After an unfortunate attempt at the Mount Adams Challenge last fall (I convinced myself I missed the Watson Path turn and headed back down Brookside ½ a mile only to realize I must not have reached it yet), on Tuesday, September 27th I got the chance to give another try. I am caretaking AMC's Tuckerman Ravine Hermit Lake Shelter this fall, and the morning rain kept me working on inside chores and reading All the Pretty Horses. At 1:00 pm, I stepped out of the cabin, facing a beautiful day and warm enough conditions that the rocky summits would be dry. My mid-day start limited what run I could go on, and the thought of finishing the Carter-Moriah or Presidential traverse at sun-down with no way of getting a ride back to Pinkham Notch didn't sound ideal. I jogged down the Tuckerman's Ravine trail, hopped in my death wagon and drove to the Route 2 Appalachia trailhead.
I got a start at 2:30 pm with a small pack containing some water, warm layers, Fig Newtons, and apricots for the descent. The first mile on Valley Way hit me like a wave of déjà vu, quick turnover with fairly easy dirt footing. Under the forest's canopy, the morning rain stuck on slippery rocks and heightened my perception with a fear of injury. Brookside up until the turn for Watson kept me very on edge. I started getting stressed about injury as I repeatedly lost my footing on roots, moss, rock, and mud. What an ass-kicking running on that trail is! Turinng onto Watson Path and crossing onto Scar Trail gave me a chance to catch my breath and refocus on short steps and quick turnover.
Since working at AMC's Madison Spring Hut in the summer of 2014, the Scar Trail has been my favorite trail in the White Mountains. It gets little use, it meanders in just a way that you feel like a rally car on a windy dirt road while running on it, and the moss and ferns redefine green. I knew that little running would be had on Airline, so I pushed it through the end of Scar Trail and once I popped out on the knife edge of Airline, I pressed my hands through my knees, powering my body up the steep steps as I looked down the thousand feet into King's Ravine.
I turned onto Gulfside under 1 hour and 8 minutes and thought that my goal of going under 1:20 was out of reach. Moving quickly over the green lichen rocks, I passed by two very late North-bound Appalachian Trail thru-hikers who gave me smiles and encouraging remarks. The turn at Thunderstorm Junction and the absence of the flat rocks of the Gulfside Trail took me by surprise once again as I sought out grassy patches and the flattest rocks I could. Lowe's Path is curiously more of a route to the summit of Adams than it is a trail. The final hard push up to the summit sign was accompanied by the endorphins of being back atop the Presidential range on a glorious fall day. I stopped my watch with my hand on the summit sign, 1:20:37. What a beautiful route to a beautiful summit, looking down on Starr Lake and JQ Adams, with Madison and the Mahoosucs in the distance. Time for some Fig Newtons! I hope to get another burn on the M.A.C. this year in drier conditions, and bring the FKT under 80 minutes.
