SteveR
New member
The forecast for a spectacular Fall?! day was too much to resist, so we decided to cross off the last two peaks on our Fall list and at the same time accompany Kibo on the last summit of her 3X48. The targets of the day would be Madison and Adams utilizing Valley Way both directions. Kibo had just finished 2X48 on Adams in July and somehow we left it for the end again!
We had a casual start time of 9:30 and found the trail mostly consolidated and smooth from the weekend traffic. No ice was evident anywhere on the trails we traveled today. Snowshoes were the best tool for the job even though it was only above the hut on Gulfside and Airline that they payed back for their added weight. The sun, now peeking over the summit of Adams, was able to reach some of the snowfields on the northern slopes, and that, combined with a warm breeze, made large areas that wouldn't consistently support bare-booted traffic. Shady areas remained firm. Today's path wandered a bit as it is wont to do in winter.
Osgood Trail to the summit of Madison was being bare-booted even though that western face had full sun all afternoon. It appeared not to have the kind of snow depth we found across the way. I'd say the northern and westerly winds take more of it away to the lee side. We seemed to always be walking on the tips of the rocks and boulders we're all familiar with. That being said, the dog has never had such an easy day on these two summits. The snowpack makes the footing much better than the sharp schist of other seasons.
The weather was everything that we had hoped for, with temps that were above freezing in full sun and no wind to speak of. A low undercast all day added dramatic effect to the views. I unwisely left the DSLR at home today and only had a small point and shoot of dubious quality. So much for saving weight. I did see some high end cameras out there today so hopefully one of those skilled photogs will share some of their work with us.
This was likely the last hike of the season for us. Next week we can get to work on Kibo's (and our) remaining 7 winter peaks. We'll see you out there!
We had a casual start time of 9:30 and found the trail mostly consolidated and smooth from the weekend traffic. No ice was evident anywhere on the trails we traveled today. Snowshoes were the best tool for the job even though it was only above the hut on Gulfside and Airline that they payed back for their added weight. The sun, now peeking over the summit of Adams, was able to reach some of the snowfields on the northern slopes, and that, combined with a warm breeze, made large areas that wouldn't consistently support bare-booted traffic. Shady areas remained firm. Today's path wandered a bit as it is wont to do in winter.
Osgood Trail to the summit of Madison was being bare-booted even though that western face had full sun all afternoon. It appeared not to have the kind of snow depth we found across the way. I'd say the northern and westerly winds take more of it away to the lee side. We seemed to always be walking on the tips of the rocks and boulders we're all familiar with. That being said, the dog has never had such an easy day on these two summits. The snowpack makes the footing much better than the sharp schist of other seasons.
The weather was everything that we had hoped for, with temps that were above freezing in full sun and no wind to speak of. A low undercast all day added dramatic effect to the views. I unwisely left the DSLR at home today and only had a small point and shoot of dubious quality. So much for saving weight. I did see some high end cameras out there today so hopefully one of those skilled photogs will share some of their work with us.
This was likely the last hike of the season for us. Next week we can get to work on Kibo's (and our) remaining 7 winter peaks. We'll see you out there!
