My 31st (Mount Adams) and 32nd (Mount Madison) 4,000 footers!

This is what I call "The Northeast Group" (the Presidential Range on the left/center, and the Carter-Moriah Range on the right). Today's hike (Tuesday, June 30, 2015) - Mount Adams and Mount Madison - are in the purple circle:

x's through Mounts Willey, Field and Tom means that I did them (last July); and I've done Jackson, Webster and Moriah earlier this month.

Like last week's hike, it is easy to get to the trailhead - up 93, through Franconia Notch, right onto 3 North, then 115 North, then 6 miles east on 2 East to the Appalachia Parking Lot:


There is A LOT OF STUFF in today's blog - how to handle multiple paths (on a map); how to handle "no path" (on the mountain); the Heart and Soul of Rock 'n Roll - so let's get started!

There are A LOT OF PATHS leading up from the Appalachia Parking Lot:

(I wanted to include Mt Jefferson, and the Caps Ridge Trail at the bottom left, which I will be taking next week)

As soon as I saw all the trails leading up to Mounts Adams and Madison, I googled "best hike to mount madison", and picked this one
Hey, any trail that includes "Mossy Fall" and "Ice Caves" has to be pretty good!


Unfortunately, none of the maps portray the grandeur and the sheer verticalness (is that a word?) of hiking climbing up the King Ravine Trail from Mossy Fall up to the ridge!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The parking lot was pretty full, especially for a Tuesday:


and it was easy finding the trailhead:


I went up Air Line Trail (0.8 miles) to get to Short Line Trail, which is a good upward hike/climb through the mossy woods:


Short Line Trail runs for 1.9 miles, and bumps up alongside Cold Brook:

before meeting King Ravine Trail.

Just a little further is Mossy Fall:

and here is a link to my video at Mossy Fall mossy_video_link

I guess this means we are getting to the "good stuff"::


This is where Chemin des Dames branches off to the left:

and then King Ravine splits into the Subway (on the right) and the Elevated (on the left):
the guy worked for a while up at the Madison hut, and he said this was "the best 0.9 miles in the White Mountains"!

I think that I took the Elevated on the left, but there are some pretty impressive rocks/views/climbing anyway you turn:



and here is a link to my video in the ravine ravine_video_link

By now we are up above Mile 4 on my kml on Google Earth:



and here is a link to my kml file for Google Earth Adams_kml_link

The view back down the valley:

and here is a link to my video on the ridge ridge_video_link


GREAT 360-degree views! From Mount Adams, this is looking southwest at Mount Jefferson (with the snow patch) and Mount Washington (the highest one on the left):




This is the path (looking southwest) up to Mount Adams, then down the back-side on Star Lake Trail (Mile 6):

Ok - when you are above the treeline, on rocky jumble, there "is no trail"!! YOU MUST FOLLOW THE CAIRNS - otherwise you will just wander all over kingdom come! (Like I did just above Mile 5 on my way up Mount Adams). This applied to me from when I hit the ridge below Mile 5 until I re-entered the treeline beyond Mile 8 after Mount Madison:


Lunchtime on Mount Adams, with Star Lake and Mount Madison in the distance (the mountain in-between is called Mount John Quincy Adams, and is technically just an outcropping of Mount Adams):


I made it down to Star Lake, and the Madison Hut (where I refilled one of my water bottles), and scrambled up the rocks to the summit of Mount Madison. I hit Mile 7 as I was passing a Madison-Hut-worker, and he said "Who's that??!!" - so that was fun!:


It was dark and stormy looking down the valley:


I knew I was running low on iPhone battery, so that was the last picture. My MapMyWalk account got a little funky, so I lost my mph information, and I don't know what the markers are - other than that, this is my path! The iPhone died just before the parking area, so I'm comfortable saying that, with twists and turns and overlooks, I covered 12 miles in 7 hours 10 minutes. I covered about 10,080 feet in climbing elevation (4500 up to Mount Adams, 950 down to Madison Hut, 540 up to Mount Madison, and then 4090 back down):


Going down Watson Path, and then Valley Way, I crossed over (and then went alongside) Snyder Brook - a beautiful roaring stream! I look forward to getting Wendy up to see it and hike around the lower areas!. Thank you God for a Great Day!

Tuesday, June 30, 2015 (left Manchester-by-the-Sea at 7:30 AM, home at 9:30 PM)
179 miles -- Boston to 93 North, then northeast on 3, then 115, then 2 (3 hours)
12 miles -- hiking (7 hours 10 minutes)
3 1/2 hours -- to get home

Continuing to listen to all my songs, in alphabetical order. I listened to 93 songs in the G's

starting with
Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon 1994 Urge Overkill Whatever - The 90's Pop & Culture Box (7 cds)
through
Gloria's Step-take 3 1961 Bill Evans The Complete Live at the Village Vanguard 1961 [Disc 3]

(don't worry, I won't give you the WHOLE LIST
but it can be accessed here
highlights include

2 versions of "Girlfriend Is Better" by The Talking Heads [studio from "Best of Talking Heads"; and live "Stop Making Sense")]

screaming loud "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper

Bill Morrissey doing "Girls of Santa Fe" from his 1989 album "Standing Eight". This was right when Wendy and I went in to see him for the first time, in a nightclub near Central Square (Cambridge). He took a break halfway through his set, and invited comedian Steven Wright up onstage, who tried out some great new material "on the local patrons". We miss you Bill.

