{{Short description|Wilderness area in Washington, United States}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox protected area | name = Mount Adams Wilderness | image = Entering Mt Adams Wilderness.jpg | iucn_category = Ib | map = USA | relief = 1 | map_caption = | location = Yakima / Skamania counties, Washington, USA | nearest_city = Trout Lake, WA | coordinates = {{coord|46|12|8.68|N|121|29|27.22|W|region:US|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref = | area = {{convert|47708|acre}} | established = 1964 | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = United States Forest Service | url = [http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/recreation '''Mount Adams Wilderness'''] }} thumbnail|right|The South Climb, or South Spur climbing route on Mount Adams along Suksdorf Ridge thumbnail|right|Meadows at Mount Adams Wilderness
The '''Mount Adams Wilderness''' is a {{convert|47708|acre|adj=on}} wilderness area in the U.S. state of Washington managed by the U.S. Forest Service.<ref name=usfs/> The wilderness encompasses an ecologically complex and geologically active landscape. Weather differs between the dry eastside and moist westside of the mountain. At {{convert|12276|ft|m}}, Mount Adams is the second tallest mountain in Washington State and one of the tallest in the Cascade Range. The wilderness area is on the west side of the mountain and is part of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The east side of the mountain is part of the Yakama Nation, with the southeast side part of the Mount Adams Recreation Area, and includes Bird Creek Meadows.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynwildlife.org/Recreation.php |title=Yakama Nation Mt. Adams Recreation Area |publisher=Yakama Nation |access-date=24 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mt. Adams Recreation Area Map |url=http://www.ynwildlife.org/pdf/Brochure2011p2%20Final%20(2).pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=24 April 2013 |publisher=Yakama Nation}}</ref>
==Recreation== Recreation includes hiking, backpacking, mountain climbing, and equestrian sports. A Volcano Pass from the U.S. Forest Service is required for activities above {{convert|7000|ft|m}}.<ref name=usfs3/> 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 {{convert|21|mi|km}} of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, which passes to the west and north Mount Adams.<ref name=wilderness.net/>
=== 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.katu.com/news/local/103145539.html |title=Man spends night on Mt. Adams after father dies during climb |agency=Associated Press |access-date=23 July 2012 |publisher=KATU |date=September 17, 2010}}</ref>
=== 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 and rimrocks.<ref name=usfs2/>
Many trails access the Round the Mountain trail.<ref name=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, and the Riley Creek Trail. On the north side are the Divide Camp, Killen Creek, Muddy Meadows trails, and the Pacific Crest Trail as it heads down the mountain. These trails generally gain between {{convert|1500|ft|m}} and {{convert|3000|ft|m}} in between {{convert|3|mi|km}} and {{convert|6|mi|km}}. 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.<ref name=usfs/>
==Climate== Potato Hill is a cinder cone on Adams' north side that was created in the late Pleistocene and stands {{convert|800|ft|m|sigfig=2}} above its lava plain.<ref name="MZ"> {{cite web | url = http://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/detail.asp?fid=3969156 | title = South butte Summit - Washington Mountain Peak Information | publisher = MountainZone.com | access-date = 2008-12-21 }}</ref> It has a weather station that was monitored monthly from 1950 to 1976 and was replaced in 1982 with the automated precipitation sensor. It was upgraded in 1983 to report snow water equivalent and it was upgraded again in 2006 to report snow depth.<ref name=PHWeather/>
By April, there is, on average, {{convert|87|in|cm}} of snow on the ground at Potato Hill.<ref name=PHWeather/> The average monthly snow depth at Potato Hill has not changed much from the records collected from 1950 to 1976, with only a small decrease in January, February, and May and a small increase in March and April. The snowpack at Potato Hill starts building in late October to early November and the last of the snow generally melts by the beginning of June, but occasionally lingers into July.<ref name=snowdepth> {{cite web | url =http://www.skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/CascadeSnow/SnowdepthComparison.pdf | title =Historical Snowdepth Comparison along the Cascade Range | last =Andalkar | first =Amar | date =March 2005 | website =Skiing the Cascade Volcanoes | access-date =February 18, 2016}}</ref>
Temperatures and precipitation can be highly variable around Adams, due in part to its geographic location astride the Cascade Crest, which gives it more of a continental influence than some of its neighbors. At Potato Hill, December is the coldest month with an average high of {{convert|45|F|C}} and an average low of {{convert|6|F|C}}. July is the hottest month with an average high of {{convert|84|F|C}} and an average low of {{convert|33|F|C}}. The highest recorded temperature is {{convert|95|F|C}} on June 29, 2021, and the lowest is {{convert|-16|F|C}} on November 24, 2010. Average annual precipitation is {{convert|66.8|in|mm}} with January being the wettest month at {{convert|10.3|in|cm}}, slightly more than November and December. Potato Hill averages 159 precipitation days with 53 snow days.<ref name=PHWeather/>
