Home > Hiking > Hiking Trip Reports > Mount Madison/Mount Adams Loop

Sunday, August 12, 2001

Page 1 | Page 2

Distance: 10.2 miles

Trip Report: We were originally planning to climb Mount Whiteface on 8/12/01 but changed our minds at the last minute when the weather gods saw fit to deliver an unusually clear day in the Northern Presidential's, so we decided to hike Mount Madison and Mount Adams as a loop instead. We arrived at the Appalachia parking lot just off of route 2 just after 8:00am Saturday morning. There were a least 20 cars in the parking lot and a number of hikers gathering their gear as they prepared to enter the trail. The Appalachia parking lot is the starting point for a number of trails that ascend Mount Madison and Mount Adams so we knew it was not going to be a secluded hiking experience.
 
We started out on Valley Way for the first hour of our hike and much to our surprise we only encountered one hiker who was heading to the Madison hut for the evening. Not wanting to tempt fate by encountering any more hikers we quickly took a left onto the Brookside tail, which connected to the Watson path and would eventually ascended Mount Madison rather than taking Valley Way thereby saving us the trouble of covering the distance from the hut to the summit twice.

The Brookside trail was appropriately named for it followed a brook as it ascended the ridge heading to Mount Madison. The gentle sound of the water flowing over the rocks made the hike especially delightful as the weather was nice and there wasn't a soul in sight except for us. We settled into a comfortable pace and stopped periodically to eat, drink, and rest for we knew this was going to be a long day and we needed to reserve as much strength as possible for the latter potions of the hike.

The RMC must have been busy this year for all the signs marking the trails looked new. At one point we were not certain which way the trail went until we saw a sign across the brook that said "path." Once on the Watson Path, the trail began to ascend more steeply as it meandered towards tree line. A few sections were steep and required a little scrambling, but nothing like once you emerged above tree line and had to scramble up and over the pile of rocks that makeup the summit. The only other people we encountered during our ascent up Madison were several French Canadians who grunted some semblance of a salutation as they passed us heading down Watson Path. For the rest of the morning before we emerged above tree line we had the path to ourselves.

Once beyond tree line the hiking gods decided to toy with us by giving us several false summits to add a little excitement to our otherwise tranquil and thoroughly enjoyable hike. Each time we were about to crest what we thought had to be the summit we were greeted with yet another "false summit" just over the horizon. After being treated to three false summits in just under an hour, we eventually reached the true summit and were met with an absolutely breathtaking view of Mount Washington and the various gulfs that make up the range below.

I had never seen Mount Washington so beautifully presented to us in all its glory without a cloud to mar its majesty. The auto road and the cog railway were clearly visible in the distance as caravans of cars were headed to the summit to enjoy the views that this exceptionally clear day had to offer. The Madison summit was relatively crowd free with only ten people moving around hoping to get just the right picture. Off to the northeast I could see some smoke coming from what I thought was the Osgood campsite, but later realized it was too far up on the ridge to be the camp. It didn't dawn on me that this was an actual forest fire until the next day when I read about it in the newspaper. It never seemed out of control, just a steady stream of smoke that one would associate with a campfire.

After a twenty-minute rest with the usual assortments of photos being taken, we headed towards the Madison hut. You don't actually see the hut until you are almost on top of it for it is located in a saddle between Mount Madison and Mount Adams. We stopped in for a few minutes to fill up our water bottles, go to the bathroom, and sample some of their home cooking for a nominal fee. The hut didn't look all that crowded, yet there were a number of people milling about outside either finishing a hike or just getting ready for a hike. As we headed for Adams, we inadvertently set out in the wrong direction until we realized just where the Mount Adams trail began. In our defense however, they rerouted the trail and it wasn't well marked.

It took about 20 minutes for me to get back my hiking legs after our rest at the hut. The trail to the summit was steep and we had to watch our footing so as not to twist an ankle as we climbed from pile to pile. The last section just before the summit was the steepest. Nevertheless, by this time I had once again recaptured my hiking legs and quickly scurried up the last section. The summit for Mount Adams is not as large as Mount Madison so it took us a few minutes to find a spot to sit and take some photos. Although Mount Adams is closer to Mount Washington, my wife and I felt that the view from Mount Madison was better. Our rationale was that Mount Madison gives you a panoramic view, were as Mount Adams gives you an up close and personal view. I'm sure others will disagree. Either way, both summits offer you a spectacular view of the Northern Presidentials.

Page 1 | Page 2