Spiny Mouse
Member
I spent Friday hiking from dawn to dusk, covering old ground and some new ground. While I've been to all the northern Presidentials before, I've spent very little time hiking the trails on their northern slope. Friday, I started changing that.
I climbed via the Air Line, Short Line, King Ravine Trail, The Subway, Great Gully Trail, Thunderstorm Junction, Gulfside Trail, Loop Trail to Mt Jefferson, back along the Gulfside, up Lowe's to Mt Adams, down via the Air Line to the Gulfside, on to the Madison Springs Hut, up to Star Lake, and then down off the mountains via the Air Line Cutoff, Air Line, Scar Trail, Durand Scar, and finally the Valley Way.
The Subway was as impressive as the AMC guidebook makes it out to be. Slow going and demanding, but a lot of fun. Like the guidebook says, there was no way through without removing my pack and pushing it on ahead. Definitely not recommended with large or heavy packs, but good fun if you have a small pack or can leave your big one behind and then go back for it.
Trail conditions were generally excellent (as opposed to an inherently tough trail, there's a difference), with little mud or other undue obstacles. The only tough spot was on the Great Gully Trail, where it crossed the cascade. The temps were above freezing (40 F ?), but the cascade was full of extremely slick ice. The remarkably steep pitch of the trail and the cascade really called for some care, patience, and thought in deciding how to cross the water safely. In the end, I had to bushwhack up the side of the cascade a couple of times to find safe crossing points. There was one point on this trail where I had to take my pack off again and push it on ahead due to tight clearances. It's not quite a cave, but a tight squeeze with a steep dropoff nonetheless. Watch your head. Don't try this with a big or heavy pack, and I would also advise against descending this trail. I lost a lot of time here too, but I had always wanted to climb this way, given its rugged description in the AMC guidebook, so I was OK with the slow going. Well worth the effort.
Here's a picture of the icy cascade:
Once I reached the area above tree line, the going got a lot easier and the views more expansive:
Passing through Thunderstorm Junction:
The Castles on Mt Jefferson's northern ridge:
On top of Mt. Jefferson. My wife thought the contrails sticking out of my head were pretty funny:
Looking back at Mt Adams from Mt Jefferson:
The cool cairn near Jefferson's summit:
I like the perspective of looking down on the landscape from above. Distances become hard to judge in the clear air. Here is the Gulfside Trail in Edmand's Col from Mt Jefferson:
On top of Mt Adams:
This big girl was munching away at the greenery near the Madison Springs Hut:
Star Lake was pretty with the sun and Mt Adams behind it:
This view at Star lake looks like some primordial savannah:
Finally, kudos to the trail crews doing the recent erosion control work on the Valley Way. I saw a few newly completed stone steps and cleaned out water bars. Thank you for the hard work.
I climbed via the Air Line, Short Line, King Ravine Trail, The Subway, Great Gully Trail, Thunderstorm Junction, Gulfside Trail, Loop Trail to Mt Jefferson, back along the Gulfside, up Lowe's to Mt Adams, down via the Air Line to the Gulfside, on to the Madison Springs Hut, up to Star Lake, and then down off the mountains via the Air Line Cutoff, Air Line, Scar Trail, Durand Scar, and finally the Valley Way.
The Subway was as impressive as the AMC guidebook makes it out to be. Slow going and demanding, but a lot of fun. Like the guidebook says, there was no way through without removing my pack and pushing it on ahead. Definitely not recommended with large or heavy packs, but good fun if you have a small pack or can leave your big one behind and then go back for it.
Trail conditions were generally excellent (as opposed to an inherently tough trail, there's a difference), with little mud or other undue obstacles. The only tough spot was on the Great Gully Trail, where it crossed the cascade. The temps were above freezing (40 F ?), but the cascade was full of extremely slick ice. The remarkably steep pitch of the trail and the cascade really called for some care, patience, and thought in deciding how to cross the water safely. In the end, I had to bushwhack up the side of the cascade a couple of times to find safe crossing points. There was one point on this trail where I had to take my pack off again and push it on ahead due to tight clearances. It's not quite a cave, but a tight squeeze with a steep dropoff nonetheless. Watch your head. Don't try this with a big or heavy pack, and I would also advise against descending this trail. I lost a lot of time here too, but I had always wanted to climb this way, given its rugged description in the AMC guidebook, so I was OK with the slow going. Well worth the effort.
Here's a picture of the icy cascade:
Once I reached the area above tree line, the going got a lot easier and the views more expansive:
Passing through Thunderstorm Junction:
The Castles on Mt Jefferson's northern ridge:
On top of Mt. Jefferson. My wife thought the contrails sticking out of my head were pretty funny:
Looking back at Mt Adams from Mt Jefferson:
The cool cairn near Jefferson's summit:
I like the perspective of looking down on the landscape from above. Distances become hard to judge in the clear air. Here is the Gulfside Trail in Edmand's Col from Mt Jefferson:
On top of Mt Adams:
This big girl was munching away at the greenery near the Madison Springs Hut:
Star Lake was pretty with the sun and Mt Adams behind it:
This view at Star lake looks like some primordial savannah:
Finally, kudos to the trail crews doing the recent erosion control work on the Valley Way. I saw a few newly completed stone steps and cleaned out water bars. Thank you for the hard work.
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