Better Outside Than In: July 2017

A nice summer day in NH. I went over Fri night and spent a little time looking for camp sites on State land. There are some nice ones on Old Cherry Mountain Road but all full on a peak summer weekend. I decided to stay right at the trail head. This worked out fine although it is a parking lot. Allowed me to get up and go the next day so I was on the trail at 6AM. Nice and cool most of the day as I was up to Adams by 9:30 and it was cool on the ridge and Madison. A decent description I found on the Internet is below. I followed the loop as described. The Short Line trail is nice! Some nice water falls, caves in a rock jumble in the valley, and then a steep slide up to the ridge. The sun was blocked until I reached the ridge. I didn't see anyone else on this trail on what was a busy day! It was clear until I got up to Adams. There were clouds blowing around Mt Washington and off and on at the top of Adams. Things had cleared mostly by the time I got to Madison. I went to skiers right of Valley Way to see some waterfalls. These were marked side trails. Near the bottom I cut back to the parking lot on Sylvan Way or a similar trail in that area. A lot of nice waterfalls on the way down. A nice loop with water falls, caves, some steep hiking, and two peaks. Back to the car at 1PM where it was 80 degrees in the valley.

Description from Internet:

Elevation: 5,774 feet (1,760 meters)
Coordinates: 44°19'14" North 71°17'29" West
Features: Rock Scrambles, Mossy Falls, Madison Spring Hut, Ice Caves, 360 degree views on a clear day, Alpine Zone, Star Lake, Peak Bagging
Distance of highlighted hike below: 10 miles with Mt. Madison (but you could always just hike Adams.)

Mount Adams is a 5,774 foot mountain in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, making it the second highest mountain in New England after Mount Washington.
There are two major subsidiary peaks of Mount Adams: Mount Sam Adams (named after John Adams' cousin and Revolutionary Leader Samuel Adams) and Mount Quincy Adams, (named after President John Quincy Adams, Sam Adams' son).
The Appalachian Trail traverses the area between Mount Adams and Mount Sam Adams on the Gulfside Trail.
Mount Madison (5,367 feet) is a great mountain to Peak Bag Mount Adams with, because they are only 1.4 miles apart, but you have to take the weather conditions into consideration when deciding if this is right for you.
Mossy Falls are a great waterfall to visit on the way up to Mount Adams if you take the Short Line Trail. The Ice Caves are also a great alternative to "normal" hiking, as you have to make your way over, under and through tight squeezes in caves and giant boulders. When hiking on the Short Line Trail, you will see signs for the Subway which leads to and through the Ice Caves, then meets back up with the Short Line Trail. The Madison Spring Hut is 1.0 mile away from Mount Adams and 0.4 miles from Mount Madison.

The map below shows how to get to the summit of Mount Adams and Mount Madison via the Appalachia Trail head Parking Lot.
There are many trail routes you can take to reach the summit of Mount Adams and Mount Madison, but the one below takes you by Mossy Falls, the Ice Caves, Star Lake and the Madison Spring Hut.
Begin at the Appalachia Trail head Parking Lot. The trails begin behind the wooden information booth. Stay right to begin the Air Line Trail for 0.9 miles. (You will cross an intersection about 0.2 miles into the hike for The Link, and Sylvan Way, then another intersection about 0.4 miles after that for Beechwood Way.) After you pass the Beechwood Way sign, stay slight right at the next intersection to cross over to Short Line Trail and continue for 1.9 miles until you reach Mossy Falls.
After enjoying Mossy Falls, continue up for 0.4 miles until you come to an intersection where you can go left to see the Ice Caves, or left for a slightly easier hike. (Each way till be 0.9 miles and meet up together at the Gulfside Trail.) Once you reach the Gulfside Trail sign you will see a sign pointing to Mount Adams. Continue up for 0.8 miles until you reach the summit.
After you are done at the top of Mount Adams, take the Star Lake Trail down to the Madison Spring Hut, passing Star Lake on your right. It will be 1 mile from Mount Adams to the hut. From the hut, take the Gulfside Trail up the bald rockyness of Mount Madison for 0.4 miles where you can enjoy great summit views on a clear day. Views of the Mount Washington Auto Road are also visible if you look just left of the direction of the Madison Spring Hut.
From Mount Madison, take the Watson Path for 1.5 mils (passing a junction at 0.3 miles with the Pine Link). Connect onto the Valley Way Trail and continue until you reach the parking lot, which is roughly 2.4 miles.

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Click to download PDF Trail Map of Mount Madison and Mount Adams

From I-93
The parking lot for the above hike begins at the Appalachia Trail head Parking Lot. From I-93, take exit 35 (just North of Franconia Notch) or exit 40 if you're coming from the North. You will be on route 115 after exiting the highway. Follow it to route 2, where you will turn right. The parking lot is right on the road. It is a long parking lot, hard to miss. There are generally always cars parked there.
From Conway
Take route 16 North until it meets Route 2 in Gorham, NH where you will turn left. You will pass Dolly Copp road. The parking lot will be on the left.