"Girls On The Beach" by The Beach Boys ("Endless Summer" cd)

I have 12 songs that begin with "Give Me" - running from "Give Me" ("Marcus Garvey" by Burning Spear, 1976) to "Give Me Your Love (Club Mix)" by Deep Down ("Hed Kandi - Base Ibiza", 2001)

3 versions of "Glad" - Traffic (1994; The Last Great Traffic Jam [Live]) and (1970; Smiling Phases [their Greatest Hits 2-cd set]); and Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood (2009; Live From Madison Square Garden (2 cds))

"Glad All Over" by The Dave Clark Five

and then The Heart And Soul of Rock 'n Roll - 7 songs named "Gloria":

Gloria 1982 Laura Branigan Billboard Top Hits 1982
Gloria 2010 Michael Franti & Spearhead The Sound Of Sunshine
Gloria 1975 Patti Smith Horses
Gloria 2001 Rickie Lee Jones Live At Red Rocks
Gloria 1983 U2 Under a Blood Red Sky
Gloria 1993 Van Morrison & John Lee Hooker Too Long In Exile
Gloria (Live) 1974 Van Morrison It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 cds)

They are actually 5 different songs, but Patti Smith draws her inspiration from the Van Morrison original. I'm getting chills right now thinking about how great these all sounded, loud, driving down the road. The intensity of the now (the live songs!), Patti Smith's searing, cut-to-the-bone first song on her debut album. I saw her perform at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City on March 24, 1976


and it was excellent!

I love Van Morrison's give-and-take with John Lee Hooker from his 1993 album.

Wow, this day was awesome!!

My 30th (Mount Moriah) 4,000 footer!

This is what I call "The Northeast Group" (the Presidential Range on the left/center, and the Carter-Moriah Range on the right). Today's hike (Thursday, June 25, 2015) - Mount Moriah - is in the purple circle:

x's through Mounts Willey, Field and Tom means that I did them (last July); and I did Jackson and Webster last week.

It is easy to get to the trailhead - up 93, through Franconia Notch, right onto 3 North, then 115 North, then 2 East through Gorham, then right on Bangor St:


It was beautiful heading up through Franconia Notch:


There is no parking at the trailhead, but there is a clearing (for parking) about 100 yards earlier. Across from this clearing is a lovely little footbridge, over the Peabody River:


Unfortunately, that is the last "water" that I will see today (except what I walk on up on the trail itself).

A good day to head up the Carter Moriah Trail


Using Map My Walk, I went up Carter Moriah Trail (2.0 miles) to get to the summit of Mount Surprise - I think it is called "Mount Surprise" is because when the "people-who-name-things" looked at the topo maps, they were surprised that this "insignificant summit" (as quoted from the AMC's White Mountain Guide) turned out to be able to be classified as a "mountain". The trail continues 2.5 miles to the Mt Moriah summit. Lunch on top, then back down the 4.5 miles to my car. With twists and turns and overlooks, I covered 9.72 miles in 4 hours 26 minutes. I covered about 6320 feet in climbing elevation (3160 up, and then back down):


The first two miles of the trail (up to Mount Surprise) is a very nice walk in the woods:


Right before Mount Surprise is a ledge off to the right, which opens up to some great views!:



Then back into the woods and up the trail:


On Mount Moriah there is a USGS marker:


and, of course, my selfie:


GREAT 360-degree views!




and is that a little bit of snow on the northeast side of Mount Jefferson??:


Heading back down, I passed a HUGE Glacial Errata (a boulder, but it was really big!):


There were wildflowers beside the trail:


and some wildlife (Hello, Mr. Toad!)


And, although I am not a big fan of mushrooms/fungus growth, there were some beautiful specimens on a stump::


It was remarkable how different it feels going down a trail, compared with ascending the same trail - they are two totally different experiences. Going down, you use different muscles, see different things, and, because time has passed, even the light on the trail and in the forest is different. For the last two miles, I was really able to bounce down the mountain (~ 16 minutes per mile). Thank you God for a Great Day!

Thursday, June 25, 2015 (left Boston at 9 AM, home at 9 PM)
179 miles -- Boston to 93 North, then northeast on 3, then 115, then 2 (3 hours)
9.72 miles -- hiking (4 hours 26 minutes)
4 hours -- to get home (16, then 95)

Continuing to listen to all my songs, in alphabetical order. I listened to 89 songs in the G's

starting with
Get Your Way 2005 Jamie Cullum Catching Tales
through
Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon 1994 Urge Overkill Whatever - The 90's Pop & Culture Box (7 cds)

(don't worry, I won't give you the WHOLE LIST
but it can be accessed here
highlights include

"Gethsemane" by Rickie Lee Jones from her 2007 album "The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard"

3 versions of "The Ghost In You" [The Psychedelic Furs; Counting Crows (studio from "Clueless" soundtrack; and live from cd2 the deluxe edition "August and Everything After")]

5 versions of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" [4 from Bruce Springsteen (studio, plus 3 live versions); Rage Against The Machine (No Boundaries - Benefit For The Kosovar Refugees)]

"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones

2 versions of "Gimme Some Lovin'"" [The Spencer Davis Group (Stevie Winwood on lead vocal); Traffic (live - Welcome To The Canteen)]

34 songs that begin with the word "Girl", including:
A Girl Called Johnny (The Waterboys)
Girl Don't Tell Me (The Beach Boys)
The Girl From Ipanema(5 versions!)
Girl From The North Country (2 versions, both by Bob Dylan (Freewheelin' and Nashville Skyline)