N
NH_Mtn_Hiker
Guest
Mt. Waumbek it's not
Loop? Ok, it was more like a figure 8
Date(s) Hiked:
Monday, August 2, 2004
Trails(s) Hiked:
Caps Ridge Tr., Jefferson Loop Tr., Gulfside Tr., Osgood Tr., Star Lake Tr.,Lowes Path, and Cornice.
Total Distance:
12.5 miles, 5000' elev. gain (book), *5500' see below
Planned hiking time 10 hrs., Actual hiking time 9hrs. 55 min.
Difficulty:
Very, very Strenuous...I mean that in a good way.
Conditions:
Mostly sunny, 65 deg. above treeline, less humid, calm early to about 10 mph on the way out.
Special Required Equipment:
Alpine navigation
Ability to hike while dragging ones legs behind them
Trip Report:
MtnClimber, Josh, and I were at the Starr King Trailhead at 9:05 this day with the intentions of hiking Mt. Waumbek. As we started getting ready to hike, I mentioned that we really shouldn't be hiking Mt. Waumbek on a day like today. MtnClimber looked up at the clear sky and said "then where should we hike". My answer, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Madison.
Moments later we were heading down Rt. 2, we took a right on Valley Way, then a left on Jefferson Notch Road. We reached the Caps Ridge parking area at about 9:25. In the parking area, MtnClimber started preparing extra food, Josh began packing his gear, and I laid my GPS out on the roof of my car to get "it's fix" while I put my boots on.
At 9:45 we threw or packs on our backs and headed out. We had all the right gear for a long day in the Presi's, including 3 headlamps, 2 flashlights, lots of food and water, and MtnClimber's sneakers... :roll: .
We were about 1/3 of the way up the Caps Ridge Trail when I abrupty stopped and turned back towards my hiking companions. MtnClimber said, "you look like you forgot something"; I responded, "I did, I left my GPS on the roof of my car" :dunce: . MtnClimber assured me it would still be there when we got back. I didn't have much faith in that idea. Most people are fairly honest, but that's a busy parking area and it only takes one. We proceded up the trail.
We reached the summit of Mt. Jefferson in 2 hrs. flat, after a 2700' elev. gain in 2.5 miles. We had a snack, took some pictures, then pressed on. We climbed down the north side of Mt. Jefferson .1 mile to the Jefferson Loop Trail , then followed that .4 miles to the Gulfside Trail. From here it was a very picturesque 2.4 mile hike, (550' gain) to the Madison Spring Hut.
We had lunch at the hut, filled our water bottles/hydation bladders, bought our patches, and then headed up the Osgood Trail towards Mt. Madison, (.5 mile, 550'gain). MtnClimber and I summited Mt. Madison then headed back towards the hut. Josh didn't bag this peak. his legs weren't holding up as well as ours, this was his first experience above treeline in N.H. At this point, I didn't expect him to bag Mt. Adams either.
When we returned to the hut (another .5 mile), we inspected the restrooms, rested a little, then tried to decide where to go from there. Josh wanted to go up Mt. Adams via the Star lake trail (1 mile, 1000' gain). I told him that was the most difficult route up, but he insisted that was the way we should go. The Star Lake Trail is described in the AMC WMG as "...it turns right and climbs very steeply with some fairly difficult scrambles to the top of the shoulder...". That's not the worst though. the worst part is that if you fall on the steep section, all you have behind you is a 1500' drop at about 45 degrees into Madison Gulf. "So what are we waiting for, lets go."
Many times as we climed towards Mt. Adams I looked back to see Josh several feet back and MtnClimber just behind him. We reached the summit of Mt. Adams, all 3 of us , just after 4:00. We rested, posed for group photos, gave directions to people who should have stayed home. Then headed down Lowes Path (.3 mile) towards the Gulfside Trail at Thunderstorm Junction, home of the giant cairn.
We continued back for 1.3 miles on the Gulfside Trail to a short trail, .1 mile (name unknown), which goes to the Cornice trail. The Cornice Trail is a very rough and difficult to follow trail (1.3 mile, 200'gain) which connects to the Caps Ridge Trail 2.1 miles from the parking area. Loose rocks and a great deal of necessary rock hopping make this a potentially dangerous trail. The majority of our (minor) leg injuries were received on this trail.
After a moderate paced descent down the Caps Ridge Trail we reached the parking area at 7:40pm. I walked across the parking area towards my car and noticed that my GPS was no longer on the roof, but as I got closer I noticed something through the windshield under the left side wiperblade. There was my GPS, someone had moved it so I wouldn't miss it and others would. What a suprise, it restored my faith in people. Maybe there is hope for us afterall.
We agreed that hiking the Northern Presi's as opposed to Waumbek on the beautiful day was an excellent idea. The weather was great, the views were awesome, and having two terrific people to share it with, not to mention finding my GPS, made the day unbeatable... until next time.
*Note: The mileages and elevation gains were calculated from the AMC WMG 27th edition. However, I believe there are some problems with the elevation gains, particularly on the Gulfside and Cornice trails. For example: on the bottom of page 85, the cummulative elevation gain between Thunderstorm Junction and Edmands Col remains at 650', even though the map shows an additional gain of about 350' between Peabody Spring and the top of the ridge, going south. I believe the actual elevation gain on this hike to be closer to 5500'.
