July 28, 2025 - Adams & Madison

Six of us OTHH had a sunny but warm and humid summer day for knocking off one of the more difficult hikes in the White Mountains - Adams (5799') and Madison (5366') in the presidential range. Our route took us from the Appalachia trailhead parking area to the north of the range first up Valley Way, the primary route to the AMC Madison hut. Short of the hut, we took the very short Upper Bruin connector trail up and over to the Airline trail, coming out of the woods mostly above treeline. From here on, we were treated to those unending vistas, first looking across and down (steeply) in King Ravine. We also found ourselves treated to a very nice breeze, almost chilly! Up further, we took Gulfside over to Thunderstorm Junction, then up the rest of the way to the peak of Adams. Below are Andy, Andrea, Deb, Pat, Dick, and Jonathan at the summit, pic courtesy of another hiker.

 Following a much deserved lunch, it was back down to Gulfside, over and down to Madison hut. Most of us made the half mile ascent to bag Madison (may as well while we're up here), then returned to the hut for more snacking to fuel the long trip down Valley Way to the cars. All done, it was a very long day on our feet, covering over ten miles of rough trail, and climbing a total of over 5,000 vertical feet. There was, after all, a steep (pun intended) price to pay for those glorious prolonged views above treeline.