Mt. Madison - Valley Way, Osgood Trail - 10-29-2026

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	Mt. Madison, NH

	Trails:	Valley Way, Osgood Trail

	Date of Hike:	Thursday, October 29, 2026

	Parking/Access Road Notes:	I was the second car in the lot this morning and when I returned there were about 10 cars. The parking area is huge with plenty of room. No fee to park.

	Surface Conditions:	Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery

	Recommended Equipment:

	Water Crossing Notes:	All easy rock hops

	Trail Maintenance Notes:	There are some blowdowns along Valley Way. Down low they are stepovers but there is one large one above the tent site that blocks the trail. A herd path has formed around it.

	Dog-Related Notes:	I met Cocoa on my way out and he clearly had had a great day. This route is fine for doggos. Just watch the rough rocks on their paws.

	Bugs:	Back in Hell for the most part. The warmer temps had a few flying about in the afternoon.

	Lost and Found:	Nothing lost and nothing found. I checked the kiosk and did not see any items there.


	Comments:	This was a roll of the dice that sort of paid off. MWOBS had a not great higher summits forecast but NOAA offered a window that looked like the winds would be more moderate. It was windy in the parking lot but I had high hopes that NOAA would win this one. It did not. Valley Way has some serious leaf action going on down low. Higher up things were really wet. Like way more wet than I expected. All the rocks were wet and slick and above the tent site there were some patches of ice. They were avoidable and I had exos with me just in case. The winds were moving by the time I got to the hut so I decided to just shoot for Madison first, again hoping that the winds would die down for Adams. I crawled my way up Madison on wet rocks and fought the wind to get to the summit. A few of the rocks that were more exposed to the sun were drying out but it was painfully slow going. The winds were forecasted to get stronger over the day (if the forecast was accurate...) and I wasn't up for being blown into any rocks again so I took my one summit and called it a win. It was good to be up high and I had a great day and got to talk to several very nice folks as I headed down. It's all good!

	Name:	Uki

	E-Mail:	ukisukinaminanu@yahoo.com

	Date Submitted:	2026-10-29

	Link:	https://
		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.