PETCH
New member
Date: July 8, 2012
Trails/Peaks: Jefferson, Adams, Madison via Valley Way, Osgood, Star Lake, Lowes, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Randolph Path, Gray Knob, Hinks, Shortline, Airline trails
Trail Conditions: Everything was fairly dry, all trails in good shape
Cast of Characters:CrazyBob, Queen Weetamoo, James, Ken, Steve, and me
Stats: 14 miles, 6300 ft of gain; 10 hours.
Commentary
Well, the time had come to try to push the body beyond the typical dayhike elevation gains of 3,4, or 5K. And where else to get some serious elevation gain, than the Northern Big Boys: Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. I put together a 14 mile loop with 6300ft of gain including a couple new trails, and summoned the troops. Six of us took off from Appalachia at 8:30am Sunday morning and headed up the Valley Way towards Madison. We came across Karen (Happyhiker) along the trail and again later at the hut. As we gained elevation, the wind got louder and louder. The forecast for the higher summits was 35-50mph winds with higher gusts. Around the hut, the wind wasn't too bad, but increased in brutality, as we cranked up Madison. From the summit of Madison, we could see Adams was blanketed with fast moving clouds. We didn't hang around too long up top and booked it down to the hut for a little lunch. CrazyBob suggested we take the sheltered and steep Star Lake trail for the ascent of Adams. We were just on that trail 3 weeks ago, and I wasn't crazy about that climb. But, the plan made sense, so after lunch we marched on around Star Lake and begun the relentless climb.
Looking back towards Star Lake and Mt Madison
Hiking up the Star Lake Trail
The Great Gulf from Adams
The trail seemed easier this time, and eventually we all summited Adams and took refuge amongst the rocks. So what's Next? Well, Jefferson of course! I mean, it's right there.......right? You could practically touch it!! We descended Adams exposed to the full force of the Westerly winds. We made the turn near Thunderstorm junction and descended more towards Edmands col. The Adams family peaks (Abigail and J.Q.) offered some relief from the wind
Take a walk on the Gulfside......
Looking back at Edmands col and Mt Adams
Down, down, down.......finally we hit Edmands col. The AMC really needs to fill in this area. Just a few hundred thousand pounds of 8" riprap would do the job quite nicely. Perhaps pave parts of it. One more big climb to go. What's another 800ft or so of elevation gain? Lot's of hikers on the trails enjoying the mostly sunny conditions. Cotton must be making a comeback, as we saw people in jeans, hoodies.....I kept waiting to see someone with some serious gold bling, but must have missed it. I didn't get the cotton memo as I must have been busy working on my TPS reports......So, we huffed, and we puffed and got to Jefferson, our final peak of the day.
The Castellated Ridge and Castle Ravine
Back down at Edmands col, we took the Randolph path, and Gray Knob trail for the upper route back to Appalachia. Both these trails were really fantastic as they provided some great views of Castle Ravine and the Castellated Ridge. A quick stop at Gray Knob hut, then down the Hinks back towards the Shortline, then finally to Airline and out!
A long day in the hills, but a good day
Congrats to James for hitting the big 3 for the first time, Steve for hitting Madison and Adams, and Ken for checking off Jefferson.
And remember, Germans love David Hasselhoff !!
Slideshow from this trip
Petch
Trails/Peaks: Jefferson, Adams, Madison via Valley Way, Osgood, Star Lake, Lowes, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Randolph Path, Gray Knob, Hinks, Shortline, Airline trails
Trail Conditions: Everything was fairly dry, all trails in good shape
Cast of Characters:CrazyBob, Queen Weetamoo, James, Ken, Steve, and me
Stats: 14 miles, 6300 ft of gain; 10 hours.
Commentary
Well, the time had come to try to push the body beyond the typical dayhike elevation gains of 3,4, or 5K. And where else to get some serious elevation gain, than the Northern Big Boys: Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. I put together a 14 mile loop with 6300ft of gain including a couple new trails, and summoned the troops. Six of us took off from Appalachia at 8:30am Sunday morning and headed up the Valley Way towards Madison. We came across Karen (Happyhiker) along the trail and again later at the hut. As we gained elevation, the wind got louder and louder. The forecast for the higher summits was 35-50mph winds with higher gusts. Around the hut, the wind wasn't too bad, but increased in brutality, as we cranked up Madison. From the summit of Madison, we could see Adams was blanketed with fast moving clouds. We didn't hang around too long up top and booked it down to the hut for a little lunch. CrazyBob suggested we take the sheltered and steep Star Lake trail for the ascent of Adams. We were just on that trail 3 weeks ago, and I wasn't crazy about that climb. But, the plan made sense, so after lunch we marched on around Star Lake and begun the relentless climb.
Looking back towards Star Lake and Mt Madison
Hiking up the Star Lake Trail
The Great Gulf from Adams
The trail seemed easier this time, and eventually we all summited Adams and took refuge amongst the rocks. So what's Next? Well, Jefferson of course! I mean, it's right there.......right? You could practically touch it!! We descended Adams exposed to the full force of the Westerly winds. We made the turn near Thunderstorm junction and descended more towards Edmands col. The Adams family peaks (Abigail and J.Q.) offered some relief from the wind
Take a walk on the Gulfside......
Looking back at Edmands col and Mt Adams
Down, down, down.......finally we hit Edmands col. The AMC really needs to fill in this area. Just a few hundred thousand pounds of 8" riprap would do the job quite nicely. Perhaps pave parts of it. One more big climb to go. What's another 800ft or so of elevation gain? Lot's of hikers on the trails enjoying the mostly sunny conditions. Cotton must be making a comeback, as we saw people in jeans, hoodies.....I kept waiting to see someone with some serious gold bling, but must have missed it. I didn't get the cotton memo as I must have been busy working on my TPS reports......So, we huffed, and we puffed and got to Jefferson, our final peak of the day.
The Castellated Ridge and Castle Ravine
Back down at Edmands col, we took the Randolph path, and Gray Knob trail for the upper route back to Appalachia. Both these trails were really fantastic as they provided some great views of Castle Ravine and the Castellated Ridge. A quick stop at Gray Knob hut, then down the Hinks back towards the Shortline, then finally to Airline and out!
A long day in the hills, but a good day
Congrats to James for hitting the big 3 for the first time, Steve for hitting Madison and Adams, and Ken for checking off Jefferson.
And remember, Germans love David Hasselhoff !!
Slideshow from this trip
Petch
