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Mt Adams, Mt Madison - page 3 of 5

I hiked up the Gray Knob Trail back to Lowe's Path, where one of the famous weather warning signs greeted me. I stopped to take a picture, then continued on. The trail wound steeply up a knob and was soon completely above treeline. In front of me, the rocky terrain spread on almost endlessly. Because of the shape of the ridge, I couldn't see the summit of Mt Adams.

Just above the first rise, a White Mountain National Forest ranger caught up to me. He was patrolling all the Northern Presidentials, and was currently headed up to Mt Adams. He said that he usually worked the Southern Presidentials, so together, using our maps, we located Adams 4, Mt Sam Adams, and Mt John Quincy Adams - the entire "Adams Family" as I put it. Adams 4 was directly in front of us, and the trail ascended it, but missed Mt Sam Adams, which lay just a short distance to the west of the trail.

After we parted, I continued slowly ascending the ridge, picking my way across the boulders until I finally reached the summit of Adams 4, where I stopped for a rest and a snack. After hiking above treeline on Humphrey's Peak in Arizona in June, I appreciated how much greener the alpine tundra is in the White Mountains. I had never given it that much thought before. 

From Adams 4, I could see the main summit of Mt Adams, where I was headed. I was getting closer, but it still seemed like a long way off. I made good time though, and before long, I reached Thunderstorm junction, where Lowe's Path, the Gulfside Trail, the Spur Trail, and the Great Gully Trail all come together. The signs were a little beat up from the weather. If it weren't for the fact that I could see Mt Adams in front of me, I would have had a hard time telling which trail to take. In bad weather, that could have been disastrous.

One of the famous weather warning signs that greet hikers at treeline in the Presidential Range. Since the weather was near perfect, I continued on up.

stop sign.jpg (190391 bytes)

Lowe's Path above treeline. As usual above treeline in the White Mountains, the trail was extremely rocky and rough. In many places, the path was no more than a series of  cairns pointing the way across the trailess rocks.

lowe's path above treeline.jpg (372386 bytes)

Mt Adams from Adams 4. The rise to the right is Mt Sam Adams. Just beyond Adams 4, the terrain flattens out for a while, and even the trail has a visible treadway.

Compare to alpine terrain in AZ 

Mt Madison from Lowe's Path above Adams 4. The steep dropoff in the foreground is King Ravine.

madison from lowe's path.jpg (263941 bytes)

Thunderstorm Junction. Lowe's Path, the Gulfside Trail, the Spur Trail, and the Great Gully Trail all come together at this spot. Some of the trail signs looked like they'd seen one too many thunderstorms.

thunderstorm junction.jpg (307922 bytes)

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  Adams-Madison page: 

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