Ancient Boundaries

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(Part 3 of the 4-part September 1981 Adirondack saga.)
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While still on Algonquin’s summit after the night of “Silver Moonlight” and “The Banshee Cry,” I took a side trip to hike over to the other, slightly lower, summits of this MacIntyre Mountain massif. These are Boundary Peak and Iroquois Peak, which few people visit although they are only several hundred yards off the main trail. This is a highly recommended detour.
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The Native Indian tribes of the Algonquin to the north and the Iroquois to the south were said to have had boundaries between them through the center of the Adirondack Mountains, on a SW-NE line, and this boundary went right over the top of MacIntyre Mountain. The boundaries of their hunting grounds were defined by the watersheds.
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You cannot really appreciate this from Algonquin peak alone; you must walk over Boundary Peak to Iroquois Peak (where you get a unique view of Wallface Mountain’s sheer east face and the wilds of Indian Pass in between). Then walk back to Boundary Peak and stand and look around.
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Looking SW you see the line of great boundary passes dividing the watersheds of the range between Algonquin tribes to the north and Iroquois tribes to the south, e.g., Indian Pass. Then turn to look NE and you see the line of boundary passes continue to trend off in that direction, e.g., Hunter Pass. I know of no spot in the range where you can see the divide so well as at Boundary Peak, and that is the origin of its name.
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The detour completed, I packed up and stumbled down the south trail off Algonquin toward Avalanche Pass and the lakes area. I studied Mt. Colden’s north face, my next objective, which loomed across the valley, as I descended. I bivouacked early in the Pass, looking for an early start the next morning.
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(This saga continues in Part 4.)
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-Zenwind.