alpine vegetation
and autumn blueberries too	we see the climb of Giant is steep	reaching great eastward views
Cliff enjoys the view	almost to the official peak	and on the summit
with threatening views	scrambling onward	we descend to the col
to discover we have several miles to go	a nice rest and view from high bank	through flower carpeted forests
we have to grab a last view from Owls Head Lookout	last pictures on the hike	refreshing
refreshed	boots are good	but sandals feel great at the end of the day
hiding from mosquitoes during dinner	next day, we leave camp early again	the clouds again dance in the morning
breakfast is at Cascade Lake this morning	and we pause to enjoy the view on the drive to the Loj	the ski jumps in Lake Placid
the trail seems easy enough	but it climbs	past a loely waterfall
climbing onward	we reach a notch in the ridge and climb above this stunning outcrop	soon we are on the side trail up Wright
reaching treeline	vegetation survey in progress	more climbing
for a great view from the summit	checking out the sights	hiding from the wind
summit puddle	Cliff gets a lesson on the alpine vegetation	I see the three toothed [something]; OK, I get a D-
back down to the maintrail	we start climbing Algonquin	steep ascent
reching the views from treeline	and the view from the summit of Algonquin	we lunch under the clouds, hiding fromthe wind, but not the drizzle
descending toward Boundary with a side view of Wallface	Posing with a Cairn	No Micah, No
we follow the subtle route	Micah on the subtle	but muddy way
view from Boundary	climbing Iroquois	tip toeing to the top
we are on the summit	with its views	checking out the views
picking a good crevise for the descent	back to trails, we descend	A brook slide on the trail
Kiss me on the lips, if you dare to awaken the monster (appears to be a Red Belted Polypore)	view of Colden from the end of Lake Colden lake	we reach Avalanche
with its cliffs on both sides	the left cheek	trail on the edge of Avalanche Lake
reaching the end of the lake	we ponder why this is called Avalanche pass	we enjoy a lowered Marcy Dam as the sun gets low
the night bring more sprinkles	but soon the sun rises and we head home	tally ho

Photos by Cliff and Nate and some passersby; Louis Zulli offered informal fungal advice (don't eat them) as well as quick opinions on types. Panoramas were created with autostitch.