July 23, 2023

Start/End: Appalachia Trailhead, Rt. 2

Peaks: Adams (5,774'), Madison (5,367')

Elevation Gain: 5,150 ft

RT Mileage: 9.54 mi

Duration: 9 hours, 58 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 2+

The second and third weekends of July both involved afternoon thunderstorms, and all of the hikes I had left for the summer were above treeline and technical, so I didn't want to take any chances. A good weather day finally presented itself on the 23rd, and I took the opportunity to bag Adams and Madison. I intended to take the Class 3 King Ravine up but decided on Chemin des Dames instead after speaking to the ranger at the trailhead.

I woke up at 5:40 AM and began the long drive to Appalachia at 5:55. When I arrived at the trailhead at 8:35 the parking lot was completely full and I had to park about a quarter mile further along the highway. The ranger at the parking lot didn't like my plan of ascending King Ravine because the rock was wet from all the recent rainfall and suggested that I take Chemin des Dames/Airline Trail instead, which is what I did. I was on the trail by 9:00.

The trail was very gradual initially, gaining just 1,400 feet of elevation over the first two miles. At this point, the trail entered King Ravine, and despite the low grade, large rocks littered the trail thereafter. This section runs adjacent to a stream as well, so most of the rock was quite slippery. One torturous mile later, I finally reached the fork between King Ravine/Great Gully and Chemin des Dames, where the first views of the inside of King Ravine presented themselves.

From the fork, all three routes up the headwall (Chemin des Dames, King Ravine, and Great Gully) were clearly visible and I stopped to take some photos before beginning to make my way past the fork. After briefly hiking through the trees again, one somewhat difficult pitch brought me onto the actual Chemin des Dames. After this point, most of the rest of the way up the headwall was very fun – simple, unexposed hand-over-hand scrambling – and I only wish it had lasted longer. The final pitch to gain the top of the headwall was the hardest, which was expected.

I fully broke treeline and gained the Durand Ridge around noon. The views into King Ravine were spectacular, and the photogenic summits of both Adams and Madison were also visible. The Airline Trail from here to the junction with the Gulfside Trail at 5,000 ft was rather tame compared to the rest of the northern Presidentials at this elevation. The final half mile from the junction to the summit of Adams was a fun Class 2 scramble across a boulder field, very similar to the upper part of the Caps Ridge on Jefferson. I summited Adams just before 1:00 PM.

After spending a half hour on the summit, I began making my way back down the Airline Trail to Madison Spring Hut in the col between Adams and Madison. Descending the boulder field took just as long as ascending it had, but with significantly less fun involved. After making it back down to the Gulfside Trail junction I took the Gulfside Trail the rest of the way to Madison Spring Hut.

Instead of immediately ascending Madison after reaching the hut I decided to take a small detour to Star Lake, and it did not disappoint. Alpine lakes in general are cool but this one is especially cool because it's in the col between two very photogenic summits. I stopped here for a quick photography session before continuing onto Madison.

The ascent to Madison from the col was also effectively a traverse across a boulder field, but not as technical as the one on Adams. I summited Madison at 3:30, where I saw a trio who had just completed the 48. I congratulated them but didn't linger on the summit for too long since I was running behind schedule.

Descending Watson Path was a horrible decision which I will never make again. The 1.5 miles from the summit down to the junction with Valley Way took over two hours. Valley Way was much more forgiving but still rockier than I would have liked. At last I made it back down to the parking lot at 7:30, and 4,000ers #16 and #17 were in the books.