Distance: ~10 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Madison #15 (5,366 feet), Adams #16 (5,799 feet), Jefferson #17 (5,716 feet)
What an incredible adventure! Today we experienced our most challenging and rewarding hike of all the hikes we've done thus far. Our route today was Valley Way > Brookside > Watson Path [Madison] > Gulfside > Star Lake [Adams] > Gulfside > Edmands Col > Jefferson Loop [Jefferson] > Caps Ridge
Since we had a big day ahead of us, we drove up to Moose Brook State Park after I got out of work and set up our tent in the dark and hit the sack. Here's Quinn waking up on a chilly fall morning getting ready for our hike!
We first drove to the Caps Ridge trail on Jefferson Notch Rd. to drop off our bikes so that we could get back to the car after the trip. We then drove over to Appalachia and hit the trail.
Below treeline the weather was tame and we had some great views as we walked along the river.
More than once, I found Quinn contemplating the beautiful surroundings.
One awesome boulder!
We both loved this tree and it might have been the biggest birch we've ever seen!
Enjoying the sound of the rushing water at Salmacis Fall.
We plan to come back in warmer weather to enjoy a dip below this waterfall!
As we approached treeline, the temperature dropped quickly, the trail steepened and the wind whipped above. We decided we'd have some hot tea before leaving the protection of the trees.
Above the trees, the sky opened up in every direction.
As we made for the summit of Madison, the wind was incredibly strong. The trail was very exposed and we trekked in quick bursts between large rocks to get some protection from the wind.
There weren't any other hikers on Madison. I guess we missed the memo!
There were a few moments heading down from the summit where we had to stay low to the ground and really be sure-footed as the wind was powerful. My jacket rattled loudly in the incessant wind and neither of us could hear each other speak. I'm not sure what the wind speed was on Madison while we were on top but to the south on Mt. Washington, a peak wind speed of 97 MPH and an average of 56.7 MPH were recorded for the day. Neither Adams nor Jefferson had the wind speeds we experienced on Madison.
We arrived at the Madison Spring Hut which was closed for the season. We sat outside the hut in the sun and enjoyed lunch with a couple of other hikers.
We hadn't originally planned to ascend the Star Lake trail but given the direction of the wind, it made sense to alter our plan a little.
Star Lake trail is quite steep but we mostly stayed out of the winds and we got to enjoy some excellent views.
We found some great climbing a bit before the summit!
There was one other hiker at the top of Mount Adams. We quickly took pictures for one another but didn't stay long as it was pretty cold and windy (as you can see from my jacket and the surrounding ice/snow).
The ice on the rocks was beautiful as we made our way down from Adams. It's hard to believe Quinn had been in a t-shirt on Valley Way earlier that morning.
The clouds were coming for us!
We had a great traverse across Gulfside and the clouds moved off of Jefferson.
Outstanding views of the valley below.
We made it to the top of Jefferson. Nobody was at the summit so we took our own pictures. We wiped off the snow from the summit marker and grabbed a photo.
We made our way down the Caps Ridge trail. It was steep and tricky in spots.
It took some time to get into the trees. Once we were in the trees, the hiking became much easier.
We reached the parking lot but our journey wasn't over yet!
We hopped on our bikes and headed down Jefferson Notch Rd. The road was mostly downhill and it was a great cruise!
At the bottom of the road we hopped on the Presidential Range Rail trail and road it all the way back to Appalachia. I'm not sure how far the trek back from the Caps Ridge parking lot to Appalachia was but I'd guess it was 10 miles or so.
We undoubtedly just had our biggest adventure to date. It was an action packed day and one of those experiences that really makes a mark on you. We had a big celebration of the day at the car and tried to catch up on all the calories we burned today. It doesn't get much better than this!!!
Quinn's Take
My Dad and I hiked 3 peaks this time- Mt. Madison, Adams, Jefferson. We camped out at a nearby campsite so that in the morning we were close to the mountains and could get an early start.
First we left our bikes at the bottom of Jefferson so we could get to our car after the hike.
At the top of Madison, we were jumping from rock to rock taking shelter from the wind. I was scared that I was going to get blown off the mountain!
We headed down toward the Madison hut. Although it was closed, we took a lunch break and had some warm tea. We met some people who sat down to eat lunch with us.
Climbing up Adams, it was not as windy because the mountain was blocking the wind. The marker at the top looked cool because there was snow stuck all along the side of it.
On the way to Jefferson, I thought I'd never make because it was so far away and my legs were getting tired. Thoughts of warm tea at the top was my motivation when I wanted to stop! There was lots of snow at the top of Jefferson and it was so cold!!
Going down was very steep! Once we got halfway down, my dad spotted a small square that was the parking lot where our bikes were. After about 8 hours of hiking, we made it to the bikes. I felt dead!
We rode our bikes about ten miles on a trail back to the car. My dad watched me slowly tip over on my bike because I was so tired and my legs felt like water.
At the car, I sat to have a snack and a chipmunk ran out from under my butt...ahhhh!!
Even though this was a hard hike, it was very beautiful and fun!
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