| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Adams, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Jewell Trail to Gulfside to Lowes Path to Gulfside to Valley Way |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, December 13, 2025 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
|
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
|
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
|
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Hiked Jefferson and Adams - started from the Cog Railway parking lot and came out Valley Way. Started up Jewell Trail - probably 4 to 5 inches of fresh powder to break through. Jewel was an easy, steady climb. Snow got deeper as we got to treeline. Once above treeline there were a few spots of deep snow but we were mostly able to find solid crust to stay on top of the snow. Navigation on the climb is sometimes a challenge but we were able to stay on track for the most part. Gulfside was easy enough to follow on the way to Jefferson summit. Headed down to Edmands Col. The ascent is fine but a little icy, we had snowshoes on the entire hike and not much slippage. The dicey part of this trip was the exposed snowfield just before the drop into Edmands Col. This snow field is always a place to pay attention but right now the snow is at a tricky level - deep enough to slip down but not built up enough to build any kind of solid footing. Uphill shoe help well but there was some slipping in the down slope shoes. Took it slow and made is across but plan to take some time in this section. After clearing the col the climb up to Adams is just a matter of following gulfside. The cairns are hide and seek as we had periods of low visibility and winds were pretty consistently 25 to 30mph with low digit temperatures. Did not look like anyone had been in the area recently and we saw no other hikers the entire day. We opted to double back down Lowes to thunderstorm junction as opposed to going down the top side of Airline because we did not have great visibility. Followed Gulfside back to Madison Spring Hut and then down Valley Way. Valley Way was broken out nicely and we saw tracks up to Madison. Overall, Valley Way is in good shape. |
|
 | Name: |
Mikmcl |
|
 | E-Mail: |
mikmcl@Gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2025-12-14 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/16745180521 |
|
|
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. |
|