{{clear right}} {{Weather box |width=auto |location = Potato Hill, WA, elev. {{convert|4510|ft|0}} {{coord|46.35|-121.51|region:US-WA|display=inline}} |single line = yes |Jan record high F = 56 |Feb record high F = 68 |Mar record high F = 64 |Apr record high F = 74 |May record high F = 82 |Jun record high F = 95 |Jul record high F = 90 |Aug record high F = 91 |Sep record high F = 88 |Oct record high F = 78 |Nov record high F = 65 |Dec record high F = 56 |year record high F = 95 |Jan high F = 47.5 |Feb high F = 48.3 |Mar high F = 55.1 |Apr high F = 62.7 |May high F = 72.1 |Jun high F = 78.5 |Jul high F = 83.8 |Aug high F = 83.8 |Sep high F = 78.4 |Oct high F = 66.0 |Nov high F = 52.8 |Dec high F = 45.3 |year high F = 64.5 |Jan low F = 7.8 |Feb low F = 4.9 |Mar low F = 11.5 |Apr low F = 16.3 |May low F = 24.8 |Jun low F = 30.0 |Jul low F = 33.0 |Aug low F = 31.7 |Sep low F = 29.0 |Oct low F = 21.7 |Nov low F = 12.4 |Dec low F = 5.5 |year low F = 19.0 |Jan record low F = −7 |Feb record low F = −12 |Mar record low F = 4 |Apr record low F = 3 |May record low F = 17 |Jun record low F = 24 |Jul record low F = 28 |Aug record low F = 25 |Sep record low F = 21 |Oct record low F = 12 |Nov record low F = −16 |Dec record low F = −14 |year record low F = −16 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 10.3 |Feb precipitation inch = 7.58 |Mar precipitation inch = 7.51 |Apr precipitation inch = 4.82 |May precipitation inch = 3.91 |Jun precipitation inch = 2.50 |Jul precipitation inch = 0.83 |Aug precipitation inch = 1.04 |Sep precipitation inch = 2.52 |Oct precipitation inch = 5.65 |Nov precipitation inch = 10.0 |Dec precipitation inch = 10.1 |year precipitation inch = 66.79
|Jan snow inch = 35.6 |Feb snow inch = 41.6 |Mar snow inch = 33.1 |Apr snow inch = 17.6 |May snow inch = 6.4 |Jun snow inch = 1 |Jul snow inch = 0 |Aug snow inch = 0 |Sep snow inch = 0 |Oct snow inch = 5.1 |Nov snow inch = 30.1 |Dec snow inch = 47 |year snow inch = 217.1 |unit precipitation days = 0.01 in |Jan precipitation days = 19 |Feb precipitation days = 16 |Mar precipitation days = 19 |Apr precipitation days = 15 |May precipitation days = 14 |Jun precipitation days = 9 |Jul precipitation days = 4 |Aug precipitation days = 4 |Sep precipitation days = 8 |Oct precipitation days = 13 |Nov precipitation days = 19 |Dec precipitation days = 19 |year precipitation days = 159 |unit snow days = 0.1 in |Jan snow days = 9 |Feb snow days = 9 |Mar snow days = 9 |Apr snow days = 5 |May snow days = 1 |Jun snow days = 0<!--Trace amounts. Rounds down to zero--> |Jul snow days = 0 |Aug snow days = 0 |Sep snow days = 0 |Oct snow days = 2 |Nov snow days = 7 |Dec snow days = 11 |year snow days = 53 |source 1 = Natural Resources Conservation Service (1982–2022) <ref name=PHWeather> {{cite web | url =https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/reportGenerator/view/customSingleStationReport/annual_calendar_year/702:WA:SNTL%7Cid=%22%22%7Cname~0/POR_BEGIN,POR_END/WTEQ::value,SNWD::value,PREC::value,TMAX::value,TMIN::value,TAVG::value,PRCP::value | title =NWCC Report Generator: Potato Hill | website =National Water and Climate Center | publisher =Natural Resources Conservation Service | access-date =February 18, 2016}}</ref> }}
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=usfs>{{cite web |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/recreation |work=Gifford Pinchot National Forest |title=Wilderness: Mount Adams |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |access-date=March 24, 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=usfs2>{{cite web |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/giffordpinchot/specialplaces/?cid=fsbdev3_004968 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216201733/http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/giffordpinchot/specialplaces/?cid=fsbdev3_004968 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 16, 2013 |work=Gifford Pinchot National Forest |title=Mt. Adams Wilderness |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |access-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=usfs3>{{cite web |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/giffordpinchot/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5144542 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212065333/http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/giffordpinchot/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5144542 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 12, 2013 |work=Gifford Pinchot National Forest |title=Cascades Volcano Pass |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |access-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=trail>{{cite web |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/recreation |work=Gifford Pinchot National Forest |title=Trail #9 Round-the-Mountain |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |access-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=wilderness.net>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=370 |title=Mount Adams Wilderness |work=Wilderness.net |publisher=University of Montana |access-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref>
}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Mount Adams Wilderness}} *[http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/recreation Mount Adams Wilderness] U.S. Forest Service *[http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=370 Mount Adams Wilderness] Wilderness.net (The University of Montana)
{{Protected areas of Washington (state)}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Cascade Range Category:Protected areas of Skamania County, Washington Category:Wilderness areas of Washington (state) Category:Protected areas of Yakima County, Washington Category:Gifford Pinchot National Forest Category:Mount Adams (Washington) Category:Midway High Lakes Area Category:Protected areas established in 1964 Category:1964 establishments in Washington (state) Category:Yakama