Hike New England - Mt. Adams via Air Line

Mt. Adams via Air Line

Date:	Saturday, 9/08/07
Mountain:	Mt. Adams (5799')
Trail:	Air Line
Location:	Presidential Range, Randolph, NH
Companions:	Diane K.
Rating:	Difficult
Distance:	8.6 miles
Author:	Mark Malnati

Lichen on quartz (photo by Mark Malnati)

Route Summary

We followed Air Line all the way from the Appalachia parking lot to the Mt. Adams summit and returned the same way.

You will encounter many trail junctions along the way - pay attention to the signs and you should have no trouble. Below are listed a few points that may be a bit confusing:

Air Line and Valley Way start out sharing the trail, but after crossing the old railroad bed and reaching the edge of a power line clearing, the trail will fork: Air Line goes right (follow this route) and Valley Way goes left.
At 0.9 mile, Air Line will coincide with Randolph Path for 15 yards and then bear left.
Above the junction with Air Line Cutoff (at 3.5 miles), special attention should be made to follow the trail across the treeless terrain - pay attention to the cairns as well as trail signs.
At 3.7 miles, Air Line joins Gulfside Trail and follows it for 70 yards before diverging off to the left.

Total: 8.6 miles
Elevation gain: 4493 feet

Durand Ridge - that little blue speck is a hiker! (photo by Mark Malnati)

Place	Split Miles	Total Miles
Air Line Trailhead on Rt. 2 (1309')	0.0	0.0
Jct. Air Line/Randolph Path (2000')	0.9	0.9
Jct. Air Line/Scar Trail (3700')	1.5	2.4
Jct. Air Line/Chemin des Dames (4475')	0.8	3.2
Jct. Air Line/Air Line Cutoff (4800')	0.3	3.5
Jct. Air Line/Gulfside Trail (5125')	0.2	3.7
Mt. Adams (5799')	0.6	4.3
Jct. Air Line/Gulfside Trail (5125')	0.6	4.9
Jct. Air Line/Air Line Cutoff (4800')	0.2	5.1
Jct. Air Line/Chemin des Dames (4475')	0.3	5.4
Jct. Air Line/Scar Trail (3700')	0.8	6.2
Jct. Air Line/Randolph Path (2000')	1.5	7.7
Air Line Trailhead on Rt. 2 (1309')	0.9	8.6

Map of hike route on Mt. Adams (map by Webmaster)

Trail Guide

The hike started off hot and humid in a light rain; the rain stopped after about 10 minutes and we made our way up the Air Line Trail. The 4500' ascent is pretty forgiving with several "breaks" in the climb. Once we left the tree line, we made our way across the Knife-edge; here we had great views of King Ravine and an occasional glimpse of the Madison summit.

Madison Hut (photo by Mark Malnati)

From the knife-edged crest of Durand Ridge, there is a trail that seems to drop off a cliff and at that point there is a Randolph Mountain Club sign that calls it the Chemin des Dames. This path was named after a battle in World War I. Going online I found two translations: "the way of the ladies" and "the way of the injuries". I know which I think is appropriate.

Chemin des Dames trail - "Way of the Injuries" (photo by Mark Malnati) Chemin des Dames trail sign (photo by Mark Malnati)

After leaving the Knife-edge we hiked up into the mist - the wind was blowing around 45-50 miles per hour and the visibility was low. We summited Adams, had lunch and headed back down. On the way down we ran into a full class of geology students from Bates College heading to Madison Hut; that was an odd sight! All in all, a great hike - thanks to Diane for organizing it.

Slab (photo by Mark Malnati) Mt. Adams in the clouds (photo by Mark Malnati)

Driving Directions

The Air Line trailhead is located in the Appalachia parking lot on Rt. 2 in Randolph. Appalachia is a large parking lot from which many trails depart and is on the south side of Rt. 2. It is approximately 5.5 miles west of the western junction with Rt. 16.

Other Notes

This is part of the White Mountain National Forest so a WMNF parking permit is required.

More Mt. Adams Trail Reports

Mt. Adams via King Ravine Trail on 7/24/1999

Knife-edge on Durand Ridge of Mt. Adams (photo by Mark Malnati)

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