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Adams and Madison 11/2/10 (Airline -> Osgood > Star Lake Trail > Gulfside > Airline)
Date: 11/2/10
Peaks: Adams, Madison
Trails: Airline -> Osgood -> Star Lake Trail -> Gulfside -> Airline
Conditions: Surprisingly mid-winter like. Clouds in the morning then sunshine all day. Trace snow at the Airline trail head. Water and mud on some parts of the trail but otherwise in good condition. No blow downs. Rocks became iced covered above an elevation of 3000’. Snow depth increased as elevation was gained with about 4 inches deep at tree line. Winter conditions along the ridge; 4~6 inches of snow, rime ice, and a strong wind. Very little wind at hut with some snow drifts over 2 feet along the trail. Some streams were snow covered and easily missed until your boot was underwater. Star Lake Trail was sheltered from the wind but had significant snow drifts along the trail (over 4 feet deep). Everything above tree line was covered in rime ice. Both Madison and Adams summits were extremely cold and windy (-11 degrees including wind chill according to NOAA), with large amounts of ice and snow throughout the accent.
Equipment: A pretty extensive winter pack including goretex jacket, hat, gloves, googles, and microspikes. I didn’t bring Snow Shoes or crampons but once out of the tree line I had wished I had. They would have saved me a lot of extra work.
Comments: No cars in the Appalachia parking lot, no tracks on the trail, and no one on the peaks. The only people I saw all day were a group working on the hut. Airline was a great trail and easily manageable with microspikes. The trails up Madison and Adams were impossible to follow due to ice and snow drifts and made for difficult climbing. Madison was tough but Adams Via Star Lake Trail was truly intense. The snow was much deeper on this side of the mountain and coupled with the fact that this trail is extremely steep it was an exhausting part of the hike. The wind at the both peaks was probably around 30mph. The views were amazing! It was a great but tiring hike.
Fox
[email protected]
Date: 11/2/10
Peaks: Adams, Madison
Trails: Airline -> Osgood -> Star Lake Trail -> Gulfside -> Airline
Conditions: Surprisingly mid-winter like. Clouds in the morning then sunshine all day. Trace snow at the Airline trail head. Water and mud on some parts of the trail but otherwise in good condition. No blow downs. Rocks became iced covered above an elevation of 3000’. Snow depth increased as elevation was gained with about 4 inches deep at tree line. Winter conditions along the ridge; 4~6 inches of snow, rime ice, and a strong wind. Very little wind at hut with some snow drifts over 2 feet along the trail. Some streams were snow covered and easily missed until your boot was underwater. Star Lake Trail was sheltered from the wind but had significant snow drifts along the trail (over 4 feet deep). Everything above tree line was covered in rime ice. Both Madison and Adams summits were extremely cold and windy (-11 degrees including wind chill according to NOAA), with large amounts of ice and snow throughout the accent.
Equipment: A pretty extensive winter pack including goretex jacket, hat, gloves, googles, and microspikes. I didn’t bring Snow Shoes or crampons but once out of the tree line I had wished I had. They would have saved me a lot of extra work.
Comments: No cars in the Appalachia parking lot, no tracks on the trail, and no one on the peaks. The only people I saw all day were a group working on the hut. Airline was a great trail and easily manageable with microspikes. The trails up Madison and Adams were impossible to follow due to ice and snow drifts and made for difficult climbing. Madison was tough but Adams Via Star Lake Trail was truly intense. The snow was much deeper on this side of the mountain and coupled with the fact that this trail is extremely steep it was an exhausting part of the hike. The wind at the both peaks was probably around 30mph. The views were amazing! It was a great but tiring hike.
Fox
[email protected]
