| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Adams, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Airline, Valley Way |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Appalachia. Sufficient parking. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Slush, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
easy |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
a few downed trees across the trail. No problem. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw 4 happy dogs |
|
 | Bugs: |
almost none |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Stellar hike, with blue skies and very warm temperatures (I wore a long sleeve tech tee and lightweight pants the whole way- plenty warm in that), and practically no wind. It was surreal on the summit of Adams. I don't remember the last time I experienced total silence. It's a beautiful thing, and the view was stupendous. I saw a number of hikers along the way, but I had about 15 minutes with the summit to myself and hiked long stretches without a sole in sight. Ice began to appear about an hour into the hike up Airline, and eventually become almost one continuous ice flow. I met 3 pairs of hikers who were coming down because they gave up on the ice and felt it was too dangerous. Man did they miss out. The ice was soft, and microspikes bit in effectively, so it really wasn't a problem. One man and his son bare-booted all the way to the summit, staying off the trail and bushwhacking along the ice flows- quite dangerous and doing plenty of damage along the way. Over treeline there was no ice and very little snow until the last push to the summit. I bare-booted from treeline to the summit, although microspikes might have been a good idea on the last stretch. On the way down I took a short cutover trail (can't remember the name) just below Chemin des Dames from Airline across to ValleyWay. It was somewhat overgrown, steep and icy but traction wasn't a problem and it turned out to be a very efficient way to get across to ValleyWay. Descending ValleyWay was quite easy, with very soft ice and no problems whatever with traction. This was one of my most all-time memorable hikes. |
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 | Name: |
Ric |
|
 | E-Mail: |
eschnur@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2016-04-18 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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