ChileMass
Active member
Date - 8/19/06
Trails - Caps Ridge > Cornice > Gulfside > Sphinx Col > Sphinx Trail
Elevation Gain - approx 3000'
Degree of Difficulty - Moderate+
Conditions - Cloudy start, fog at ridgeline, blowing fog in col, then cleared as we came down. About 70*F at trailhead, 60-65* on ridgeline, about 77* when we returned.
This was supposed to be a family/group hike to the cliffs overlooking the Great Gulf, but the kids complained so the Moms let them sleep and it turned into another nice day of Dads-only hiking with me and ole buddy Rob instead. The Caps Ridge trail is always fun and scenic - the big boulder with the potholes is your first obvious resting point, and the scrambles up the Caps are just tricky enough to put some adventure into the climb. Surprisingly, not too many people around for a Saturday when we started up a bit late at almost 9:30AM. As an FYI - we saw several families with kids that looked to be as young as 8-10 years old, so the Caps Ridge trail up to Jefferson's summit is definitely do-able. You just have to be careful and help the kids negotiate the short rock scrambles.
Got to the Cornice and headed off towards the Gulfside. Lots of fog as soon as we cleared the second Cap, and we went up into really thick stuff thru Monticello Lawn. Not much to see which was a bummer because I had always wanted to see this section. Lots of rock-hopping thru here, also. A couple of long stretches to make it from rock to rock. But fortunately, the Cornice is a short connector, and we were soon on the Gulfside Trail , enjoying being back on the Appalachian Trail. From the Cornice intersection, the Gulfside begins a long, slow descent in mostly open territory. The wind was still up a bit here (15-20 mph max) and the fog was blowing by, so still not a lot to see. But then as we got closer to Sphinx col, the wind dropped off and the clouds lifted to reveal Mt. Clay and much of Washington ahead. Sphinx Col was just beautiful. The rocky outcrops in every direction with the Great Gulf to your left, the Gulfside ridge way back around behind and the impressive bulks of Clay and Washington - it's really something. It had taken us about 2.5 hours to get to this point.
Passing the intersection of the Sphinx Trail, we just couldn't resist seeing what was down below that very cool "grassy corridor" (White Mt Guide description), so we headed down to find a good overlook to eat lunch at. We descended past a couple of rockpiles, but finally stopped at one about 500' below the Gulfside with a nice view down into the Great Gulf. Again, the clouds and fog came and went and the views were very nice if not spectacular. Ate lunch, climbed back up to the Gulfside, but then decided going on to Clay was not going to pay off in great views, so we headed back up the Gulfside and down the Cornice.
Got a bit of payoff, though, that the clouds had definitely lifted when we got back to Monticello Lawn, and the view up to Jefferson summit was completely cleared off. Pretty good views to the west (Mt Washington hotel, Bretton Woods, backside of Franconia Range, etc). Warmed up a LOT when the sun poked out, too.
Descent fun: upon reaching the big boulder almost to the bottom, ole buddy Rob and I met a very beautiful young French-Canadian woman who had abandoned her friends that were summitting Jefferson. Marie-Pierre (that's her name) told us she had had enough, her friends had gone on, and that she actually had another friend who had not made it as far as she did before turning back. We listened to her story, took a short break and were getting ready to leave when Rob asked Marie if she intended to wait for her friends. She immediately said, "No - I'm coming with you!!". So, being the chivalrous types we are, Rob and I escorted young Miss Marie the last mile down to her car where we found her other friend, a fat young guy, asleep in the front seat of his Volvo with the engine running, the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on. Marie jolted him awake by rapping on the window and then began berating him in French. Nice to know that man/woman communication is largely the same in any language.
Fun day - took 6 hours by taking our time. Pics are here - http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/560
Trails - Caps Ridge > Cornice > Gulfside > Sphinx Col > Sphinx Trail
Elevation Gain - approx 3000'
Degree of Difficulty - Moderate+
Conditions - Cloudy start, fog at ridgeline, blowing fog in col, then cleared as we came down. About 70*F at trailhead, 60-65* on ridgeline, about 77* when we returned.
This was supposed to be a family/group hike to the cliffs overlooking the Great Gulf, but the kids complained so the Moms let them sleep and it turned into another nice day of Dads-only hiking with me and ole buddy Rob instead. The Caps Ridge trail is always fun and scenic - the big boulder with the potholes is your first obvious resting point, and the scrambles up the Caps are just tricky enough to put some adventure into the climb. Surprisingly, not too many people around for a Saturday when we started up a bit late at almost 9:30AM. As an FYI - we saw several families with kids that looked to be as young as 8-10 years old, so the Caps Ridge trail up to Jefferson's summit is definitely do-able. You just have to be careful and help the kids negotiate the short rock scrambles.
Got to the Cornice and headed off towards the Gulfside. Lots of fog as soon as we cleared the second Cap, and we went up into really thick stuff thru Monticello Lawn. Not much to see which was a bummer because I had always wanted to see this section. Lots of rock-hopping thru here, also. A couple of long stretches to make it from rock to rock. But fortunately, the Cornice is a short connector, and we were soon on the Gulfside Trail , enjoying being back on the Appalachian Trail. From the Cornice intersection, the Gulfside begins a long, slow descent in mostly open territory. The wind was still up a bit here (15-20 mph max) and the fog was blowing by, so still not a lot to see. But then as we got closer to Sphinx col, the wind dropped off and the clouds lifted to reveal Mt. Clay and much of Washington ahead. Sphinx Col was just beautiful. The rocky outcrops in every direction with the Great Gulf to your left, the Gulfside ridge way back around behind and the impressive bulks of Clay and Washington - it's really something. It had taken us about 2.5 hours to get to this point.
Passing the intersection of the Sphinx Trail, we just couldn't resist seeing what was down below that very cool "grassy corridor" (White Mt Guide description), so we headed down to find a good overlook to eat lunch at. We descended past a couple of rockpiles, but finally stopped at one about 500' below the Gulfside with a nice view down into the Great Gulf. Again, the clouds and fog came and went and the views were very nice if not spectacular. Ate lunch, climbed back up to the Gulfside, but then decided going on to Clay was not going to pay off in great views, so we headed back up the Gulfside and down the Cornice.
Got a bit of payoff, though, that the clouds had definitely lifted when we got back to Monticello Lawn, and the view up to Jefferson summit was completely cleared off. Pretty good views to the west (Mt Washington hotel, Bretton Woods, backside of Franconia Range, etc). Warmed up a LOT when the sun poked out, too.
Descent fun: upon reaching the big boulder almost to the bottom, ole buddy Rob and I met a very beautiful young French-Canadian woman who had abandoned her friends that were summitting Jefferson. Marie-Pierre (that's her name) told us she had had enough, her friends had gone on, and that she actually had another friend who had not made it as far as she did before turning back. We listened to her story, took a short break and were getting ready to leave when Rob asked Marie if she intended to wait for her friends. She immediately said, "No - I'm coming with you!!". So, being the chivalrous types we are, Rob and I escorted young Miss Marie the last mile down to her car where we found her other friend, a fat young guy, asleep in the front seat of his Volvo with the engine running, the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on. Marie jolted him awake by rapping on the window and then began berating him in French. Nice to know that man/woman communication is largely the same in any language.
Fun day - took 6 hours by taking our time. Pics are here - http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/560
Last edited:
