The Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

Date of hike: 8/28/10

Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles
Falling Waters Trail: 3.2 miles
Total Miles: 8.9 (3,900 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- One of the most popular hikes in the White Mountains is the Classic Franconia Ridge Loop via the Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf, Franconia Ridge, and Falling Waters Trail.  The route travels over the summits of Mount Lafayette, Lincoln, and Little Haystack and a good day the views above treeline in the Alpine Zone are simply amazing.
- Accompanying me for the hike was my friend and old neighbor from RI, Gina, who would be hiking for the first time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  For this hike she ditched her fashionable Arden B. clothes for comfy outdoor hiking clothes and traded in holding onto her Coach and Dooney & Bourke handbags to holding onto rock slabs and tree trunks as she hiked her way up, over, and down the Franconia Ridge!
- Left RI at 6am, on trail at 9am, finished at 5pm. Temps in 60's and 70's below treeline, in the low 50's above treeline.  Mostly clear with fantastic 60 plus mile views with very light wind.
- As with most great weather days on the Franconia Ridge the trails were packed with all kinds of hikers and all kinds of dogs having a blast.
- The hike up to Greenleaf Hut was pretty easy going, I let Gina set the pace as she went up the trail, her two favorite things to say while hiking where "Where do I go...this way??!!" when she got to an undistinguished part of a trail and "I hate you, I'm going to kill you" when she had to climb up a steep ledgey part...I could tell she loved it!
- At the hut we relaxed and refueled on freshly baked cookies made by the hut crew and chewed on some stale trail mix left behind by the hut crew...Gina liked Greenleaf Hut, especially the cookies and she now refers to the hut as "The Cookie Hut"!
- From the hut to the summit of Mount Lafayette is where the views open up and hiking above treeline begins.  Once gaining the ridge and summiting we relaxed and had lunch and enjoyed the views.  There were two AT thru-hikers with their two dogs that I struck up a conversation with.   They started hiking March 29th and had covered over 1,800 miles with just over 300 left with the best yet to come, I offered them some "Trail Magic" but they said they had plenty of food.
- From here we hiked along the Franconia Ridge above treeline over Mount Lincoln to Little Haystack while enjoying spectacular views of Franconia Notch to the west and the Pemigewasset Wilderness to the east.
- Along the way while approaching Mount Lincoln we were greeted by a glider plane quietly soaring about one hundred feet above us as it flew back and forth between Mount Lafayette and Little Haystack.
- Once to Little Haystack we took another long break to have a snack and enjoy the views one last time before dropping back down below treeline on the Falling Waters Trail.
- The hike down Falling Waters Trail was a drag until we reached the part that travels along the waterfalls.  From here on out the hike went pretty quickly as we enjoyed the parts of the trail that crossed the river while taking in the views of the waterfalls.
- Back at the car I could tell Gina was really happy to be done hiking and to change out of her sneakers and into her comfy flip-flops. In the end her favorite part of the hike were the waterfalls and hiking along the river, and as far as her first hike in the White Mountains went she did exceptionally well and killed it like a rock star!!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

Franconia Ridge (AT)

Owl's Head and the Pemi Wilderness

Hiking along the Franconia Ridge (AT)

"Cliff of the Bonds"

