Hiking Mt Adams

Five years ago I was hiking Mt. Adams in the White Mountains, but I turned back about 60 feet from the summit because high winds made me struggle to stay upright.  Those 60 feet mattered so I never checked it off the list in my attempt to climb all the 4,000-footers in New Hampshire.

Second Attempt Hiking Mt Adams

Recently I decided to try again.  To make things interesting I opted to take King’s Ravine trail, known for being one of the more challenging trails in the White Mountains.  It is on the Terrifying 25 list.  That means it has slides, rock scrambles, and boulder caves.  It sounded fun.  Plus it had an option to detour onto a trail called the Subway which provided the opportunity to climb over rocks, squeeze through some tight tunnels, throw your pack up on a rock and spin around underneath it and pull yourself though and then grab your pack and continue on.  We were all scrapped up after the Subway but smiling and pleased with ourselves.

Unusual Circumstances

That morning before we knew the fun of the rock tunnels, we were greeted at the trailhead by a legitimate-looking […]

Hiking Mt Adams2019-11-08T10:17:12-05:00

Hiking the Subway in Zion (Not if there is a flash flood)

Rain has never stopped us before. If we are traveling and want to hike, we go, even if we occasionally get strange looks from the locals.

The Subway got it's name because parts look like an actual subway. The Subway got it’s name because parts look like an actual subway.

So when we got to Zion Visitor Center to pick up our permit to hike the Subway, we were conflicted when we saw there was a 60% chance of rain the day of our hike. We had taken rappel classes and invested in the equipment (helmets, harnesses, rope, carabineers and more rope and carabineers) we would need along the way.

It turns out 60% chance of rain doesn’t mean there is a 60% chance of rain like I always thought. It means that 60% of the area in question will get rain.  And on the Subway in Zion that means a probable chance of a flash flood.  When the ranger informed us that she wouldn’t even consider hiking anything with over a 30% chance of rain, and we called Matt’s dad (an atmospheric physicist who can serve as a meteorologist) we begrudgingly decided not […]

Hiking the Subway in Zion (Not if there is a flash flood)2017-10-25T14:26:04-04:00
Go to Top