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Wright Peak - A Worthy Alternative to Algonquin

Elevation: 4580 ft

Ascent: 2400 ft

Distance: 3.8 miles

Location: Adirondak Loj Heart Lake trailhead.

The trail starts out on fairly easy to moderate grades winding through a beautiful forest until the 1.5 mile mark. Beyond this point the trail climbs moderatly to steeply on rough and rocky terrain and crosses a brook around the 2.0 mile mark. At 2.6 miles the trail comes to a nice waterfall and then continues to climb the rocky trail to the side trail to Wright peak at 3.4 miles.  This begins a steep ascent all the way to the base of the summit. Bare rock with cairns guide you the rest of the way to the summit at 0.4 miles from the side trail junction.

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Editors Note: The 46 "High Peaks" do not need promotion to be popular hiking destinations. If anything, they are too popular with the hiking public, so it is not my intention to recommend any of them in "Hikes you might like." I am making a exception for Wright Peak because it is a good alternative summit for persons who are about to "bite off more than they can chew." The lower trail to Wright and Algonquin has received a lot of professional trail work and can lead the inexperienced hiker to think the whole trail is going to be like this. Instead, the further up the mountain you get, the more rugged the trail becomes. It seems to me that the trail up Algonquin beyond the Wright-Algonquin trail junction gets progressively more rugged than the trail has been to that point. So if you are an experienced hiker, having a great time, and the weather is good, then go for Algonquin by all means. But if you have found the trail more difficult that you expected, or you are more tired than you thought you would be, or the weather is somewhat threatening or poor, or it is later in the afternoon, consider changing your goal from Algonquin to Wright. The ascent to Wright from the junction is 600 feet vs 1200 feet for Algonquin, the weather on Wright is more often better than on Algonquin, and the trail up Wright is somewhat less rugged than the rest of the trail up Algonquin. Just do yourself a favor and have a great summit experience instead of a so-so one. - Bob Goodwin

NOTE: For a more complete description of the trails, please see ADK's (guide to) ADIRONDACK TRAILS - High Peaks Region 13th Edition, pp 122-124.

Happy hiking!
Rick McCorry