"Madams" June 13-14, 2009 -- Part Two -- Adams

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

TrishandAlex

New member
Joined
Sep 13, 2008
Messages
1,862
Reaction score
364
Location
White Mountains, NH
PART TWO of TWO

Cut and pasted from our hiking blog: http://trishandalex.blogspot.com
Accompanying pictures can be found there.
********************

There was only an hour or so before dinner, so Alex and I went in, relaxed, and cleaned up a bit. Then came dinner and the antics of the hut croo.

Alex had a ball.

At dinner I had the pleasure of speaking with Phillip, a Canadian who spent the first half of his vacation doing a 5 hut traverse (this was his last one). The second half will be by the ocean. Now there's a man who does his vacations right.

Also met Ollie and his 15 year old soon, turning 16 the very next day. Cool, spending your birthday at a hut! The father-son duo were heading over the Lakes of the Clouds the next morning, hitting a few peaks along the way. These were two very nice guys, Alex especially enjoyed speaking with Ben.

It was a jovial evening -- a NH AMC group stayed over, as well as a group of ladies called the Painted Toenail Club, or something like that. I didn't get their whole story, but they were a very friendly, happy bunch.
Alex delighted in conversing with as many hikers as she possibly could. Everyone was very kind and supportive of her, she was practically floating on air the whole evening.

Went to bed early, and there was a lady who had fallen asleep wearing her headlamp...and it was on, light pointing at her ceiling (bottom of the bunk above). What is the proper protocol in this situation? Do you push the button on her forehead, perhaps waking her up and seeing you standing over her with your finger on her head? I took the coward's way out and left her alone. A few minutes later, someone else came along and gently pushed the button. She didn't wake. Call me chicken...

Next morning, Alex was dubbed a Junior Naturalist (she filled out her coloring book) and took part in a silly ceremony. She also received a patch, of which she is very proud.

We listend to the forecast during breakfast -- wind speed 5-20 mph, drizzle to light rain, temps in the upper 40s.

After breakfast, and after the hut sang Happy Birthday to Ben, we geared up for the weather and headed out toward Adams.

Quite a different looking day today...here we are a tenth of a mile or so from the hut, looking back toward it...it's in the picture somewhere...

Up we went on the Gulfside Trail.

Views toward the valley...

Continuing onward, toward the intersection with the Airline Trail...

We bypassed the Airline Trail and took a slightly longer, but more moderate, approach...Gulfside to Lowe's Path. I wanted to avoid steep climbs on wet, slippery rocks.

Continuing on the Gulfside Trail toward Lowe's Path...

Approaching Lowe's Path...

From here it was a moderate .3 miles to the summit. Looking in front of us, this was all we could see (forgive the white spot, I can't get it out of the picture for some reason).

As we approached the peak, two figures appeared out of the fog. It was Ollie and Ben, descending. They had come up the Airline Path. We exchanged pleasantries, I wished Ben Happy Birthday again, and we parted ways.

Shortly afterward, we arrived at the summit!

Here's what the summit of Mt. Adams looks like: a bunch of piled up rocks.

Alex and I touched the tops of all the boulders, then Alex decided to stand on what we thought was the high point.

There was no wind and we were both warm and comfortable, so we actually sat and hung out for a while. It was fun, sitting in a cloud, unable to see anything but the few boulders right around us -- yet knowing we were atop the second highest mountain in New Hampshire.

Eventually we headed down back to the hut. We took a short break there, then headed back down Valley Way. It was an uneventful descent. Both of us were tuckered out and ready to be back at the car. We made it down by 3:30pm, feeling sore but good.

'Twas a grand weekend.
 
Hey Trish . . . another super job of documenting your trip! I predict that you & Alex will have many fond trips down “memory lane” as you review the truly splendid chronicles of your adventures.
 
Thanks, Tim and Ron.

This was by far the longest TR I've ever written. Future ones will be much shorter...I hope you didn't fall asleep while trying to get through it. :eek:
 
Nice job guys! The Adams photo in your blog reminded me of my first time on Adams - no views!
 
What a trooper Alex is to head up Adams in the rain and fog. Great work. Now what number is that for you and Alex?
 
Conquering Madams

Trish,
Once again, a most enjoyable trip report and pictures. You are both getting closer to the ultimate goal. The summit of Adams is not a big area compared to other summits as you both found out. I'm sure you'll be back again when the weather is better for the grand views. Your report wasn't really too long, but it did keep me up beyond my bedtime last evening..:D
Little D:)
 
Top