Loop? Ok, it was more like a figure 8
Date(s) Hiked:
Monday, August 2, 2004
Trails(s) Hiked:
Caps Ridge Tr., Jefferson Loop Tr., Gulfside Tr., Osgood Tr., Star Lake Tr.,Lowes Path, and Cornice.
Total Distance:
12.5 miles, 5000' elev. gain (book), *5500' see below
Planned hiking time 10 hrs., Actual hiking time 9hrs. 55 min.
Difficulty:
Very, very Strenuous...I mean that in a good way.
Conditions:
Mostly sunny, 65 deg. above treeline, less humid, calm early to about 10 mph on the way out.
Special Required Equipment:
Alpine navigation
Ability to hike while dragging ones legs behind them
Trip Report:
MtnClimber, Josh, and I were at the Starr King Trailhead at 9:05 this day with the intentions of hiking Mt. Waumbek. As we started getting ready to hike, I mentioned that we really shouldn't be hiking Mt. Waumbek on a day like today. MtnClimber looked up at the clear sky and said "then where should we hike". My answer, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Madison.
Moments later we were heading down Rt. 2, we took a right on Valley Way, then a left on Jefferson Notch Road. We reached the Caps Ridge parking area at about 9:25. In the parking area, MtnClimber started preparing extra food, Josh began packing his gear, and I laid my GPS out on the roof of my car to get "it's fix" while I put my boots on.
At 9:45 we threw or packs on our backs and headed out. We had all the right gear for a long day in the Presi's, including 3 headlamps, 2 flashlights, lots of food and water, and MtnClimber's sneakers... :roll:
.We were about 1/3 of the way up the Caps Ridge Trail when I abrupty stopped and turned back towards my hiking companions. MtnClimber said, "you look like you forgot something"; I responded, "I did, I left my GPS on the roof of my car" :dunce: . MtnClimber assured me it would still be there when we got back. I didn't have much faith in that idea. Most people are fairly honest, but that's a busy parking area and it only takes one. We proceded up the trail.
We reached the summit of Mt. Jefferson in 2 hrs. flat, after a 2700' elev. gain in 2.5 miles. We had a snack, took some pictures, then pressed on. We climbed down the north side of Mt. Jefferson .1 mile to the Jefferson Loop Trail , then followed that .4 miles to the Gulfside Trail. From here it was a very picturesque 2.4 mile hike, (550' gain) to the Madison Spring Hut.
We had lunch at the hut, filled our water bottles/hydation bladders, bought our patches
, and then headed up the Osgood Trail towards Mt. Madison, (.5 mile, 550'gain). MtnClimber and I summited Mt. Madison then headed back towards the hut. Josh didn't bag this peak. his legs weren't holding up as well as ours, this was his first experience above treeline in N.H. At this point, I didn't expect him to bag Mt. Adams either.When we returned to the hut (another .5 mile), we inspected the restrooms, rested a little, then tried to decide where to go from there. Josh wanted to go up Mt. Adams via the Star lake trail (1 mile, 1000' gain). I told him that was the most difficult route up, but he insisted that was the way we should go. The Star Lake Trail is described in the AMC WMG as "...it turns right and climbs very steeply with some fairly difficult scrambles to the top of the shoulder...". That's not the worst though. the worst part is that if you fall on the steep section, all you have behind you is a 1500' drop at about 45 degrees into Madison Gulf. "So what are we waiting for, lets go."
Many times as we climed towards Mt. Adams I looked back to see Josh several feet back and MtnClimber just behind him. We reached the summit of Mt. Adams, all 3 of us
, just after 4:00. We rested, posed for group photos, gave directions to people who should have stayed home. Then headed down Lowes Path (.3 mile) towards the Gulfside Trail at Thunderstorm Junction, home of the giant cairn.We continued back for 1.3 miles on the Gulfside Trail to a short trail, .1 mile (name unknown), which goes to the Cornice trail. The Cornice Trail is a very rough and difficult to follow trail (1.3 mile, 200'gain) which connects to the Caps Ridge Trail 2.1 miles from the parking area. Loose rocks and a great deal of necessary rock hopping make this a potentially dangerous trail. The majority of our (minor) leg injuries were received on this trail.
After a moderate paced descent down the Caps Ridge Trail we reached the parking area at 7:40pm. I walked across the parking area towards my car and noticed that my GPS was no longer on the roof, but as I got closer I noticed something through the windshield under the left side wiperblade. There was my GPS, someone had moved it so I wouldn't miss it and others would. What a suprise, it restored my faith in people. Maybe there is hope for us afterall.
We agreed that hiking the Northern Presi's as opposed to Waumbek on the beautiful day was an excellent idea. The weather was great, the views were awesome, and having two terrific people to share it with, not to mention finding my GPS, made the day unbeatable... until next time.
*Note: The mileages and elevation gains were calculated from the AMC WMG 27th edition. However, I believe there are some problems with the elevation gains, particularly on the Gulfside and Cornice trails. For example: on the bottom of page 85, the cummulative elevation gain between Thunderstorm Junction and Edmands Col remains at 650', even though the map shows an additional gain of about 350' between Peabody Spring and the top of the ridge, going south. I believe the actual elevation gain on this hike to be closer to 5500'.
