Mt. Adams, the 2nd highest peak in the northeastern U.S., includes some of the most distinctive features of the White Mountains, including a huge ravine cut out by glaciers (King Ravine), with a field of boulders at its base, some the size of small houses. We'll hike up into the ravine, traverse the Subway (a boulder cave in which we'll hike between and sometimes underneath the boulders), come back via the Elevated (hopping across on top of the same field of boulders), scramble up the east wall of the ravine via Chemin des Dames (very steep, gaining 800 ft in 0.4 mi, passing through the Orange Squeezer - a narrow passage between rocks,requiring removal of packs), continue scrambling to the summit (with an optional stop at Madison Spring Hut), and descend along the rim of the ravine, via Knight's Castle with a spectacular view down into the ravine. If the trails are dry, we might consider climbing up out of the ravine instead via Great Gully Trail, which is said to be even more challenging than Chemin des Dames.

Route: About 10 mi, 4500 ft. gain. These are "ordinary" hiking trails, not involving actual rock climbing requiring ropes, but they will require scrambling with your hands, and they are not suitable for people with a fear of heights. We'll leave very early in the morning so that we can hike at a comfortable pace.

There is a chance we might hike on Saturday instead of Sunday if the weather is better, or that we might have to change plans completely if the weather is worse. We'll have a short pre-trip meeting on zoom Thursday, July 20 at 5:30pm to finalize plans.

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