Madison/Adams/Jefferson/Washington: Dec 28 - Views From The Top

Frodo · 12-28-2003, 08:32 PM

7:15am
We decided to get a little more rest (especially after our grueling hike the previous day) and started a little late. Thom was back to join us for this one, which is good because he is a great motivater. Up the packed out Valley Way we go...

10:02am
We are tired, so we take a relaxed pace up to the hut. It is awesome not to be breaking trail! We take a break and then head for the summit.

10:34am
We arrive at the summit of Madison. Such a beautiful day! Low winds, blue skies, mild temps. A fantasic day to be up in the Presidentials.

10:51am
We arrive back at the hut only to see John Swanson and Nan Giblin arrive. We talk to them for a while and just as we are about to leave, Hal, Gif, and Mike arrive. Another surprise! They want to join us for our hike up Adams.

12:05am
The 6 of us arrive on the summit of Adams. The Northern Presies are a mix of rock and ice which make for slow going. Too much rock to use crampons so we do a lot of "rock hopping".

1:46pm
We arrive on the summit of Jefferson. Along the way we had another surprise, we bumped into Sam Jones (we have to stop meeting like this). Good luck on your upcoming marriage.

4:08pm
We arrive on the summit of Washington. There is so much ice! You literally could play hockey in the parking lots. It was tough going getting to the summit. So much ice and still a lot of exposed rock. We became sick of rock hopping, and ended up bailing on the Gulfside and headed over to the Cog Railway Tracks and walked on the ice free railroad ties for about 1/2 a mile to the summit. It was a little nerve racking when you went over some of the elevated, grease-covered tracks, with some drops of about 15 feet to the rock and ice below (watch your step!).

We meet John Cotton, a meteorological intern at the Observatory, and we watched a giant shadow of Mt Washington form on the horizon as the sun was setting, which was spectacular!

6:40pm
We arrive back to our spotted vehicle. Heading down the Lion Head Trail at night was beautiful. The mica on the exposed rocks shimmered under the glow of our head lamps.

14 down, 34 to go...

ruckerz · 12-28-2003, 08:58 PM

Man!! you are a lucky dog. I posted a trip report just six days earlier and all the northern presies were stuck in the clouds with hurrican force winds!! (Causing my group to abort adams and jefferson completely).

I hope it's better this coming weekend because I'm going for another attempt.

fluffy · 12-28-2003, 09:10 PM

Hey guys! Glad to finally get the trip report! We've been checking every 15 minutes or so since about 8:45.... Sounded like a great day.....glad the weather gave you a break. It was sure nice down here where we played in the snow with Tucker....

fluffy and 4 wheeler...

Michelle · 12-29-2003, 05:09 AM

Sunset from Washington!

Glad you guys had such beautiful weather for that part of your trip! Keep up the good work and .....see ya on the trails!

donna · 12-29-2003, 07:23 AM

You guys did great. Seema and I were on Adams summit around 10:00 AM. I think it was the best view this winter. Spectacular day, sunny, around 40 degrees. Awesome!

donna

ytmountains · 12-29-2003, 07:02 PM

Great job on a super day. I summitted Washington about noon time. Ice was certainly the word of the day. Hope to meet you guys sometime soon on the trail. You all sound like you are doing things right.
Keep it up. I'll be looking for you all.

12-28-2003, 08:32 PM	#1
Frodo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Wilmington, MA Posts: 538	Madison/Adams/Jefferson/Washington: Dec 28 7:15am We decided to get a little more rest (especially after our grueling hike the previous day) and started a little late. Thom was back to join us for this one, which is good because he is a great motivater. Up the packed out Valley Way we go... 10:02am We are tired, so we take a relaxed pace up to the hut. It is awesome not to be breaking trail! We take a break and then head for the summit. 10:34am We arrive at the summit of Madison. Such a beautiful day! Low winds, blue skies, mild temps. A fantasic day to be up in the Presidentials. 10:51am We arrive back at the hut only to see John Swanson and Nan Giblin arrive. We talk to them for a while and just as we are about to leave, Hal, Gif, and Mike arrive. Another surprise! They want to join us for our hike up Adams. 12:05am The 6 of us arrive on the summit of Adams. The Northern Presies are a mix of rock and ice which make for slow going. Too much rock to use crampons so we do a lot of "rock hopping". 1:46pm We arrive on the summit of Jefferson. Along the way we had another surprise, we bumped into Sam Jones (we have to stop meeting like this). Good luck on your upcoming marriage. 4:08pm We arrive on the summit of Washington. There is so much ice! You literally could play hockey in the parking lots. It was tough going getting to the summit. So much ice and still a lot of exposed rock. We became sick of rock hopping, and ended up bailing on the Gulfside and headed over to the Cog Railway Tracks and walked on the ice free railroad ties for about 1/2 a mile to the summit. It was a little nerve racking when you went over some of the elevated, grease-covered tracks, with some drops of about 15 feet to the rock and ice below (watch your step!). We meet John Cotton, a meteorological intern at the Observatory, and we watched a giant shadow of Mt Washington form on the horizon as the sun was setting, which was spectacular! 6:40pm We arrive back to our spotted vehicle. Heading down the Lion Head Trail at night was beautiful. The mica on the exposed rocks shimmered under the glow of our head lamps. 14 down, 34 to go...

12-28-2003, 09:10 PM	#3
fluffy Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: jaffrey, nh Posts: 15	sounds like fun! Hey guys! Glad to finally get the trip report! We've been checking every 15 minutes or so since about 8:45.... Sounded like a great day.....glad the weather gave you a break. It was sure nice down here where we played in the snow with Tucker.... fluffy and 4 wheeler...

12-29-2003, 07:23 AM	#5
donna Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Scar Ridge Posts: 255	Beautiful weather You guys did great. Seema and I were on Adams summit around 10:00 AM. I think it was the best view this winter. Spectacular day, sunny, around 40 degrees. Awesome! donna __________________ donna

12-29-2003, 07:02 PM	#6
ytmountains Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: HOME:Maine AVATAR: BSP Posts: 78	Great job on a super day. I summitted Washington about noon time. Ice was certainly the word of the day. Hope to meet you guys sometime soon on the trail. You all sound like you are doing things right. Keep it up. I'll be looking for you all. __________________ Have a safe up and down www.pbase.com/jfs "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience is most often the result of bad judgement." Duncan Ferguson

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12-28-2003, 08:58 PM	#2
ruckerz Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 21	Man!! you are a lucky dog. I posted a trip report just six days earlier and all the northern presies were stuck in the clouds with hurrican force winds!! (Causing my group to abort adams and jefferson completely). I hope it's better this coming weekend because I'm going for another attempt.

12-29-2003, 05:09 AM	#4
Michelle Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Marble Mtn. Wilderness! Posts: 259	Sunset from Washington! Glad you guys had such beautiful weather for that part of your trip! Keep up the good work and .....see ya on the trails!