On a trip back to New England from the my life as a transplant in the Sierra Nevada of California, I had my first attempt at the Mount Adams Challenge planned from the get go. The many paths of the Randolph Mountain Club have always been a special place for me, from my time spent hiking there each summer as well as a season on the RMC Trail Crew. Once a window from the rain opened up for a few hours I decided to give it a go hoping the rain wouldn't turn me back.
Coming from the evenly graded trails in the west, the first mile went great, but as things got steep I was quickly reminded of how truly rough the Presidentials are. I tried push the pace on the flatter sections and give an even effort on the steep hiking. I paid my penance for being gone for so long with a slight detour at the beginning of the Brookside trail, but got back on track after a couple minutes. As I popped above treelike a little after an hour from the start, I was getting a bit low on energy. Luckily the high elevation blueberries were in full swing so I ate a few along the Airline knife-edge. Powered by blueberries and a really good view of King Ravine, the Gulfside Trail and the final summit push felt great.
At the top the summits of Madison and Washington were in and out of the clouds. Although the view from the top was a bit shrouded, I was just happy to be back on top of the mountains I love so much. On the way down I took the scenic route of the Lowe's Path to the Quay and stopped to drink out of the spring between Crag Camp and Greyknob. An icy dip in the Ravine House pool did just the trick to cap off a great run in the mountains.