Moose
New member
Dates Hiked: 8/23-8/24/06
Trails Hiked: Airline, Upper Bruin, Valley Way, Gulfside
Total Distance: ~10.4 miles
Conditions: Partly cloudy, no rain, temps: 60's (day), 40's (night)
Trip Report:
I had some vacation days to burn so I decided on a solo overnight in the Northern Presidentials. I loaded up and started from the Appalachia parking area in Randolph around 8:30 Wed. morning. I was a little surprised by the number of cars in the parking area on a weekday. I started up Airline and settled into a pace I was confortable with. I was passed by a few pairs of day hikers and another group coming down. As I was nearing treeline I noticed the clouds were closing in. After about 3 mi I emerged above treeline as Airline begins across Durand Ridge. I caught my first glimpse of King Ravine to the west:
I quickly reached the Upper Bruin junction which connects Airline with Valley Way. My original plan was to take Airline up and Valley Way back down. Due to the decreasing visability on the ridge and not being familiar with the trail I decided to drop down the 0.2 mi to Valley Way. This connects very close to the Valley Way tensite. I headed the short distance down Valley Way to find empty tent platforms. I set up my tent, ate some lunch and dumped all unnecessary gear to lighten up my pack for Mt. Madison.
I hiked up Valley Way to the Madison Hut where I stopped in for a short visit and water refill. A view of Mt. Madison from Valley Way:
The Madison summit is 0.5 mi from the hut. It was cloudy and windy following the rocky Gulfside trail up. A shot looking down to King Ravine and the RMC's Crag Camp:
After a short stay on the summit I headed back down to camp. The platforms were full for the night and some late arrivals set up their tents where they found room. Ate some dinner, chatted with a pair from central PA sharing my platform and called it a night around 7:45pm.
Awoke a little after 6am Thursday. Made some oatmeal and tea and packed up. I was feeling good and my goal was to head up Valley Way to Gulfside to Airline and Mt. Adams. I left camp at 8:20. A view of the hut and Mt. Madison from Gulfside:
Once on Airline the scamble up the rocks to Adams was going to be slow going with a full pack. Since I was coming down the same trail, when I reached this point I dropped my pack near a cairn and continued up:
It was much quicker up Adams without the heavy pack. The summit was a little less cloudy/windy than it was on Madison, but colder. A look back at Star Lake and Madison:
Mt. Washington and the auto road:
I went back down Airline. You really have to pay attention to the cairns and blue blazes on the way down (or up). I can see how easily you could get lost in poor visibility. I found my pack just where I left it and continued on down. Well the upper part of Airline was in the clear today so I was going to get to hike it afterall. This is a great trail with magnificent views into King Ravine:
I took a break for lunch where the Chemin des Dames trail connects with Airline. Here I could sit and look into the ravine:
In order to finish on Valley Way I again took Upper Bruin from Airline. Passed the junction for the tentsite and continued the 3.3 mi to Appalachia. Overall I had a great trip. The alone time was great for clearing my head and I can mark off #'s 15 & 16 from my 4k's.
Trails Hiked: Airline, Upper Bruin, Valley Way, Gulfside
Total Distance: ~10.4 miles
Conditions: Partly cloudy, no rain, temps: 60's (day), 40's (night)
Trip Report:
I had some vacation days to burn so I decided on a solo overnight in the Northern Presidentials. I loaded up and started from the Appalachia parking area in Randolph around 8:30 Wed. morning. I was a little surprised by the number of cars in the parking area on a weekday. I started up Airline and settled into a pace I was confortable with. I was passed by a few pairs of day hikers and another group coming down. As I was nearing treeline I noticed the clouds were closing in. After about 3 mi I emerged above treeline as Airline begins across Durand Ridge. I caught my first glimpse of King Ravine to the west:
I quickly reached the Upper Bruin junction which connects Airline with Valley Way. My original plan was to take Airline up and Valley Way back down. Due to the decreasing visability on the ridge and not being familiar with the trail I decided to drop down the 0.2 mi to Valley Way. This connects very close to the Valley Way tensite. I headed the short distance down Valley Way to find empty tent platforms. I set up my tent, ate some lunch and dumped all unnecessary gear to lighten up my pack for Mt. Madison.
I hiked up Valley Way to the Madison Hut where I stopped in for a short visit and water refill. A view of Mt. Madison from Valley Way:
The Madison summit is 0.5 mi from the hut. It was cloudy and windy following the rocky Gulfside trail up. A shot looking down to King Ravine and the RMC's Crag Camp:
After a short stay on the summit I headed back down to camp. The platforms were full for the night and some late arrivals set up their tents where they found room. Ate some dinner, chatted with a pair from central PA sharing my platform and called it a night around 7:45pm.
Awoke a little after 6am Thursday. Made some oatmeal and tea and packed up. I was feeling good and my goal was to head up Valley Way to Gulfside to Airline and Mt. Adams. I left camp at 8:20. A view of the hut and Mt. Madison from Gulfside:
Once on Airline the scamble up the rocks to Adams was going to be slow going with a full pack. Since I was coming down the same trail, when I reached this point I dropped my pack near a cairn and continued up:
It was much quicker up Adams without the heavy pack. The summit was a little less cloudy/windy than it was on Madison, but colder. A look back at Star Lake and Madison:
Mt. Washington and the auto road:
I went back down Airline. You really have to pay attention to the cairns and blue blazes on the way down (or up). I can see how easily you could get lost in poor visibility. I found my pack just where I left it and continued on down. Well the upper part of Airline was in the clear today so I was going to get to hike it afterall. This is a great trail with magnificent views into King Ravine:
I took a break for lunch where the Chemin des Dames trail connects with Airline. Here I could sit and look into the ravine:
In order to finish on Valley Way I again took Upper Bruin from Airline. Passed the junction for the tentsite and continued the 3.3 mi to Appalachia. Overall I had a great trip. The alone time was great for clearing my head and I can mark off #'s 15 & 16 from my 4k's.
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