Huntington Ravine

Date of Hike: 8/14/10

Tuckerman / Huntington Ravine / Nelson Crag Trail: 4.4 miles
Gulfside / Mount Clay Loop Trail: 2.3 miles
Sphinx Trail: .4 miles
Gulfside / Nelson Crag Trail: 2.6 miles
Alpine Garden Trail: .9 miles
Lion Head / Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 3.4 miles
Total Miles: 14.0 miles (6,150 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- My favorite trail in all of the white Mountains is the Huntington Ravine Trail.  It is seriously steep, has some serious rock scrambles, and can result in some serious injuries if you slip and fall.  With that being said it is one of the most beautiful trails around and although difficult the views and experience of hiking through the ravine are beyond rewarding.
- On trail at 8:15am, summit of Mount Washington 11am, trail work on the Sphinx Trail 12:30-3:30pm, finished hiking 7pm.
- With great weather forecast for the weekend Mount Washington was a zoo! Hiking up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail 1.3 miles to the Huntington Ravine Trail I must have passed well over fifty people all heading up the "highway".
- Once on the Huntington Ravine Trail it was a different story as only a handful of people were on the trail and most of them were heading over to Pinnacle Gully to rock climb.
- The real fun starts as you reach "The Fan" which is a huge boulder field below Central Gully.  From here the trail becomes very steep as you go up and across The Fan, then climb through scrub until you reach the first and most difficult rock scramble.
- This was my sixth time up Huntington Ravine and until last September I never had any problems with the first scramble, but last year was my first time solo hiking the trail so I thought that had something to do with it.  However this year was much easier because I followed the old white arrows the whole way up the first scramble and not the yellow blazes that half way up leave the "crack" and go a few feet over to the right leading up over a smooth rock face with minute handholds!  Last year I ended up bypassing this part and slowly walked across the ledge and over to a scrub path.
- After the first scramble the rest of scrambles became easier as the views kept getting more impressive the higher I climbed until finally I reached the huge rock cairn at the top of Huntington Ravine.
- I made pretty good time up to Mount Washington and lucked out as the summit was not yet overly crowded and was able to relax and refuel for a few minutes before I headed over to the Sphinx Trail to do some trail work.
- The hike over Mount Clay down to the Sphinx Col was fun as I passed by dozens of hikers going every which way enjoying the great weather and even greater views.
- Once I made it to the Sphinx Trail it was time to break out the tools and get to work on trail clearing.  I have four tools that I use for trail work and of course I've named them all...a sawed off garden hoe (Your Mom), branch loppers (SNAFU), a razor tooth saw (GFY), and a pick/mattock (FUBAR)...(Click here for Pic). Since I hiked up the Huntington Ravine Trail, I thought it was best to leave Your Mom at home!
- The trail work was fun at first until it became apparent that it was much tougher clipping back a narrow trail and having to toss the debris off the trail and out of sight than I thought it would be.  So for three hours I made it about .2 miles and cut back four sections of trail and moved one cairn so it was easier to spot.  Click here, here, and here for pics.
- On the hike back to Pinkham Notch I decided to hike back up to the Nelson Crag Trail and drop down and hike across the Alpine Garden and down Lion Head Trail.  It was my first time on the Alpine Garden Trail and it was awesome, there were some purple and yellow flowers along the way and the views were great.
- I took a nice long break on the Lion Head Trail and talked to a couple who were staying at the Hermit Lake shelters and planning their hike for the next day as we all enjoyed the killer views into Tuckerman Ravine.
- Once back on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail the hike as usual became a long slog as it was now past 6pm and eventhough there were still tons of people on the trail everyone was drained and had that look of "Will this trail ever end" on their faces.
- Back at the car I got my sock full of quarters out and took a nice freezing cold shower in the pack room, relaxed, and stuffed my face full of food to get ready for Sunday's big adventure up the abandoned Adams Slide Trail!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

