White Mountains

Mt. Adams 2 Day Solo Hike (Pt 1): Reaching the Summit - White Mountains in Spring

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• published: 24 Apr 2012
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In this two part series, I take a two day solo hiking excursion into the White Mountains of New Hampshire to explore Mount Adams, and hopefully, it's summit. This will be my first foray into solo hiking, and an very beautiful one at that. This will also be my first experience with hiking in moderate ice and snow conditions. Luckily, full crampons and snowshoes were not necessary, but without the light traction provided by my Kahtoola MICROspikes, I highly doubt I would have been able to attempt this hike. If I did, it certainly wouldn't have been safe or smart. Snow was mostly avoidable. When I did encounter it, there was usually a healthy mono-rail available to help me avoid post-holing (most of the time). Frozen ice flow however, was abundant. Not the best combination with a 38 pound backpack full of emergency winter clothing and camera gear. Hence, the MICROspikes. As you'll see in the video, I'm very happy with that purchase. This has been a warmer than usual Winter season for the East Coast, so that definitely helped. It should be pointed out however, that Spring in the White Mountains is probably closer to what most people on the lower East Coast would consider winter. The snow and ice is still hanging around at higher elevations. Combine that with the fact that the White Mountains have arguably the most volatile and dangerous weather in America, and you've better be prepared with the right clothing and gear. Things can change quickly. On day one I took the Airline Trail towards the summit of Mt Adams, along the ridge of the beautiful (and windy!) King Ravine. This is a more exposed route compared to the other two popular options, Valley Way Trail, and Lowe's Trail. If there is a possibility of bad weather, the Airline Trail should be avoided. Luckily for me, the reports coming out of the Mt. Washington Observatory were favorable that morning, so I went for it. Along Airline, there is a more challenging parallel side trail that can be taken, the King Ravine Trail. This trail descends directly into the King Ravine itself, had decent boulder scrambles and underpasses, and finishes by heading directly up the head-wall of the King Ravine to rejoin the Airline trail. It's one of the more aggressive trails in the area and sounds fun, but since I'm hiking solo, with a decent load-out, in icy conditions, I'll be saving that trail for another visit. Once breaking treeline into the Alpine Zone, you'll be treated to high winds and a steady scattering of Cairns (I often call them Plyons, some call them "ducks", but they're just piles of rocks to mark the trail). Then the scrambling begins to reach the rocky summit of Mt. Adams at an elevation of 5,744 feet. This is the second highest peak in the North East. Second only to Mt. Washington by about 500 feet, but unlike it's big brother, Mt. Adams is undeveloped. No roads, no cars, no weather station, just you and the mountain. The plan for the descent is to take the Upper Bruin Trail a short hop over to the Valley Way Trail. This is where the ice and snow make a comeback. Along the way, we'll keep an eye out for the Valley Way Tent-site to see if it's worth setting up camp. The Valley Way Trail should take us all the way back to the parking lot at the Appalachia trail head. Along the way we should be treated to rapids and waterfalls (some frozen) for the finish. ****Gear**** I certainly didn't qualify for "light weight" backpacking on this trip. Due the threat of being cold and wet, couple with some wide singing temperature ranges (39 - 70's), I took a variety of clothing along with a ultra-lite 2 person tent. I also had a spare tarp and a poncho to protect me and the electronics. A quick gear rundown (not all inclusive): Kelty Salida 2 Tent EMS Long Trail 70 Backpack EMS "Stuffer" Jacket Military Surplus ACU Coat 2 ReVive Solar ReStore chargers for video camera, phone, etc Military Canteen Cup Kit w/ Penny Stove (DIY alcohol stove) Osprey 2 liter Nalgene Bladder for hydration Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System 1 Liter Platypus for backup water storage Taurus 740 Slim Sub-Compact Pistol (hey, it's mosquito season) DeLorme PN-60 GPS w/ AMC paper maps for back-up Layers of various synthetic clothing Swiss Sport 30 Degree Mummy Bag (yes, this is a cheap $35 bag, but it does the job) Nemo Fillo (inflatable pillow) **This thing costs more than my sleeping bag, but my wife got it for me, and it's awesome! Sunscreen, gloves, knit ski cap, etc. (Yes I needed them all at some point) Surplus Swedish Pocho, tarp, paracord, extra assorted zip-lock bags Ramen Noodles, Mountain House Pro-Pak dehydrated dinner, snacks etc Instant Coffee! **Bonus points if you're actually still reading this right now! All content, including music and sound effects, is original and created by myself. All music and sound effects are original works, created by myself, Sintax77, and are in no way owned or copyrighted by any third party.