threecy
New member
Mt. Jefferson, NH
Date Hiked: 08/09/07
Trails(s) Hiked: Caps Ridge
Distance: 5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Dry, partly cloudy
With a nice forecast, I decided to take the morning off from work and hike Mt. Jefferson.
I started from Jefferson Notch just after 8 in the morning - only a few cars in the parking lot. The beginning of the Caps Ridge Trail is easy to moderate at best in terms of steepness - becoming much more interesting and challenging shortly after the Link Trail splits off to the left.
Things become rugged at the Caps - lots of rock scrambling, including the infamous ledge (that had people freaked out on my way back down - it's really not that bad, though, in dry conditions). This is also where the views opened up - with temperatures in the 50s and 60s, visibility was excellent - most of Vermont's 4,000 footers were easily spotted.
After the Cornice, things became a little bit harder to follow - the cairns blend in pretty easily with the abundance of loose rock. Nonetheless, before I knew it, I was on Mt. Jefferson.
I had the true summit to myself - there were a few people hiking on the ridge behind it, however I had the feeling I was the first one to summit Jefferson from Caps Ridge this day. The views from the summit were excellent - a bit overcast to the east, but nice in all other directions. The views from the eastern peak were also nice - the Great Gulf is quite a sight from up high!
Not having much time to kill, I quickly turned around and headed back. Crowds started the build the lower I went - by the time I reached the Caps, things were quite busy - so busy that I ended up scaling down some ledges to avoid the clogged up trail (people were having a hard time BEFORE the infamous steep ledge! Glad I wasn't around to witness them arriving there in a little while!). After the last view point (the potholes), things went pretty quickly and I was back to the parking lot just before noon. A great day for hiking!
Caps Ridge Trail
Date Hiked: 08/09/07
Trails(s) Hiked: Caps Ridge
Distance: 5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Dry, partly cloudy
With a nice forecast, I decided to take the morning off from work and hike Mt. Jefferson.
I started from Jefferson Notch just after 8 in the morning - only a few cars in the parking lot. The beginning of the Caps Ridge Trail is easy to moderate at best in terms of steepness - becoming much more interesting and challenging shortly after the Link Trail splits off to the left.
Things become rugged at the Caps - lots of rock scrambling, including the infamous ledge (that had people freaked out on my way back down - it's really not that bad, though, in dry conditions). This is also where the views opened up - with temperatures in the 50s and 60s, visibility was excellent - most of Vermont's 4,000 footers were easily spotted.
After the Cornice, things became a little bit harder to follow - the cairns blend in pretty easily with the abundance of loose rock. Nonetheless, before I knew it, I was on Mt. Jefferson.
I had the true summit to myself - there were a few people hiking on the ridge behind it, however I had the feeling I was the first one to summit Jefferson from Caps Ridge this day. The views from the summit were excellent - a bit overcast to the east, but nice in all other directions. The views from the eastern peak were also nice - the Great Gulf is quite a sight from up high!
Not having much time to kill, I quickly turned around and headed back. Crowds started the build the lower I went - by the time I reached the Caps, things were quite busy - so busy that I ended up scaling down some ledges to avoid the clogged up trail (people were having a hard time BEFORE the infamous steep ledge! Glad I wasn't around to witness them arriving there in a little while!). After the last view point (the potholes), things went pretty quickly and I was back to the parking lot just before noon. A great day for hiking!
Caps Ridge Trail
