Mount Jefferson

I didn't see any recent trail reports for Mount Jefferson so I thought I would ask here. I'm planning on hiking Cap Ridge Trail this weekend. It's supposed to be beautiful weather, 75 on Sat and 81 on Sun. I've recently seen some pics of Washington where some ice is starting to build up. Should I carry my micro-spikes or it is still to early in the season?

Thank you!

Edit: Also, I haven't hiked in a month or so.. how is the foliage looking?

Foliage should be great in the northern presis this weekend. You wont' be alone, all the hotels in New Hampshire are booked.

Microspikes don't weigh much but I doubt you'll need them. Rime should melt away by noon.

No need for microspikes. Just bring plenty of water and sunscreen. If you haven't climbed Cap Ridge trail before be aware that there are some scrambles up rock walls on the first Cap that most would regard as fun but some with trepidation. There are plenty of cracks and features to make these spots easy to navigate. The lowest Cap is probably the steepest with each preceding Cap less exposed. Keep an eye on the blazes, there are many spots with herd paths that wander away from the trail.

There are zero water sources on the trail and the extended exposure will dry you out so bring enough.

I would not try this trail this weekend for one reason, it will be an epic of people. The ledges will be a log jam, just fair warning, I bet the parking lot will be full early.

sierra said:

I would not try this trail this weekend for one reason, it will be an epic of people. The ledges will be a log jam, just fair warning, I bet the parking lot will be full early.

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Hmm... I will have to give this some thought this evening. I would think most mountains this weekend will be busy with the foliage and warm weather all weekend.

There are several less used RMC trails that go through or around Castle Ravine that don't get as much use that get you up to Edmond Col. From there it will be crowded no matter how you approach.

mhobbs said:

Hmm... I will have to give this some thought this evening. I would think most mountains this weekend will be busy with the foliage and warm weather all weekend.

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Yeah, the popular summits will be crowded, but there will be a lot of trails that are not. If you are set on doing Jefferson and don't mind the crowds, then the Caps Ridge trail is awesome! If you want a bit more solitude and can handle the bigger day, then you should take a look at ascending the Castle Ravine Trail and descending the Castle Trail. Adds about 1600' of vertical and a few miles though. Also, be aware that 'The Link' in those areas is a very rough trail, in case you want to loop Caps Ridge with Castle.

The Castle Ravine trail goes straight up the headwall via a somewhat loose rockslide. Avoid it if that's not your cup of tea, and definitely avoid it on descent.

(In springtime, avoid the Castle Ravine trail entirely: the lower sections of the trail are *in* the river. And in winter, the ravine is avalanche-prone.)

Castle Trail is fun and should be less crowded than Caps Ridge.

nartreb said:

The Castle Ravine trail goes straight up the headwall via a somewhat loose rockslide. Avoid it if that's not your cup of tea, and definitely avoid it on descent.

(In springtime, avoid the Castle Ravine trail entirely: the lower sections of the trail are *in* the river. And in winter, the ravine is avalanche-prone.)

Castle Trail is fun and should be less crowded than Caps Ridge.

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Goods points. If the Ravine is too much but you still wanted to loop it, you could do the Israel Ridge Trail, which is pretty good shape.

TJsName said:

Goods points. If the Ravine is too much but you still wanted to loop it, you could do the Israel Ridge Trail, which is pretty good shape.

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+1.

Another option is up Castle Trail and down the Randolph Path. Two cars or a bicycle would be useful for this choice.

Just an update. Jefferson was awesome! Cap Ridge Trail was incredible! Climbing up the caps wasn't to bad with the crowds. The summit looked like I was hiking Monadnock. It was a bit hot today but I shouldn't complain as we won't get many more of these days this year. Also, on the way home, I93 was lined up with cars of people hiking Lafeyette. I've never seen anything like it. On Facebook someone was saying a Ranger had 845 on his counter.

mhobbs said:

Just an update. Jefferson was awesome! Cap Ridge Trail was incredible! Climbing up the caps wasn't to bad with the crowds. The summit looked like I was hiking Monadnock. It was a bit hot today but I shouldn't complain as we won't get many more of these days this year. Also, on the way home, I93 was lined up with cars of people hiking Lafeyette. I've never seen anything like it. On Facebook someone was saying a Ranger had 845 on his counter.

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I didn't write a trail report, but I did a "Jeff" loop on Saturday. It was sort of great, sort of painful! (Well, mainly painful).

I went up Caps--no crowds (9 am start). Then, big mistake, I went DOWN Castle trail--ouch ouch ouch on the knees. Countless bumps and bruises going down cliffs and ledges (this trail was really hard going down, would be super tough going up.) Then--the dreaded Link trail--what a mistake. I almost started a thread on "trails we love to hate" but thought it too negative. The Link is everything that people warned me of, including this description from the trail guide "...very rough pathway with countless roots, rocks, and hollows that are very tricky and tedious to negotiate." That was a bit of an understatement.

I had thought, how bad could it be? But it was bad, bad, very bad! I don't think there were 10 straight steps the whole 1.6 miles of it. Every step was a negotiation up, down, around roots and holes. I had a couple of "127 Hours" moments when my foot got jammed in a wedge between rocks--yikes!

The only good thing I can say about it was that it was a relief to get off the Castles...

Note to self: when someone calls a trail "interesting," pay heed!

carla said:

Note to self: when someone calls a trail "interesting," pay heed!

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Be particularly careful if said someone is a technical rock/ice climber. The word means very dangerous and/or very scary in that world...

Doug