dailey7779
New member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 9
- Points
- 0
- Location
- North Providence, RI
- Website
- dailey7779.blogspot.com
Date(s) Hiked: 11/7/09 & 11/8/09
Pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cdailey7779/TwoDaysInThePresidentialRange#
Saturday: Nov 7th (Madison, Adams, Jefferson)
Trails(s) Hiked: Valley Way, Osgood, Gulfside, Air Line, Jefferson Loop, Randolph Path, Short Line
Total Distance: 14 miles
Difficulty: It was pretty difficult because of the length above treeline, cold temps, high winds, and slippery snow.
Conditions: Snow and ice in places but no traction needed. There were some minor snow drifts between summits but nothing to difficult. Wind was out of the NW at 25 to 40 MPH
Special Required Equipment: none, saw one guy with micro spike but they weren't necessary
Trip Report: Started off on Valley Way just after 6am, about a mile in I ran into two people who were hiking all the way to Monroe, which I thought was cool but they were going kind of slow. I hope they had fun and weren't descending the iced Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail in the dark! When I reached the Madison Spring Hut I put on my snow pants, I was happy I did because within minutes of being on the Osgood Trail up to Madison's summit I was hammered by wind gusts. I had terrific views from Madison Summit.
Next I was onto Mount Adams, I went up Air Line which was a pain, I've done this before but not in the snow and rime ice, it’s only .6 miles but it seems alot longer. From now on I'm just going to stay on the Gulfside Trail to Thunderstorm Junction and backdoor the summit via Lowe's Path, it's longer obviously but not as much of a pain IMO! At the summit there were great views into the Great Gulf Wilderness from Adams summit. Winds were whipping and I hid between a few huge boulders and warmed up.
Next was onto my favorite part of the Gulfside Trail between Adams and Edmonds Col, it's a stretch were the trail runs through stunted growth evergreens that look like Christmas trees covered with snow, and you're shielded from the wind by the ridge to the right of you and the view of Jefferson, Clay, the Great Gulf Headwall, Auto Road and the Washington's summit are right in front of you while you hike!
Upon reaching Edmands Col the snow drifts were up to a foot in a few spots and I was back hiking in the wind, which hurt me as I hiked up Jefferson Loop because I had became hot and sweated a little while I was out of the wind. However I knew within .3 miles I'd be at the summit and could shield myself from the wind and re-heat. The views from Jefferson were magnificient, Mount Clay to Washington were crystal clear! While relaxing at the summit I did learn the hard way that taking off your gloves when the wind chill is around zero is not a good idea as my fingers went numb in about a minute, I then spent the next ten minutes heating them back up before I descended.
I hiked the Randolph Path basically all the way down to Appalachia, there were a few inches of fresh powder from the night before and after the Gray Knob Trail junction I got to break trail as no one had been on that part of the trail. I also made a quick stop at "The Perch" which has a pretty cool looking lean-to and some tent platforms.
DAY 2:
Sunday: Nov 8th (Monroe, Washington)
Trails(s) Hiked: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Gulfside Trail, Jewell Trail
Total Distance: 10.5 miles
Difficulty: difficult but fun!
Conditions: Cold, temps below freezing, wind chill above 5,000 feet in single digits, snow (minor drifts up to a foot), ice, rime ice, high winds.
Special Required Equipment: Micro Spikes needed above Gem Pool to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, after that it was bootable with care to not slip in the snow until Jewell trail which was mostly dry and in great shape!
Trip Report: I was on the Trail just after 8am. I drove up to the base station to try to find the path that leads to the Ammonoosuc Trail to save about a mile off my hike but couldn't find it, I know where the one for the Jewell trail is, off to the left of the tracks but I just couldn't figure out where the one for the Ammo is???? So I got back in my car and went to the real trailhead, drove past the fox who is always hanging around the base station!
Trail was mostly wet and I really liked the Gem Pool and the waterfall at the gorge. As it got steeper the trail became almost all ice so I got to use micro-spikes for the first time ever, I loved it! I like how the spikes just bite right into the ice and take hold of it letting me scoot up with ease! At Lakes of the clouds I stopped in at the "dungeon" where I met a couple hanging out until the weather cleared up so they could enjoy the views (which happened around 11:30) while going over the Camel Trail and down via the Boot Spur.
I went up to Monroe which was still in the clouds and then back down, as I hiked up to Washington everything cleared up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the rest of the day. The wind was roaring out of the NW, up to 70 MPH and it was fun to be pushed around by it. At the top of Washington I was greeted by a very friendly dog who has just completed # 42 of the 48 - 4000 footers!
After eating a quick lunch and changing some clothes and re-heating I headed directly into the wind which wasn't as fun as before. I had to hold my hood and hat with my hands from blowing away and I couldn't walk upright or I'd get blown back to. After about a mile the winds lessened and the temps picked up and it was back to being a fun hike with great views of the Caps Ridge on one side and the Cog, and the Southern Presidentials on the other.
Didn't see another person while descending, when I got back to my car I noticed someone hat broken off and taken the Ammonoosuc Trailhead sign that was there in he morning
All in all it was another great weekend in the whites, with great days with awesome sites!
Pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cdailey7779/TwoDaysInThePresidentialRange#
Saturday: Nov 7th (Madison, Adams, Jefferson)
Trails(s) Hiked: Valley Way, Osgood, Gulfside, Air Line, Jefferson Loop, Randolph Path, Short Line
Total Distance: 14 miles
Difficulty: It was pretty difficult because of the length above treeline, cold temps, high winds, and slippery snow.
Conditions: Snow and ice in places but no traction needed. There were some minor snow drifts between summits but nothing to difficult. Wind was out of the NW at 25 to 40 MPH
Special Required Equipment: none, saw one guy with micro spike but they weren't necessary
Trip Report: Started off on Valley Way just after 6am, about a mile in I ran into two people who were hiking all the way to Monroe, which I thought was cool but they were going kind of slow. I hope they had fun and weren't descending the iced Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail in the dark! When I reached the Madison Spring Hut I put on my snow pants, I was happy I did because within minutes of being on the Osgood Trail up to Madison's summit I was hammered by wind gusts. I had terrific views from Madison Summit.
Next I was onto Mount Adams, I went up Air Line which was a pain, I've done this before but not in the snow and rime ice, it’s only .6 miles but it seems alot longer. From now on I'm just going to stay on the Gulfside Trail to Thunderstorm Junction and backdoor the summit via Lowe's Path, it's longer obviously but not as much of a pain IMO! At the summit there were great views into the Great Gulf Wilderness from Adams summit. Winds were whipping and I hid between a few huge boulders and warmed up.
Next was onto my favorite part of the Gulfside Trail between Adams and Edmonds Col, it's a stretch were the trail runs through stunted growth evergreens that look like Christmas trees covered with snow, and you're shielded from the wind by the ridge to the right of you and the view of Jefferson, Clay, the Great Gulf Headwall, Auto Road and the Washington's summit are right in front of you while you hike!
Upon reaching Edmands Col the snow drifts were up to a foot in a few spots and I was back hiking in the wind, which hurt me as I hiked up Jefferson Loop because I had became hot and sweated a little while I was out of the wind. However I knew within .3 miles I'd be at the summit and could shield myself from the wind and re-heat. The views from Jefferson were magnificient, Mount Clay to Washington were crystal clear! While relaxing at the summit I did learn the hard way that taking off your gloves when the wind chill is around zero is not a good idea as my fingers went numb in about a minute, I then spent the next ten minutes heating them back up before I descended.
I hiked the Randolph Path basically all the way down to Appalachia, there were a few inches of fresh powder from the night before and after the Gray Knob Trail junction I got to break trail as no one had been on that part of the trail. I also made a quick stop at "The Perch" which has a pretty cool looking lean-to and some tent platforms.
DAY 2:
Sunday: Nov 8th (Monroe, Washington)
Trails(s) Hiked: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Monroe Loop, Crawford Path, Gulfside Trail, Jewell Trail
Total Distance: 10.5 miles
Difficulty: difficult but fun!
Conditions: Cold, temps below freezing, wind chill above 5,000 feet in single digits, snow (minor drifts up to a foot), ice, rime ice, high winds.
Special Required Equipment: Micro Spikes needed above Gem Pool to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, after that it was bootable with care to not slip in the snow until Jewell trail which was mostly dry and in great shape!
Trip Report: I was on the Trail just after 8am. I drove up to the base station to try to find the path that leads to the Ammonoosuc Trail to save about a mile off my hike but couldn't find it, I know where the one for the Jewell trail is, off to the left of the tracks but I just couldn't figure out where the one for the Ammo is???? So I got back in my car and went to the real trailhead, drove past the fox who is always hanging around the base station!
Trail was mostly wet and I really liked the Gem Pool and the waterfall at the gorge. As it got steeper the trail became almost all ice so I got to use micro-spikes for the first time ever, I loved it! I like how the spikes just bite right into the ice and take hold of it letting me scoot up with ease! At Lakes of the clouds I stopped in at the "dungeon" where I met a couple hanging out until the weather cleared up so they could enjoy the views (which happened around 11:30) while going over the Camel Trail and down via the Boot Spur.
I went up to Monroe which was still in the clouds and then back down, as I hiked up to Washington everything cleared up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the rest of the day. The wind was roaring out of the NW, up to 70 MPH and it was fun to be pushed around by it. At the top of Washington I was greeted by a very friendly dog who has just completed # 42 of the 48 - 4000 footers!
After eating a quick lunch and changing some clothes and re-heating I headed directly into the wind which wasn't as fun as before. I had to hold my hood and hat with my hands from blowing away and I couldn't walk upright or I'd get blown back to. After about a mile the winds lessened and the temps picked up and it was back to being a fun hike with great views of the Caps Ridge on one side and the Cog, and the Southern Presidentials on the other.
Didn't see another person while descending, when I got back to my car I noticed someone hat broken off and taken the Ammonoosuc Trailhead sign that was there in he morning
All in all it was another great weekend in the whites, with great days with awesome sites!
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