Alas, I don't have any pictures to post as LRiz did http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=33225&referrerid=2786, but hopefully people might find it interesting.
This was an AMC trip. We spent Friday night at a motel in Gorham, after leaving a car at Pinkham. We were at the Lowe's path trailhead by 7:30am on Saturday morning. The forecast had been for rain coming in late in the evening, but it was drizzling when we arrived. It was 45 degrees in Gorham according to a bank's monitor.
We started off in raingear, but some took it off quickly because it was simply too warm. En route up we met two gents coming down who had stayed up at the Perch, I believe, the night before and has said the ridge has 20 foot visibility and "80 mile an hour" winds.
Our party of four arrived at Gray Knob a few hours later. There were two Québécoise ladies in their twenties whom the caretaker (Mike) had told not to go up, and they went down later in the afternoon and hitched back to Pinkham. After dropping off our gear we decided to go up as far as we could.
We could hear the winds overhead, but the temps were in the 40s, winds were not killer, and although we were in clouds, visibility was kind, and we could always see at least three cairns out, if not more.
While there was some freezing rain in the face for a couple of minutes heading up Adams, we eventually found ourselves on the summit, and quickly headed down to Madison. At the trail junction below, two of our members determined they had enough water in their boots for one day and headed back to Gray Knob; two of us continued on towards Madison, neither of us really believing we would make it to the summit.
Which we did! Winds were kind heading up, and it wasn't until we were about a third of the way down that they picked up again. By the time we reached Madison Springs Hut it had started raining lightly and did so for the rest of the night--except when it rained heavily.
Bob E and I arrived back at Gray Knob about 4:15pm. We didn't need headlamps, but it was close, especially given the cloud cover. A family of four that had hiked up earlier was there, and two young guys arrived around 8pm. It was 45 in the cabin at one point, and very damp. Clothes drying everywhere. In fact, the gear hanging upstairs was so wet the water dripped through the floor, through the ceiling, and formed a pool on the ground floor!
Around 2:30am I went outside for a pitstop and didn't see a cloud in the sky. No wind. Warm. Absolutely magnificent. Thus I was disappointed to get up at 6:30 to find it was not only cloudy again but drizzling.
After putzing around, we departed around 8, and the drizzle stopped shortly thereafter. We didn't reach the summit of Jefferson until 11. Temps were remarkably warm, and I spent the day switching between my Marmot Dry Climb and just a Patagonia wicking shirt on my torso, with light wicking gloves and light had on and off during the day.
We saw absolutely no one on Saturday, and didn't see anyone on Sunday until over Clay just below Washington, when in the span of five minutes we saw a solo hiker, two gents (one celebrating his 60th birthday) who has camped near Sphinx, a group of young guys with several dogs, and several young folks running the traverse.
Luckily for us, the cog railway train (the biodiesel), passed us on the way up, and we were able to go inside on Washington. Hot water in the sinks, tables out of the wind, a quiet place to sit for a moment.
We headed down at 2:30pm towards Lions Head. It did clear up once we started down, and once again I found myself wearing just a wicking shirt. Just before the cutoff from Lions Head to Hermit Lake we passed a young guy coming up. Seemed very late. Said he was just going to go to Tucks and then down, which I thought unwise, but so be it. We got to Hermit Lake about 4:20, and spent just over an hour with headlamps.
Two long days, lots of water on Saturday, some stunning views on Sunday, and very satisfying overall.
Trail conditions. We saw tiny amounts of snow and ice hear and there, but tiny, and very sporadic. Trails were in good condition, slippery in a few windy spots, but basically no snow or ice to mention yet.
This was an AMC trip. We spent Friday night at a motel in Gorham, after leaving a car at Pinkham. We were at the Lowe's path trailhead by 7:30am on Saturday morning. The forecast had been for rain coming in late in the evening, but it was drizzling when we arrived. It was 45 degrees in Gorham according to a bank's monitor.
We started off in raingear, but some took it off quickly because it was simply too warm. En route up we met two gents coming down who had stayed up at the Perch, I believe, the night before and has said the ridge has 20 foot visibility and "80 mile an hour" winds.
Our party of four arrived at Gray Knob a few hours later. There were two Québécoise ladies in their twenties whom the caretaker (Mike) had told not to go up, and they went down later in the afternoon and hitched back to Pinkham. After dropping off our gear we decided to go up as far as we could.
We could hear the winds overhead, but the temps were in the 40s, winds were not killer, and although we were in clouds, visibility was kind, and we could always see at least three cairns out, if not more.
While there was some freezing rain in the face for a couple of minutes heading up Adams, we eventually found ourselves on the summit, and quickly headed down to Madison. At the trail junction below, two of our members determined they had enough water in their boots for one day and headed back to Gray Knob; two of us continued on towards Madison, neither of us really believing we would make it to the summit.
Which we did! Winds were kind heading up, and it wasn't until we were about a third of the way down that they picked up again. By the time we reached Madison Springs Hut it had started raining lightly and did so for the rest of the night--except when it rained heavily.
Bob E and I arrived back at Gray Knob about 4:15pm. We didn't need headlamps, but it was close, especially given the cloud cover. A family of four that had hiked up earlier was there, and two young guys arrived around 8pm. It was 45 in the cabin at one point, and very damp. Clothes drying everywhere. In fact, the gear hanging upstairs was so wet the water dripped through the floor, through the ceiling, and formed a pool on the ground floor!
Around 2:30am I went outside for a pitstop and didn't see a cloud in the sky. No wind. Warm. Absolutely magnificent. Thus I was disappointed to get up at 6:30 to find it was not only cloudy again but drizzling.
After putzing around, we departed around 8, and the drizzle stopped shortly thereafter. We didn't reach the summit of Jefferson until 11. Temps were remarkably warm, and I spent the day switching between my Marmot Dry Climb and just a Patagonia wicking shirt on my torso, with light wicking gloves and light had on and off during the day.
We saw absolutely no one on Saturday, and didn't see anyone on Sunday until over Clay just below Washington, when in the span of five minutes we saw a solo hiker, two gents (one celebrating his 60th birthday) who has camped near Sphinx, a group of young guys with several dogs, and several young folks running the traverse.
Luckily for us, the cog railway train (the biodiesel), passed us on the way up, and we were able to go inside on Washington. Hot water in the sinks, tables out of the wind, a quiet place to sit for a moment.
We headed down at 2:30pm towards Lions Head. It did clear up once we started down, and once again I found myself wearing just a wicking shirt. Just before the cutoff from Lions Head to Hermit Lake we passed a young guy coming up. Seemed very late. Said he was just going to go to Tucks and then down, which I thought unwise, but so be it. We got to Hermit Lake about 4:20, and spent just over an hour with headlamps.
Two long days, lots of water on Saturday, some stunning views on Sunday, and very satisfying overall.
Trail conditions. We saw tiny amounts of snow and ice hear and there, but tiny, and very sporadic. Trails were in good condition, slippery in a few windy spots, but basically no snow or ice to mention yet.
