The Mount Adams Wilderness is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The wilderness encompasses an ecologically complex and geologically active landscape. Weather differs between the dry eastside and moist westside of the mountain. At , Mount Adams is one of the major Cascade mountains. The wilderness area is on the west side of the mountain and is part of the

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of 1.32 million acres (5300 km2), it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Ran ...

. The east side of the mountain is part of the

Yakama Nation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat ...

, with the southeast side part of the Mount Adams Recreation Area, and includes Bird Creek Meadows.

Recreation

Recreation includes hiking, backpacking, mountain climbing, and equestrian sports. A Volcano Pass from the U.S. Forest Service is required for activities above . Some areas of the mountain in the Yakama Nation are open for recreation, while other areas are open only to members of the tribe. The wilderness includes about of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, which passes to the west and north Mount Adams.

Climbing

Each year, hundreds of people attempt to summit Mount Adams. Crampons and ice axes are needed on many routes because of the glaciers and how steep they are. But it is possible to climb with just boots and ski poles on the south side of the mountain in the summer, via the South Climb Spur, partway on the South Climb Trail #183. The biggest hazard is the loose rocks and boulders which are easily dislodged and a severe hazard for climbers below. Climbing Mount Adams can be dangerous for a variety of reasons and people do die in pursuit of the summit.

Hiking

The Mount Adams Wilderness has a number of hiking trails. Trails in the wilderness pass through dry east-side and moist west-side forests, with views of Mt. Adams and its glaciers, streams, open alpine forests, parklands, and wildflowers which speckle the

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

and

rimrocks The Rimrocks (also known as the "Rims") are geological rimrock sandstone formations that outcrop in sections of Billings, Montana. Eighty million years ago the Billings metro area was the shore of the Western Interior Seaway, a sea that went ...

. Many trails access the Round the Mountain trail. On the south, the Shorthorn Trail leaves from near the Morrison Creek Campground and the South Climb Trail starts as Cold Springs Campground and heads up the South Spur, a common climbing route to the summit. On the west side, there are three trails going up: the Stagman Ridge Trail,

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

, and the Riley Creek Trail. On the north side are the Divide Camp, Killen Creek, Muddy Meadows trails, and the

as it heads down the mountain. These trails generally gain between and in between and . Trails are mostly snow-covered from early winter until early summer. The Round the Mountain Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Highline Trail almost completely encircle the mountain, save for a 4-mile section known as "The Gap" on the east side of the Mountain, in the Mount Adams Recreation Area. Other trails in the Mount Adams Wilderness include the Lookingglass Lake Trail, High Camp Trail #10, Salt Creek Trail #75, Crofton Butte Trail #73, and the Riley Connector Trail #64A.

References

External links

Mount Adams Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service
Mount Adams Wilderness
Wilderness.net (The University of Montana) {{Authority control Cascade Range Protected areas of Skamania County, Washington Wilderness areas of Washington (state) Protected areas of Yakima County, Washington Gifford Pinchot National Forest Mount Adams (Washington) Midway High Lakes Area Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in Washington (state) Yakama