Silverfox
New member
The destination today, Adams..postponed a couple of times with the high heat and haze..this is a hike for savoring views and worth a good day.
We started up in the relative coolness from Appalachia parking lot at around
8 am.. the air felt so nice after the past few days and there was nairy any haze to obscure the peaks. We started out just behind a gentleman hiking by himself..just a juice bottle in his pocket..We chatted a bit at a junction where he set up for Watson Path..his goal Madison and Adams..looked like a hiker but the blue jeans, cotton shirt, and no apparent supplies had us shaking heads as we continued up Valley Way a bit.
The Scar Trail ascended steeply at times through lovely old forest..Everything is moss and lichen covered..the trailbed mostly soft and non eroded..I had taken this path on descent before and thought it would be a good up and so it was..
Curious about Durand Scar we took that short loop and were rewarded with our first terrific outlook of the day..a bit steep in one place but well worth the effort..we came off the rock and dropped back into a fine forest and soon hit the Air Line
The climb up Durand Ridge one of my favorites in the Whites with the terrific views into King ravine and to the surrounding peaks and rock piles...never get tired of that section.. At times we had to get moving faster than we had hoped as there were some biting black flies looking for breakfast which made some of the lookouts a little uncomfortable.
we cut across to the hut for water and a snack.. a pretty busy noisy place..no familiar faces but we chatted with a couple of thru hikers for a bit.
The Gulfside over to Thunderstorm Jct a marvel of trailbuilding with long stretches of carefully spaced out rocks..I was a little leery of the Star lake or Air Line ascents with all the slabby sections and thought this might be the most knee friendly way to the summit though a bit longer.
The scramble up Lowes Path was fine as we picked our way through the rocks..everything nice and dry which made it good and we were soon on the summit where slightly hazy views in all directions are spellbinding..The view into the Great Gulf really captures your attention..range after range stretched out into the distance..looked like a few clouds on Franconia Ridge and perhaps Moose..as we were packing up after lunch clouds started billowing up from the great Gulf and flowed in the Madison/Adams col.
The Spur Trail drops down off Lowes Path towards Crag Camp..hugging the edge of King ravine along the way..Magnificent views along a pretty good footbed above treeline..as you drop below treeline the grade steepens.. we stopped at knights castle and enjoyed that vista and rested a moment at the fine RMC Crag Camp where the view towards Madison is un matched.
After a fairly long steep descent with several sets of questionable ladders we reached the Ambibranch/Randolph Path jcts..my origional plan was to head over to the Short Line from here but a group of very LOUD teenagers disuaded us and we instead enjoyed the slightly longer but truely delightful soft and spungy descent on the Ambibranch.. Sure felt good on the feet..Any way you do it Adams from the base is a fairly long and rough hike...my theory is to maximize the views and therefore minimize the pain..
The memorial Bridge was a welcome sight letting us know we were 15 minutes from the car..A great day on the trail with Cymbidium..great views .. while we bypassed ice cream on the way home a dip in the river sure felt good over by Jefferson Notch...
some pics to follow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157621973546709/
We started up in the relative coolness from Appalachia parking lot at around
8 am.. the air felt so nice after the past few days and there was nairy any haze to obscure the peaks. We started out just behind a gentleman hiking by himself..just a juice bottle in his pocket..We chatted a bit at a junction where he set up for Watson Path..his goal Madison and Adams..looked like a hiker but the blue jeans, cotton shirt, and no apparent supplies had us shaking heads as we continued up Valley Way a bit.
The Scar Trail ascended steeply at times through lovely old forest..Everything is moss and lichen covered..the trailbed mostly soft and non eroded..I had taken this path on descent before and thought it would be a good up and so it was..
Curious about Durand Scar we took that short loop and were rewarded with our first terrific outlook of the day..a bit steep in one place but well worth the effort..we came off the rock and dropped back into a fine forest and soon hit the Air Line
The climb up Durand Ridge one of my favorites in the Whites with the terrific views into King ravine and to the surrounding peaks and rock piles...never get tired of that section.. At times we had to get moving faster than we had hoped as there were some biting black flies looking for breakfast which made some of the lookouts a little uncomfortable.
we cut across to the hut for water and a snack.. a pretty busy noisy place..no familiar faces but we chatted with a couple of thru hikers for a bit.
The Gulfside over to Thunderstorm Jct a marvel of trailbuilding with long stretches of carefully spaced out rocks..I was a little leery of the Star lake or Air Line ascents with all the slabby sections and thought this might be the most knee friendly way to the summit though a bit longer.
The scramble up Lowes Path was fine as we picked our way through the rocks..everything nice and dry which made it good and we were soon on the summit where slightly hazy views in all directions are spellbinding..The view into the Great Gulf really captures your attention..range after range stretched out into the distance..looked like a few clouds on Franconia Ridge and perhaps Moose..as we were packing up after lunch clouds started billowing up from the great Gulf and flowed in the Madison/Adams col.
The Spur Trail drops down off Lowes Path towards Crag Camp..hugging the edge of King ravine along the way..Magnificent views along a pretty good footbed above treeline..as you drop below treeline the grade steepens.. we stopped at knights castle and enjoyed that vista and rested a moment at the fine RMC Crag Camp where the view towards Madison is un matched.
After a fairly long steep descent with several sets of questionable ladders we reached the Ambibranch/Randolph Path jcts..my origional plan was to head over to the Short Line from here but a group of very LOUD teenagers disuaded us and we instead enjoyed the slightly longer but truely delightful soft and spungy descent on the Ambibranch.. Sure felt good on the feet..Any way you do it Adams from the base is a fairly long and rough hike...my theory is to maximize the views and therefore minimize the pain..
The memorial Bridge was a welcome sight letting us know we were 15 minutes from the car..A great day on the trail with Cymbidium..great views .. while we bypassed ice cream on the way home a dip in the river sure felt good over by Jefferson Notch...
some pics to follow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/72157621973546709/
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