The Fan, Central and Pinnacle Gully

First Rock Scramble

Wildcat Ridge from Huntington Ravine Trail

Cog Railway and Mount Jefferson from Observatory

Apline Garden Trail

Abandoned Adams Slide Trail

Date of Hike: 8/15/10

Great Gulf / Six Husbands Trail: 5.0 miles
Adams Slide Trail: 1.3 miles
Star Lake Trail: 1.0 miles
Madison Gulf / Great Gulf Trail: 5.8 miles
Total Miles: 13.1 miles (4,600 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- My route on Sunday was to hike up Mount Adams via the Great Gulf by way of the Adams Slide Trail, AKA "The Beast of the East" which was constructed in 1909, is about 1.25 miles long, rises 2,400 feet, and is said to be the steepest path in the White Mountains.  The catch...the Adams Slide Trail was abandoned over forty years ago in the early 1960's! For a full discription of the trail click here.
- On Trail at 7am, foot of slide at 9:10am, Mount Adams Summit 10:50am, Finished at 2pm, temps above 60 degrees, light wind, hazy but terrific views.
- I was nervous with anticipation as I hiked the five miles along the Great Gulf and the Six Husbands Trail.  Along the way I only saw a couple of hikers camped out at Clam Rock with their very loud but friendly German Sheppard who's bark could scare off a bear!
- Once I was on the Six Husbands Trail I was only a half mile from the Buttress Trail where the adventure with the past would begin. Finally I reached the Buttress Trail junction and was just a .1 mile away from the abandoned trail.
- The Buttress trail climbs up steeply then all of a sudden takes a sharp right through an open talus field, this is where I would continue strait up and make my way through the overgrown, gnarly, and excessively steep Adams Slide Trail but not before I took a quick break to refuel and get ready for what was to come.
- Now did I have a GPS reading of the trail programmed into a GPS tracker...nope, did I have an old AMC map...nope!  What I did have was the most accurate map with detailed instructions that would lead up through the slide out onto the open southern slope of Mount Adams and to the summit (click here for map).
- As soon as I was about to step off the Buttress Trail and into the woods I was greeted by a small fisher cat (I've been infromed that this is probably a Pine Marten!)  (click for pic) just a few feet above me in a tree watching my every move, he did not seem afraid of me at all, and was probably wondering where I was going as I passed below him and on by him, he followed me for a few feet from tree to tree until he got bored of watching me find my way to the slide.
- Now the real fun began, I really had no idea what to expect, I knew I would stumble across old faded red blazes on rocks here and there but would I be able to stay on the trail, how bad would the blowdowns be, would certain sections be impassable, could I recognize any of the trail?
- First off I was able to stay on the trail 95% of the time, the slide is all over grown and although excessively steep it's all closed in and you never feel exposed as if a fall would be dangerous.  The trail itself can be followed with extreme care, I found it easier to follow than expected but I credit this from hiking in the winter and having to learn to distinguish trails from bushwhacks and being able to recognize "trail corridors." in deep snow in the dead of winter.
- Some parts of the trail where easy to navigate, some were moderately difficult with overgrown branches, and some were hellish where you just had to push through thick overgrowth and fight through it.
- The slide itself must have been magnificent fifty years ago, now it's a mix of huge rocks sticking out here and there on and off the trail buried under moss, fern needles, dirt, and downed trees.
- About half way through I veered a little left eventhough my instincts told me the trail veered a little right.  Five minutes later I came to a dead end of sorts where a huge rock wall with some small cave dens loomed and knew I should have followed my initial thought of veering right.  So I backtracked back down where I got the full sense of just how steep the trail was until back to the point were I should have veered right, sure enough a couple of moments later I saw another red blaze. 
- The red blazes were scattered all throughout the slide, I saw about a dozen or so which is pretty amazing for a trail that was abandoned before we ever landed on the moon!
- Popping up above treeline was pretty amazing, I couldn't believe where I was and was taken back by the awesome sight of the Great Gulf beneath me.  I looked back down into this hole where I seemingly just came out of and would have never found it if I tried to drop down from Adams to try to find the Slide.
- From here I carefully made my way through the old overgrown path through the scrub (being careful not to kill any plants in the Alpine Zone) for about five minutes until I was finally rock hopping.  Amazingly enough there are still some cairns here and there most of which are topped with a white quartz rock.
- The hike up to the summit was pretty awesome as the views of Jefferson Ravine and the knee of Mount Jefferson were right in front of me every time I turned around.
- After a couple of false summits I knew I was close and all of a sudden I connected with the Star Lake Trail a few hundred yards below Mount Adams Summit right where the actual Adams Slide trail came out back in the day.
-  I took a long break on the summit and enjoyed the views and was thrilled I was able to hike the Adams Slide Trail and be able to follow the whole trail!
- From here I hiked down the Star Lake Trail and out the Madison Gulf Trail and Great Gulf Trail back to the car.  I was originally going to hike up to Mount Madison's summit but I was pretty whipped out from the hike, plus I've been on Madison close to ten times, and yesterday's hike up Huntington Ravine and trail work on the Sphinx had me satisfied with the weekends hikes.
- Overall the Adams Slide was an adventure that was a little different from what I expected but just as thrilling as I could have imagined.  It wasn't as difficult or dangerous as I expected but was just a gnarly and rough as I thought it would be.  Some advice if hiking the Adams Slide Trail...long shirt, long sleeves are a must to save your skin from minor gashes, watch out for branches that'll poke your eyes out, be patient and go slow...and good luck!

