Mt Jefferson

For the last hike of my New Hampshire trip the group decided to hike up Mt Jefferson.  We hiked up the Caps Ridge trail, a 2.5 mile trip up to the summit.  The morning was clear and crisp with temps in the mid 40's .  We started hiking at 8:30am from the trailhead on Jefferson Notch rd.  The trail begins pretty easy with a gradual climb for the first mile or so before becoming steeper.  The first views of the day were from a large rock with some interesting bowls cut out on the surface.  I stopped and took a few pictures from here before moving on and climbing out of the trees.

Looking up to where I was headed!

Once breaking out of the trees the trail climbs steeply over the "caps", a series of large rock outcroppings, and makes its way toward the summit.  It takes a little time to maneuver up and over the rocks, there are some sections where handholds and searching for just the right footing is critical.  

At the 2.1 mile mark there is a trail junction and the Caps Ridge trail makes the final .4 mile push to the top.  The views from the summit were spectacular.  We were able to see quite a distance, looking west toward Vermont, as well as much of the White Mountains spread out around us.  Mt. Washington and the rest of the Presidentials were easy to spot and I look forward to hiking up on the ridge there again.  We had a snack on the top and watched the Cog Railroad go up and down Mt. Washington for a little while before it was time to head back down.

The trip back down went smoothly, although there are some spots that take a little time get through. Careful footing is needed as you descend from rock to rock.  Once past the "caps" and down in the trees the going gets quicker and we made good time.  We couldn't have asked for better hiking weather and it was a great way to end our trip.  We arrived back at the car by 3pm and concluded our trip to the Whites.  

Loving the view!!

The trail goes down there!