Mount Adams - Chemin Des Dames, Airline Trail, & Star Lake Trail: Partial King Ravine Trail - HD

This video begins at Mossy Falls on the King Ravine Trail, then takes Chemin Des Dames up to the Airline Trail and continues on to the summit of Mount Adams. It then descends Star Lake Trail to Madison Hut, and then rejoins Airline.

On this hike I also completed The Subway, but my camera was in my pack so I could not film any of it due to the difficulty/danger of the trail (which is why it is not advertised in the title). I also attempted to continue on the King Ravine Trail, but I could not complete it due to its difficulty. This is the first time I did not complete a trail
Please do not attempt this trail unless you have a lot more scrambling experience than I have

08/30/2022 - The weather on this hike was clear all day with chance of thunderstorms at night. At points on the ascent large clouds began to cover the ravine, which was a really nice change for a a few minutes. Otherwise, the sun was shining the rest of the time above treeline. This was a weekday and I only saw 1 other hiker on the King Ravine Trail, and about 10 or so the rest of the hike.

The video begins at the intersection of the Short Line Trail & King Ravine Trail, a few steps before Mossy Falls. On the ravine floor, the King Ravine Trail is a scramble, with massive boulders all throughout your path. At times you can simply hop over some of these, but others require both hands to pull yourself up on. For many of these, there are 10 - 20 ft drop offs on the sides of the boulders, so you would end up below the trail floor itself if you fell.

As I proceeded on the King Ravine Trail, I arrived at the intersection for Chemin Des Dames and The Subway & Elevated Trail. I turned left and began to scramble up Chemin Des Dames. This trail gains 800 ft in elevation in 0.4 miles, which is extremely steep. Most of this is a 2 handed rock scramble, followed by steep dirt, followed by loose scree at the top. Part of the way is very narrow and seems almost like a bushwhack, but there is a clearly defined trail the entire way.

At the end of Chemin Des Dames, you arrive above treeline on the Airline Trail, which has incredible views of the ravine, Mount Madison, Mount Adams, & the false summits. Airline is a relentless incline, with what I consider deceiving mile markers along the way (they are correct, but it the hike seems much longer). The trail ascends past the intersection of the King Ravine Trail, then continues up towards a false summit, and eventually up to Mount Adams. After passing by the top of the ravine, the trail becomes nothing but steep rocks the entire way up, and the trail just seems to go on and on and on. However, you will eventually arrive at the Mount Adams summit, which has great views of all the northern presidentials and surrounding White Mountains.

After summiting Adams, I proceeded straight to the far edge, following a set of cairns to the Star Lake Trail. This trail is 1 mile down to Madison Hut, and it descends about 990 ft in elevation. However, it feels steeper than it sounds, particularly just below the summit, which includes two separate, nearly vertical scrambles (these 2 sections are comparable to, but less slightly less difficult than, Caps #2 & #3 on the Caps Ridge Trail). After these 2 difficult sections, the cairns lead you down through a long boulder field exactly like the one on the other side of Adams. The trail continues on like this for some time, until you are surrounded by alpine brush and then small trees. The highlight of this trail are the spectacular views of Mount Madison and Star Lake, which the trail leads right up to. Mount Madison reflecting off of Star Lake is just amazing, especially when no one else is around.

The trail continues at a slight descent over to Madison Hut, where there is food for sale and a free water fill up (when the Hut is open). Lodging is also available by reservation.

After getting some water at the hut, I followed the trail signs back over to the Airline Trail and began my descent back down. I chose to descend via Airline to get more views once again, but in hindsight I would not choose to descend Airline again - as below treeline the trail was too rocky for me to descend at a fast pace, and I felt like I could have descended quicker by using a different route.

Overall, the views on this hike are out of this world. I hope to return one day and complete the King Ravine Trail, but I will need to hike other challenging trails before I can consider attempting it again. Chemin Des Dames & Star Lake Trail were great, and both can be done by those who are comfortable with tough scrambles. Airline is an amazing, relentless trail that I would do over and over again.

Mount Adams is one of the toughest mountains to hike, but it is so rewarding for those who are able to do it. This was another great day in the White Mountains.

0:00 King Ravine Trail
2:43 Chemin Des Dames
5:57 Airline Trail
11:09 Star Lake Trail
14:05 Begin Descent