Pictures: Click here for all pics

Adams Slide Trail

Red Blaze on the Adms Slide trail

Adam's Slide Trail

Above Treeline looking into the Great Gulf Wilderness

Madison Gulf Trail

The Tripyramids

Date of Hike: 8/8/10

Livermore Trail: 3.6 miles
Mount Tripyramid Trail: 4.9 miles
Livermore Trail: 2.6 miles
Total Miles: 11.1 miles (3,000 feet elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- One of my favorite sections of trail to hike in the White Mountains is the slide below the summit of Mount Tripyramid's North Peak. It's extremely steep (ascending 1,200 feet in just .5 miles), has some pretty fun scrambles, and amazing views once you break out into the exposed upper section of the slide.
- On trail at 7am, finished at 12pm, temps in the 60's with great views from both the north and south slides.
- The hike along the Livermore trail was very boring early in the morning but went by pretty quickly and so did the bottom half of the Mount Tripyramid trail until I reached the foot of the north slide.
- Once I started hiking up the slide the real fun began as the higher I climbed the greater the views became of Waterville Valley / Mount Tecumseh, the Osceola's, and the Franconia Ridge all the way to the Presidential Range.
- Near the top of the slide I ran into the first two hikers of the day who had camped out near North Tripyramid's summit and were actually hiking down the North Slide, they were taking there time and having lots of fun taking in the incredible views.
- Once gaining the ridge the hike over to Middle and South Tripyramid was very uneventful as there are no views except for an outlook at Middle Tripyramid.
- Heading down the South Slide went pretty smoothly, I find it much easier to navigate than the North Slide as it doesn't seem nearly as steep.
- Hiking the Livermore Trail was much more fun on the way back as I passed by hikers, bikers, runners, and a few dogs all enjoying the perfect weather.
- Back at the car I contemplated hiking up Mount Tecumseh seeing that it was only noon-time but I decided to head back to RI.  I was pretty worn down from the long hike I did the day before and I was battling a nagging annoying cough which I blame on my air conditioner!

