10/11/2014
Mt. Madison 5,366 Ft
Valley Way, Osgood, Gulfside Path, Randolph Path, Castle Ravine, The Link
12:45P-7:15P
14 Miles
Waking up from a 5 hour nap I got dressed and drove towards Appalachia. Once there I grabbed my gear and started hiking. It was a fairly clear day and the weather was fairly nice. I made quick way up Valley way on my way to get Madison and hopefully Jefferson for my second round of the grid.
The hiking was great and I was at the hut in less than 2 hours. At this point I layered up a bit because it was really starting to get cold. When I met some people coming down Madison they also warned me of how cold it was. As I looked ahead I could see the rime ice buildup and I knew it was going to be pretty bad, it was. The trail was still very easy to navigate though as there was no ice build up or snow yet. I reached the summit around 3.
From this point the idea was to hike over to Jefferson. I had no idea how long this would take as I had not gone this way to hike Jefferson. I got a little turned around when I went off of Gulfside to catch up with Edmonds col. I ended up on the Randolph path going the wrong way. I turned around and eventually got to the col. Now the plan was to meet a friend at McDonalds in Lincoln at 8 for a night hike camp out and sunrise on Moosilauke and the time was growing short. It was about 5 at this point. I looked up from Edmonds col at the hike I still had ahead of me. I hated to admit it but I had to turn around. So I did. I made my way down on the Castle Ravine trail which was probably not the best idea. Very steep and very rocky, but it was a great sight all the way down. My knees hate me though. There was a group of people hiking off the stream next to the trail and I envied them.
I caught up with the link and ran/hiked my way back to Appalachia. It was a long way back but I got back to my car a little after 7. I changed up real quick and went to meet my friend. I reached lincoln at 8:05. So I need to go back now and get Jefferson, but I got a whole bunch of red line work done and I did get Madison. I say it was a good hike.
Check out my final report on the weekend for mount Moosilauke coming up next!
Views of the Shire 
Damn man, and then another 14 miles on top of your previous night hike? My knees would be bringing me to…well my knees (my descent speed has fallen greatly due to some issue in my right knee). At the same time the best experiences come from doing just crazy things and pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones. Cool trip report, Brent, and under a lot of extreme conditions (sleep, weather, miles etc. etc.) you consistently make very wise decisions on your hikes. Sometimes, the best thing to do is just turn around and save a mountain for another day, just like you did. They’ll always be there…at least in our lifetime.
Thanks brother. It was a great weekend for hiking and a true sign of what’s to come.