Thanks to the readers who take the time out of their busy days to read these blogs. Ive been a bit bogged down with life and course work ,but finally having a day off at home It has given me some time to catch up with some blogs.
I started out my adventure with my 3.5 hour drive from work after being up for 20 hours. The drive is 100% worth it. Anyways, after spending the day at the cabin catching up with course work, I packed my bag for what I knew was going to be a crazy adventure. No more crazy than the adventures that I prefer , but the wind advisory would keep most from going above treeline ,but not this guy.
I got an early wake up call so I could be at the trailhead for 6am. It was about an 1.5 drive from the cabin, but it was a peaceful drive as most people aren’t up at 4am. After a cup of coffee and a delicious muffin I was on my way. I got to the trail head around 6am and to my surprise there were plenty of people car camping. Now this is typically normal from time to time. What was different about this time was one car had left their gear outside of their vehicle. It was an expensive pack with gear attached to the outside. I had not seen that before.
I donned my gear, headlight lighting the way. The sky was so clear and bright I almost didn’t even need a headlight with the moon lighting my way. I was currently working my way up the Airline trail where I would see an amazing sunrise If i was quick enough. I soon passed the junction to continue my way on to Airline but I decided to change it up and go up king ravine for what would be an amazing view judging by how nice the sunrise was.
I continued to work my way into King Ravine enjoying the silence and beauty of hearing the day start and the birds begin to chirp. I was soon surprised with some amazing views as I worked my way to the center of King Ravine. I had not yet passed anyone else on the trail and nor did I at this point. Per usual I had my packed 88 liter pack in case things went wrong and I had to biovac or spend the night, as I am soloing as per usual.
The approach into king ravine was stunning and full of rocks as in some places there was not sufficient snow pack yet. The trail soon changed as I got to the junction where I knew it would be tough with a full pack but, it would be a fun challenge. The first part was very much a scramble. Some of these areas were not 88 liter pack friendly and I actually had to remove my pack a couple of times which isn’t something that I typically have to do. The terrain soon started to shift as I transitioned from hill sounds to crampons as the terrain was getting steep and the snow was becoming a hard pack and any fall or slip would be bad if not fatal. I wasn’t expecting the climb to be this steep but it made it much more interesting and fun. The winds began to howl and start pushing me around as I got closer to the top of the ravine where the trail meets with the airline trail. The closer I got more the more I was getting impacted by the wind and blowing snow. These are my favorite types of moments as they truly make you feel alive.
As I started to work my way up the last gully I was being aided by the wind which was pushing me up over the top and then proceeded to push me towards the other side until I go re orientate my facing and not get blown down. The views were astonishing and the sky was clear the wind was howling. I proceeded to walk into the wind towards the south side of Adams where I would proceed over Adams and down the Mount Madison side. When I had passed Mount Adams via the gulfside trail the wind completely stopped. At this point I was enjoying every second above treeline as I am usually stuck with no views or being chased by a storm.
This peaceful and quiet setting soon changed all together in the next 10 minutes. I soon took the trail junction leading to the backside of Mount Adams where the wind starting to pick up very intense. Step by step I made my way to the top. When I reached the top It was a fight to stay standing. Notably I was wearing an 88 liter backpack with snow shoes and a sleeping bad attached to the side. So that didn’t help, but I”m amazing none of them came off. Snow, rime ice and other materials were funneling their way past me. If you didn’t have googles or eye protection on you could expect to have pain in your eyes. After enjoying the wonderful 360 view with strong winds I started my decent back down to Madison hut where I would descend treeline. There have only been a couple of times where I’ve been nervous and the possibility to get blown off a mountain was indeed a legit possibility. This was one of them. I bore my weight and braced myself into the wind working my way downhill off trail but on packed snow so if i were to fall and roll I would not be blown off the edge. I got knocked around and rolled down a couple of times but once reached Madison hut I just took in the moment and appreciated everything that had just happened.
I soon working my way back down below treeline and onto the main trail. It was a pretty uneventful trip down for the most part. When I reached the trail head I has to see that it was still relatively early and had plenty of time for coffe and hot cocoa. Thanks for reading.