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

Lower Section of the North Slide

East Peak Osceola and Mount Osceola

Hiker Making His Way Down

the Upper Section of the North Slide

Mount Tecumseh and Waterville Valley

North & South Twin, Zealand, Hale Loop

Date of Hike:8/7/10

North Twin/North Twin Spur Trail: 5.6 miles
Twinway: 6.2 miles
Lend-A-Hand Trail: 2.7 miles
Mount Hale Trail (Fire Warden's Trail): 2.5 miles
North Twin Trail: 1.0 miles
Total Miles: 18.0 miles (5,300 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Left RI at 4:45am, on trail at 8:15am, finished at 4pm. Temps in 50's and 60's, high cloud cover with terrific views.
- From studying old AMC maps, guide books, and reading some of the hiking forums I discovered a pretty awesome loop hike hikers do of the Twins, Zealand, and Hale using the old defunct Mount Hale Trail (AKA Fire Warden's Trail) from the summit of Mount Hale back to North Twin Trail to create the loop.
- The hike up North Twin went pretty fast, I only ran into two other people at the water crossings, helping them find an easier way across the third, they were on there way to North Twin for the day.
- The views from North and South Twin were incredible and once on the Twinway I started running into lots of hikers for the remainder of the day heading in all different directions, some over to Galehead, some to Guyot and the Bonds, others to Zealand Falls Hut, and one to Springer Mountain in Georgia!
- At Zealand Mountain summit I saw a Golden Retriever who was carrying his leash in his mouth, I think I heard his owner call him Bud, which fit him well because he looked like "Air Bud". Bud looked like a dog who loved to be out climbing in the mountains unlike my Golden Retriever "Air" Mr. Smackers who just climbs on couches!
- At Mount Hale Summit it was pretty easy to find the old Mount Hale Fire Warden's Trail. I was amazed as to how great a shape this discontinued trail was in and how gentle the footing and grades were. The trail passes through Birch glades which were pretty incredible and must be quite the site in the fall.
- On the way down the Fire Warden's Trail I even stumbled into another hiker on his first time on the trail, he had hiked in the day before and stayed at the Guyot campsite while doing a Twins//Bonds/Zealand/Hale Traverse.
- The Fire Warden's Trail came out about a mile from the North Twin Trailhead on the bushwhack between the first and second water crossings. I probably would have never found it from the bottom as it's not noticable from the trail.
- This loop hike was very fun, I hope to get up the Fire Warden's Trail when the leaf's are changing color!

Pictures: Click here for all Pictures

South Twin Summit

Owl's Head, Liberty, and Flume Mountain

Pemigewasset Wilderness

Carrigain Notch

Defunct Mount Hale Trail (Fire Warden's Trail)

Bondcliff, Bond, & West Bond

Date of Hike: 8/1/10

Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail: 4.7 miles
Bondcliff/West Bond Spur Trail: 13.2 miles
Wilderness Trail: 1.8 miles
Pemi East Side beyond boring Trail: 3.0 miles
Total Miles: 22.9 miles (4,750 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- I was pretty drained and exhausted but the weather forecast for Sunday called for another great day that I couldn't pass up so I headed deep into the Pemigewasset Wilderness to hike one of the most secluded and greatest stretch of mountains in all the White's...the Bonds.
- On Trail at 8am, cursing out loud on a trail even more annoying than the LW/Wilderness Trail at 5:30pm, Finished at 6pm. Temps above 60 degrees all day, no wind, terrific views!
- So what do you do after hiking over 28 miles and 12,000 feet of elevation gain in two days...hike another 20 plus miles and close to 5,000 more feet of elevation gain in a day!
- The hike between Cliff of the Bonds and Mount Bond is one of my favorite stretches in all of the White Mountains, HOWEVER, the hike to get there is one of the most annoying and boring in all of the White's thanks to the Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail!
- I was in rough shape by the time I got to the Bondcliff Trail and for the first part of the Bondlcliff Trail I was thinking maybe this wasn't such a great idea, maybe I should have just done the easier classic Franconia Ridge - Little Haystack / Lincoln / Lafayette Loop.
- However once crossing the dried out brook bed and the climbing really started I finally got in a grove and actually made better time than I thought up to the ledges of Bondcliff where the views no matter how many times you've been there are always beyond amazing!
- I started to run into lots of people and chatted it up with a nice lady working on her second round of the 48-4,000 footers and a group of three guys on vacation hiking to Guyot for the day, then doing a Zealand, Hale, Twins, Galhead, and maybe Garfield traverse to 13 Falls campsite on Monday and an Owl's Head hike back out to Lincoln Woods on Tuesday.
- One of the hikers has been hiking in the White Mountains since the early 1960's, I asked him if he hiked the Adams Slide Trail before it was abandoned and said he did and called it the steepest and most dangerous hiking he's ever done in the Whites!
- The views all day were simply amazing and I had the summits of Bond and West Bond all to myself and I'm starting to think the view from West Bond could be the best in all the White Mountains.
- Now it was time for the long descent which isn't to bad until you get back to treeline and have to slog it another 9 miles or so with no views.
- Back on the Wildeness trail I went a little slower and checked out some of the old railroad parts off trail hoping to find something interesting to take home but mostly it was just old pieces of rusted railroad parts, cans, buckets, and junk.
- When I reached the end of the Pemi Wilderness I decided to cross the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River and hike back along the Pemi East Side Trail hoping it would be less mind numbing than the LW/Wilderness Trail.
- The Pemi East Side Trail does not have Rail Road ties!!! HOWEVER other than that it's actually worse than the LW/W Trail, it's a dirt road with a couple of tiny hills, and it doesn't follow close by the river at all times, making it even more boring, and of course it never ends....I started to swear by the end of it "this trail is F**&%$! pointless, those campsites suck, this road sucks, that tree sucks, get out of my way chipmunk you suck, wthe frig this trail sucks!!!!!
- Back at the car I was just about dead but happy to be finished and very happy to have caught a third strait day with killer views and even more thrilled to be out of the woods!

