View Rating: This day, The "Whites", lived up to their name. We were in the clouds for the entire portion of the hike above the trees. As a result, we had very few views. However, a significant portion of our route was above the treeline and in clear weather would provide outstanding views. This summit (and the other Presidential's) spends a considerable amount of time in the clouds, due to regional weather patterns. If you have the luxury to wait for a clear day, then by all means, do so.

The Hike:
The Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains boasts "the worlds worst weather". The highest land wind speed ever recorded occurred in 1934 on the summit of Mt. Washington and was 231 MPH. While no recording devices exist on Mt. Adams, one can assume, due to it's close proximity and relative height, conditions are only slightly "less severe" on its summit.

Mt. Adams is in the northern Presidential's and is between Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Madison. Most trail guides suggest that this mountain only be attempted in decent weather conditions for two reasons. One, the views are considered by many to be the finest in the White Mountains and not to be missed; and two, by any approach, there is solidly 1 to 1.5 miles above treeline and completely exposed to the elements. Additionally, the rocks are jumbled and footing is, to say the very least, rough.

The forecast on the morning of our hike called for a mix of sun and clouds, winds aloft at 35-45 MPH, and summit temperatures in the high 40's. Not the best, but certainly acceptable. As we progressed through the hike, conditions got fairly severe (bordering on dangerous). Our guide, my Uncle Roland, has hiked in the area extensively and prepared us well. All of us had non-cotton base clothing and mid-weight fleece garments, as well as adequate wind gear and extra socks and plenty of food and water. The only missing items were lightweight gloves, which as you'll find out, were definitely needed.

"People DIE here?" Hmmmm, this sounds serious. Taken by K. Dubois, 2003

At about 7:40 AM, we parked at Lowe's Store ($1.00 fee) on Route 2 and walked about 100 yds up the road to the Lowe's Path trailhead. We entered the woodline and soon learned that, as opposed to the Adirondacks, you are not required to sign into a trail register outside of the winter season. The trail starts out gentle enough and soon passes a RR bed and several power lines. The trail at this point climbs moderately but steady for the first few miles. At about 3000' the trail will steepen noticeably and you will "stay steep" for the next 1400' or so. You will pass several trails, but none will cause much confusion. Another difference from the Adirondacks is that trail blazes are painted directly on the trees (as opposed to the mounted round discs we are used to seeing) and the blazes on this trail are blue.

At 2.4 miles you will reach a nice log cabin structure that is similar to a lean-to, but more enclosed. The trail will continue steeply and stay that way for quite some time. At about 4400', you will reach the krumholtz zone and only the stunted, twisted trees of this zone remain. The trail moderates a bit and you will enter the barren "alpine zone" soon after. From here on out, it is nothing but rocks, and tons of them at that.

On our hike day, we entered the clouds at about the treeline and the winds were steady at about 30-35 MPH and we needed to don our fleece outerwear and windbreakers to be comfortable. In the protected trees below, we were very warm and had on typical summer hiking clothes (non-cotton shirts, shorts or pants). Visibility in the clouds went from 100' (at the treeline) to less than 50' higher up. As a result, we were required to navigate by cairns alone.

Navigating above the trees was a matter of locating the next cairn, walking to it and repeating the process over and over. Taken by K Dubois, 2003.

If you hike this way, or even drive up Mt. Washington on a nice day, you will probably wonder why the cairns (all about 4' high) are so close together. I will tell you that it may look odd to see so many that are all within 50' of each other in nice weather, but is almost essential for navigation in bad weather. We continued to go from cairn to cairn up and over the rocks. Generally, it's rock hopping and not too bad, but in the winds it does require much greater caution. At about 4.1 miles we passed by the minor summit of Adams 4 (5355') and the winds had increased slightly to about 40-45 MPH. Once we came over the other side into the hollow, winds diminished and while we still could not see much beyond the next cairn, it provided a short respite from the gale.

We headed up gently to a place called Thunderstorm Junction in the saddle between Adams proper and another minor summit to the SW. There is a large cairn there and the winds were steady (40-50 MPH). At this point we were all fine and warm. Luckily, there was no rain, which would have made this already borderline safe ascent, downright dangerous. We chose to ascend the final .2 miles and 309 feet to the summit.

Almost immediately, wind speeds picked up considerably and we had to slow to a snails pace. The kids managed much better than the adults because they were able to "hug" the rocks better. After a considerable time, we finally reached this very small summit. Winds were ferocious and I could not stand without considerable effort (the 60+ MPH wind benchmark). Both Roland and I estimated winds at about 60+ MPH sustained with gusts of up to 75 MPH. Later, when we checked Mt. Washington’s data, we learned that winds there at that time were about 60 MPH with gusts to over 80 MPH, so our estimates seem about correct.

I can't stand up, but no troubles, I'm at the summit anyway. Taken by T Dubois, 2003

While our bodies were okay, our hands very quickly went numb. Without gloves we were forced to don our extra wool socks on our hands to fight off the cold. It worked and we quickly descended off the cone. With the temperature at 42 degrees, we estimated the wind chill to be in the mid 20's. Pretty darn cold for the middle of summer. Going down, we chose the Airline Trail, which would take us to Madison Hut in the Adams-Madison col., it took about an hour or more of very slow going, but we made it to the Hut. It was there that we saw other people for the first time in the hike. We ate a nice leisurely lunch and had some warm tea before heading down the Valley Way Trail. This trail is likewise very popular and is below the treeline from near the hut and the rest of the way down. It was steep in spots but very nice otherwise. We quickly warmed up and by the time we were halfway down, we were all back in our summer hiking gear and sweating again.

Madison Hut, located in the Adams-Madison col. Taken by K Dubois, 2003.

The Valley Way trailhead is a few miles east of the Lowe's Path start, and we had "spotted a vehicle" in the AM. After the hike, we collected the other car and drove the half hour back to Uncle Roland and Aunt Bette's home. Overall, it was quite an adventure and pretty dicey in some spots. The trails were all excellent and the physical side of this hike was not bad at all. Most trails in the Adirondacks, while not as prolonged steep as this, are generally much more rugged and tend to wear you out a little quicker.

My kids (12 and 10) did fine on this hike and we all vowed to come back and explore some more. My son Nick has aspirations of true mountaineering when he gets older and this hike taught him some of the valuable lessons he will need. He thought this hike was "the bomb". He really felt like a true explorer. Ashley, while scared in spots, had a huge smile on her face at the end. I was deeply impressed with both my Uncle Roland and, in particular, my Aunt Bette. These guys are in their 60's and this hike was a true test of stamina (with over 3.5 hours in extreme winds and cold summer temperatures) and they did great.

We were right about HERE. Taken by K Dubois, 2003

We were leaving town the next day, which dawned clear with light winds, so we decided to drive up Mount Washington. This provided us with our first look at "the mountain we had climbed, but had never seen". From the start of the toll road (and all the way up), we were in awe. Mt. Adams is one "helluva" big rock. My kids were giddy with pride all day, and my wife and I stood a little taller that day as well.

Mt. John Adams, elevation 5799' Taken by K Dubois, 2003.

We will certainly be back to these mountains.