| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Adams, Mt. Madison, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Airline, Gulfside, Osgood Trail, Watson Path, Valley Way |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 26, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lot was full at 5:50AM-We were second car on the road |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few. highlight was a pack of four mostly white huskies on Madison summit. Northern presi's not recommended for most dogs with all the rock hopping on razor sharp rocks with zero shade |
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 | Bugs: |
someone else mentioned the Adams summit wasps, amongst other flying summit creatures. Didn't see anyone getting stung but someone said they were biting. They were odd looking wasps not the typical large bodied ones but a bit smaller and reddish colored. Tons of them and some bees. A few on Madison also but not nearly as bad |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Lost my mind and took the boy down Watson path at the end of the day |
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 | Comments: |
Stunning day on the lesser, albeit just as rocky, rock piles. Cool morning temps and child's pace meant for a sweat-free, cool ascent up Airline. The smoke from wildfires was THICK. Smelled it through the truck AC before the sun had risen and was confused at smell until the sun rose and I saw the sky. A guy who was attempting Adams turned around rather quickly as he was getting wrecked by his asthma-poor fellow. Felt concerned for him and made sure he wasn't having a medical emergency on side of trail-looked rough. Abundant sun and mellow winds in the alpine. After a quickish ascent to Gulfside junction we hopped on the never-ending talus and that is when our pace slowed to .5 mph. James was a trooper and didn't mind the talus but it was obviously extremely tedious for him to safely navigate the summit rock piles with his short little legs! Enjoyed some coffee and vanilla cake at hut and summited Madison. Here is where it kind of went sideways. In my memory Watson Path was steep but mostly in the woods after the summit cone, so I figured it wouldn't be THAT much slower to descend more directly off the summit since James was moving so slow on the talus. WRONG! The talus rock-hopping on Watson goes down all the way to 4300'. So instead of 500' descent on crap footing we had 1100' and then still had the rough steep section in the woods. It took us three grueling hours to descend the 2100' and 1.2 miles to Valley Way. Brutal. Way to go Dad!!! Still an awesome day despite the Watson fiasco:) |
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 | Name: |
James, Badass, Silent Running |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-07-27 |
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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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