Picures: Click here for all Pictures

Bondcliff and West Bond Mountain

Owl's Head and the Franconia Ridge

Twin Mountain Range

Pemigewasset Wilderness

Bondcliff

Alpine Skills Session

Date of Hike: 7/31/10

Caps Ridge/Cornice/Gulfside Trail: 3.1 miles
Sphinx Trail: 1.6 miles
Mount Clay Loop/Gulfside Trail: 2.4 miles
Crawford Path/Mount Monroe Loop Trail:2.1 miles
Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail: 3.1 miles
Jewell/Boundary Line/Jefferson Notch Road: 2.7 miles
Total Miles: 15 miles (5,850 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Earlier this year I adopted the Sphinx Trail in the Great Gulf Wilderness where my duties are to make sure all water bars are clear and properly built, clip back any overgrowth on the trail, make sure Cairns are properly built and visible, and try to make sure no one ventures off trail in the Alpinze Zone. But before I could work on the trail I would have to take a skills session and on Saturday I was finally able to learn what needs to be done and also take in a killer hike as well!
- Luckily the AMC Region Leader for the Northern Presidential Range (Mark) is the previous adopter of the Sphinx Trail and he was able to meet up with me at the Caps Ridge Trail and we hiked over to the Sphinx Col and he showed me all the ins and outs about what to do and look for while we hiked down about 2/3 of the Sphinx Trail.
- I picked up a lot of information along the way such as clear all smaller rocks that hikers stick into the rock cairns because when rime ice forms on the smaller rocks it doesn't have enough to expand and eventually makes the cairn fall down.
- The most important thing I learned was how to properly keep water bars clear and properly functioning so any rain water is able to swiftly leave the trail not clogging up the trail and creating a muddy disaster and ruining parts of the trail.
- As far as the hike it was a great day to be above treeline, the weather was above 50 degrees all day and the winds became light and variable as the day went along.
- Mark is also the trail adopter for the Caps Ridge and the Jefferson Loop Trail so once we hiked back up the Sphinx Trail to the Sphinx Col, he headed north back to Mount Jefferson and I started north over Clay, and Washington.
- The hike up to Mount Clay and Mount Washington was terrific as always. I had planned to take a break and get some more food at the observatory but it was a zoo up there, I had never seen it that crowded so I retreated down to the pack room to get away from the madness for a few minutes.
- Next I was off to the Lakes of the Clouds and usually I hike that 1.5 miles in about 45 minutes but this time I was lucky enough to hike with one of the hut crew kids. He was carrying 90 lbs of fresh produce on his back down to Lakes and it was pretty amazing how fast he went hopping from one rock to the next as the hundreds of hikers quickly jumped out of his way. It was the hikers equiviliant of following an ambulance through Boston on I-93. In the end it took just under 25 minutes to go from summit to hut!
- From here I made the quick run up to Mount Monroe's summit and took a break and chatted it up with a couple of people staying at the hut before heading back down the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.
- Now it was gut check time as I had to jump on the Jewell to the Boundary Line which is pretty boring then road walk up the Jefferson Notch Road to the Caps Ridge Trailhead. Unfortunately no cars came by until I was about 500 feet away from the trailhead so I was unable to hitch a ride.
- It turned out to be a long day above treeline but well worth it as I learned about how to maintain my trail, had pretty good weather, met a few interesting people, and had terrific views!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Caps Ridge Trail to

