"Day one of the Presidential Range Traverse. The climb up Madison is a real bear, but it is worth it for the stunning views. All of the cols are above treeline, and the climb up Adams and Jefferson was just as beautiful. Excellent views into the Great Gulf also. The trail is very rocky, and there are many scree fields on Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. The trail up and over Clay was well worth it for the awesome views of Mount Washington. Washington was very tough at the end of the day on the way down but the trail up is less rocky and is very nice. We spent the night at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut." — elimihuta • Jun 27, 2025

"Left the hut around 8 and took both kids with me up to the summit of Madison. On the descent the weather turned. Sideways rain at 60mph made for slow going. Descended as fast as we could to avoid being exposed in the storm. Made it to the safety of the tree line. About 3k down and across a torrent of a water crossing to the car." — wiweasel • Jul 6, 2024

"Sunny forecast turned into a very hazy sky, smoke from the Canadian wild fires was quite prevalent. Still though, some warm sunshine and very light winds made it a nice hike above tree level. An AMC crew was closing up the Madison Spring Hut for the year. Went up Airline and down Valley Way." — Alohabuffy • Sep 27, 2023

"Finally got the chance to meet up with a NH Flags on the 48 group this year. It was a cloudy day and muggy but not too hot. My feet enjoyed the nice cushiony Fallsway trail back, off Valley Way at the end." — SteveM_StickMan • Sep 11, 2022

"A hike with Molly. We set up a car spot, then headed up Pine Link Tr. Took us awhile to get up. We took Watson Path to hit the summit. We were in and out the clouds today. We headed back down Watson Path and closed out Pine Link to Madison Hut. After having lunch at the hut, we took Parapet Tr over to Daniel Webster Scout Tr and to the other car at Dolly Copp. It was a long day for us. " — newenglandwarrior • Aug 27, 2022

"The hike started out nicely with the summit to Jefferson although no views because of heavy clouds. We had about 45 minutes of rain hiking to Madison Spring hut before heading to Madison summit. We hiked with Coco and Fern and they were exhausted by the time we reached Madison. A short way down Watson Path, Coco couldn't walk under her own power anymore. Alison and I took turns carrying her. Towards the end of Watson path she began to walk on her own again. We expected to finish the hike around 6:30 originally, but didn't finish until 10:30." — fairhiker • Aug 7, 2022

"Valley way Trail at Appalachia in Randolph is a good trail. the last 1.4 is definitely a bit touch because of the boulder hopping. Madison Spring Hut was an amazing stay. Too much wind at the top to get the video or pictures. " — Bucky • Jul 20, 2022

"A Madison and Adams kind of day. I went up Airline Tr then took Airline Cutoff over to Madison Hut. I managed to work around the ice on sections of the Airline Tr. There was quite a bit of snow and running water on Airline Cutoff. I reached the summit of Madison. Saw Nate Weeks, Jason Beauprie, and a bunch of others. They were starting a Presi Traverse. I headed over to Adams and tagged the summit. After soaking in the views. I headed down Airline Tr. I heard the upper part of Valley Way was an ice rink. To mix up my route down, I took Upper Bruin to Valley Way and out. There was some ice I had to work around on Upper Bruin and Valley Way. I gained 2 peaks for my May Grid. " — newenglandwarrior • May 14, 2022

"Went up from Appalachia on brookside trail and watson path. Clouds rolled in right as we reached treeline, and rain started coming down hard. After stopping at the madison hut, we went down valley way to avoid the bad weather" — noahthackeray • Aug 14, 2021

"I wouldn't say that I'd recommend hiking both peaks in one day with a 3.5 hour drive on either side, but... we did! Hot and muggy down below, moderate and very windy over the tree line. We opted to take Valley Way--straightforward and not very challenging on a White Mountains scale--to ensure we made decent time and were shielded from the sun as long as possible. After a quick restroom break and First Lunch at Madison Spring Hut, we took Gulfside to Airline to the Mt. Adams summit. Definitely a longer climb than it first appears, and full of confusion since the rocks that are a part of the trail look exactly like the rocks that aren't, but... as long as you have plenty of water and sunscreen, it's worth the effort. Beautiful views, even before we hit the summit. But I might have enjoyed the views from Madison even more. After picking our way back down to the hut to retie our boots and grab Second Lunch, we followed Osgood up to Mt. Madison (where we dabbled in Third Lunch). I loved the trail. There were some fun little scrambley moments and intriguing lines and formations that made me feel adventurous and produced some nice pictures. Gorgeous 360 views on both peaks. Took about 10...." — gooner • Jun 29, 2021