Home States  Connecticut  Maine  Massachusetts  New Hampshire  New York  Rhode Island  Vermont  View All Lists  NE 4,000 Footers  NE 100 Highest  NH 4,000 Footers  NH 52 With A View  NH Belknap Range  NH Ossipee 10 Explanation of Ratings Links Ossipee Mountains Notice Search Trail Conditions Trip Log About	Mt. Adams, Mt. Madison Randolph, NH, Low and Burbank's Grant, NH, Thompson and Meserve's Purchase, NH Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below. Looking up the snowfields on the way to Mt. Adams Route: Air Line, snowfields, (Mt. Adams), snowfields, Gulfside Trail, Osgood Trail, (Mt. Madison), Osgood Trail, Valley Way While the forecast called for a sunny day, clouds were fast approaching from the south and west. Starting on bare ground in Appalachia, we hit melting snow about a mile or two up Air Line. Nearing treeline, it was time for snowshoes, as the recent new snow was amounting to a foot or two (on top of a few feet of old snow). Emerging from the trees, trail conditions ranged from bare ground to five foot drifts of recent snow. With stretches too long and awkward for snowshoes, it made for some slow going pushing through the drifts. Upon reaching the Gulfside, I sought out the snowfields and snowshoed to the summit of Adams, where the views were still quite strong, despite the increasing clouds. Heading back down the snowfields, I worked my way to the hut, dropped my snowshoes, then climbed up the Osgood Trail to Madison. Back at the hut, it was time for a late lunch, prior to heading down the Valley Way - big mistake. The top portion of the trail hadn't been used in quite some time, resulting in very tough conditions - an icy sideslope with about one to two feet of wet snow on top. Finally reaching the point in the trail in which folks had departed into the drainage, we were able to have smoother sailing back to the trailhead. Hike Ratings Getting To Trailhead: Easy Destination: Mt. Adams Length: Moderate Steepness: Very Difficult Navigation: Moderate Views: Excellent Crowds: Heavy Destination: Mt. Madison Length: Difficult Steepness: Very Difficult Navigation: Moderate Views: Excellent Crowds: Heavy Hike Stats Date Hiked: Saturday, May 1, 2010 Hike Commenced: 8:50 AM Parking Elevation: 1,311' Destination: Mt. Adams Ascent Commenced: 8:50 AM Summit Reached: 1:15 PM Time Elapsed: 04:25 Trailhead Elevation: 1,311' Summit Elevation: 5,774' Distance: 4.3 miles Vertical Gain: 4,513' Destination: Mt. Madison Ascent Commenced: 1:19 PM Summit Reached: 2:10 PM Time Elapsed: 00:51 Trailhead Elevation: 5,774' Summit Elevation: 5,367' Vertical Gain: 607' Hike Ended: 5:15 PM Hike Time Elapsed: 08:25 Hike Vertical Gain: 5,250' The Air Line Trail trailhead at Appalachia Trout lilly along the Air Line Trail Mt. Madison as seen from the summit of Mt. Adams Looking up the Osgood Trail on the way to Mt. Madison The Wildcats and the side of Mt. Washington as seen from Mt. Madison Directions to trailhead: Take US 2 West from Gorham to the Appalachia trailhead/parking lot. Back to Mt. Adams Profile Back to Mt. Madison Profile
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