Mount Jefferson Summit

The Cog Train Descending Mount Washington

Lakes of the Clouds Hut Crew Member

Speeding Down to the Hut on the Crawford Path

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Washington

Cog Train Crawling up Mount Washington

beneath Mount Clay

The Great Gully and the Setting Sun

Date of Hike: 7/30/10

Airline/Short Line/King Ravine: 3.2 miles
Great Gully Trail: 1.0 miles
Gulfside/Jefferson Loop/Gulfside Trail: 3.8 miles
Lowe's Path/Airline/Gulfside Trail: 1.2 miles
Valley Way: 3.8 miles
Total Miles: 13.0 miles (6,000 elevation gain)

Trip Report
- The weather on Friday called for clearing skies and I figured this would give me a great opportunity for a terrific sunset from the Northern Presidential Range and my first hike the would include hiking in the dark!
-  My route of choice was into King Ravine then branch off by way of the Great Gully Trail up to Thunderstorm Junction.  I was able to once again enjoy the boulder caves of "The Subway" on the King Ravine Trail on my way to the Great Gully Trail junction.
- The Great Gully trail was very steep, rugged, and passes under an overhanging rock where you have to crawl as you wedge yourself between the overhanging rock and a out-cropped jagged rock ledge with a sheer drop of a couple of hundered feet! It was a lot of fun!
- I made good time up to Thunderstorm Junction and still had two hours until sunset so I decided to hike over to Mount Jefferson and back.
- Temps above treeline were in the high 30's with some wind gusts up to 50 mph so it was time for hat, gloves, and winter wind breaker.  I actually was chilled for a few moments when descending off Mount Jefferson to Edmands Col before warming up again as I ascended towarda Adams!
- Unfortunately by now I realized the forcast was wrong as there was high cloud cover and there would be no clearing until later in the night. The summits and the ridge lines however were mostly cloud free so I was still holding out hope for a decent sunset.
- Of course as I reached Mount Adams Summit clouds rushed in, the wind picked up, and visibility dropped to about 25 feet. I decided that this cloud cover would be around for awhile so I was out of luck for a sunset and I started my descent to Madison Springs Hut via the Airline
- While descending the Airline, the clouds would break in and out and I could see the sun which made for a pretty cool view as clouds swept by and dropped into the Madison Gulf (click here for video)
- Soon I was below the clouds and was able to watch the sun trying to burn through the clouds over the ridgeline creating an awesome mix of bright colors
- I could still see without use of my headlamp as I started to descend Valley Way for a few minutes but soon I would have to turn on the headlamp.  It was my first time descending in the dark and it was kind of spooky. 
- The headlamp illumintes all those tiny silver specs (mineral silver) you see on the rocks to the point were they become so vivid they seem to jump out and be in 3D.
- The creepiest part is all the noises just off the trail, everything is dead quiet and a snap of a small twig, or a chipmunk scampering through the woods is magnified by a hundred. Needless to say hiking solo in the dark made for my quickest decent of the Valley Way in just under an hour and a half!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Thunderstorm Junction

Darkenss creeping in over on Lowe's Path

(Adams IV Peak)

Sun Setting from the Airline

Hidden Sun Lighting up the Clouds as it Sets

Sunsetting from below Mount Adams

Sunset over the Green Mountains in Vermont