| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Adams, Mt. Madison, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Great Gulf Trail, Six Husbands Trail, herd paths, Buttress Trail, Adams Slide Trail, Airline, Osgood Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 29, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
plenty of parking at the Great Gulf Trailhead - less than half full both morning and mid-day |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
all water crossings easy |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All official trails in excellent shape - thanks to the ax-men out there cleaning up the big blowdowns!!!! |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
not much water along the way once you're above 3000' |
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 | Bugs: |
strangely, there were some vexing bugs on the Adams Slide Trail |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Adams Slide Trail (officially closed for many years) has been on the to-do list for at least 10 years... finally got to it!!! Yay! From the Great Gulf Trail, I took the Six Husbands Trail to the Buttress Trail Junction. From there, I turned up onto the Buttress Trail. Crossing Jefferson Brook, I turned into the tent sites and had to hunt around for the actual Buttress Trail. I went up .1 mi to where the Buttress Trail turns right, just before a large open boulder field/rock slide *on* the Buttress Trail. Well, just before that open area, there is a herd path on the left which is pretty obvious. That is the start of the Adams Slide Trail.
From there, the pathway is fairly obvious. In many places you can see the original footbed although there are bypasses due to blowdowns. Not huge and slabby like I was expecting. I counted only 3 old blazes on the rock (none on the trees). The trail just climbs up the fall line steeply, but usually with good footing and no thick woods. About halfway up to treeline I came to a line of large rock caves and the original trail disappeared for a while but herd paths took me up a little to the right. Around 4000' I hit treeline. The scrub was a little thick, but, not bad. There were a few questionable spots up through the scrub, but, I just kept a due north bearing. Eventually I left the scrub altogether after a short belly-crawl section.
Once fully above treeline, there were occasional sets of cairns, then, times of no cairns whatsoever. When there weren't any cairns, again, I kept a north heading. I didn't see *any* blazes above treeline. Rocks were mostly stable above treeline but I took PLENTY of time because I knew I probably wouldn't see anyone until I hit the summit area of Adams. Just a steady, continuous uphill from there. Around 5300' I intersected the Star Lake Trail (I think) with no obvious junction.
Saw some familiar faces on the summit (John & Pepper & Erika). From there, I went on to Madison and down and out via the Osgood. Really fun day!!! Took a dip in the Garnet Pool "swimming pool" right across from the Nineteen Mile Brook Trailhead after - YAY!!!!! |
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 | Name: |
Becca Munroe |
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 | E-Mail: |
beccahiker@yahoo.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-08-29 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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