Hike to The Clouds

Hiking Mt Adams In The Fall

   Mt Adams had always caught my attention when looking at my maps of the high peaks. For years I had wanted to hike up to the summit. This fall presented a chance for me and two of my kids to do just that. The drive from home was just under 2 hours and my son Joe (9), daughter Lily (6) and I started our little adventure at 12:00 noon on a partially cloudy fall day. We were really looking forward to seeing the fall colors from the fire tower and hoped the clouds would clear by the time we reached the summit.

   We started out on the trail and very soon came to the new suspension bridge across the Hudson River. The crews had done an excellent job on the new bridge and there were very scenic photo opportunities over the river. After a few minutes at the bridge we continued along and came to Lake Jimmy where the trail clearly detours left to go around the lake.

Joe and Lily Crossing The Hudson River. 20 Sept. 2014

   The old trail, which previously crossed the lake, was covered with branches and debris to emphasize the new trail segment. This reroute has made the hike slightly longer, but not excessively. The area is swampy along the trail and there were numerous planks over the muddy sections. The kids loved this part, jumping from plank to plank like an obstacle course. Once we got to the other side of the lake, I spotted the old bridge which had been washed up by the shore sometime in recent years.

Walkway around Lake Jimmy. 20 Sept. 2014

   At about 12:40 we came to the old fire observer’s cabin. The cabin was in good shape and access was allowed at this time. There was a brief description of the cabin posted on the wall inside as well as an old sink and bed. The kids were amazed that someone lived in a house so small with none of our modern conveniences. We had a quick snack here and were back on the trail.

Lily and Joe taking a break at the fire observer's cabin . 20 Sept. 2014

   Next to the cabin was an old shed with a sign, “1.7 miles to Mt Adams Fire Tower”. There was a trail going up behind the cabin and shed, but it was not the correct way. We continued along the main trail about another 100 yards, where there were signs on the right and left sides of the trail pointing left to a side trail to Mt Adams.

   We hiked gradually up the trail at an easy grade for a little while, enjoying the forest with it’s different sounds of rustling leaves, birds and the occasional squirrel. Soon we crossed a small stream on some rocks and shortly thereafter came to a cliff and the beginning of the steep section of the trail. The kids were immediately excited with this section and loved scrambling up the rocks and over some fallen trees.

Exciting scrambling on the trail to Mt Adams. 20 Sept. 2014

Rough Section of The Mt Adams Trail. 20 Sept. 2014

   From the point of the first cliff, the rest of the trail gains some serious altitude, with a few short, easy stretches along the way. The kids really did great and I was impressed by their energy and enthusiasm. The higher we got, the foggier it became as we hiked up into the cool, damp clouds.The trail wound it’s way up the mountain and after several rest stops, numerous photo ops and several assurances by me that we were really close now, we reached the summit at 2:45. Unfortunately the summit was totally clouded in and there were no views this afternoon.

Dad, Lily and Joe At Mt Adams Summit. 20 Sept. 2014

   The fire tower was in great shape, however, and we climbed the stairs to the top. It was cold, very windy and damp up in the tower as the clouds blew around us. The kids were a little nervous, so we didn’t stay long in the tower. Instead we climbed down and ate lunch at a bench at the base of the tower, out of the wind and sheltered by the trees which covered the summit. Here we relaxed, talked about our hike, ate lunch…and of course took more pictures! We left the summit at 3:10, ready to get back to the trailhead and the warmth of the car.

   On our return down the mountain I explained to the kids to be more careful going down the steep sections since they were damp and covered with slippery leaves and pine needles in places. After a while of careful negotiation and sliding down some smooth sections of rock, we made it down the steep upper section of trail.

Never Know What You'll See Out There! Red Salamander, 

   We talked and joked on our hike back out to the car. My son found a neat little red salamander and we also spotted a snake on the side of the trail. We hiked back past the cabin and when we went back around Lake Jimmy, the kids still got excited about jumping along the planks along the trail. By the time we crossed the bridge back over the Hudson River I could tell the kids were reaching their limit and starting to walk almost like a couple of zombies. Soon enough, at 5:20, we were back in the car and headed home.

   We didn’t get to see the views of the fall colors from the summit as we had hoped, but that didn’t bother any of us. This hike was instead a great example to me of how the hike and adventure were the highlights of the trip rather than the actual summit. I plan on returning to Mt Adams in the future and hopefully next time there will be better views from the summit. Until then there are no regrets and we have great memories of our day out.