Do you like rocks? Join a day hike Saturday up an unconventional route to Mt. Adams, the 2nd highest peak in New Hampshire! As with all the Northern Presidentials, the summit area is above treeline and consists of large rocks at various angles: rough terrain. We'll come close to the summit of Mt. Madison too, but instead of summiting it, we'll do something more interesting: go around the back side for scrambles on Parapet and Star Lake Trails, a sneaky route to Mt. Adams.

Route: 11.8 mi, 5400 ft. gain, with a lot of variety: cascades, stream crossings, outlooks at various elevations on the "Howks" of Howker Ridge Trail, 4 miles above treeline, "The Parapet" overlooking the Great Gulf Wilderness, the iconic view of Mt. Madison across Star Lake, 360-degree summit views from Adams, stop at Madison Spring Hut for water/food/restrooms, Durand Ridge with its view plunging down into King Ravine, and more outlooks and waterfalls and an impressive boulder on the way down. This will be a long strenuous hike, featuring some of the best that the White Mountains can offer.

We're planning for Saturday, but we might hike Sunday instead, depending on weather.

We'll have a quick mandatory pre-trip meeting Thursday August 7 at 8pm over Zoom to go over logistics.

We'll leave Cambridge very early and stop for a quick breakfast near the trailheads. We'll hike at a moderate pace (1-1.3 mph up, 1.5-2 mph down).

If you can drive your own car or are willing to drive a rental car, edit the lottery preferences on your MITOC profile to show this. Expect to pay $30-50 for your share of the car cost. If you are an MIT undergrad, this cost can be reimbursed.

(This is a day trip, independent of the August Circus.)