BIGEarl
Well-known member
July 23, 2011: Jefferson Traverse
Trails: Great Gulf Trail, Six Husbands Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail, Caps Ridge Trail
Summits: Jefferson
Hikers: Getawaygirl (Amy), Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
For a couple years Amy has been interested in hiking Jefferson via Six Husbands Trail. Last year, scheduling and weather problems combined to make the hike not happen. This year the hike also made it to the target hike list for Sue and me. Everything lined up right for this weekend and off we went.
Originally, we were looking at a round trip from Great Gulf trailhead. After considering the length of the hike, the required start time, and the weather conditions, we decided a traverse made the most sense hiking from the Great Gulf Trailhead to the Caps Ridge Trailhead in Jefferson Notch. Sue and I met Amy in Jefferson Notch, tossed our things into her car and drove to the Great Gulf Trailhead and our start. We landed on-trail as planned.
The forecast for the day was pretty nice but the conditions didn’t seem in-line. Like us, Amy ran into rainy conditions on the drive to Jefferson Notch, the sky was overcast, and there was no sign of blue sky in the distance. Fortunately, the humidity seemed a little lower than the oppressive level it had been over the past few days. We grabbed our things and took off. From the trailhead to the junction with Gulfside Trail this was all new territory for me, and I believe new territory for Amy and Sue as well. A short distance from the trailhead we came to our first treat for the day; the first of two suspension bridges over the Peabody River. After a few pictures we made our way across the bouncing bridge and started into Great Gulf.
Standing on Mount Clay or the final section of Gulfside Trail leading to Mount Washington, a full view of Great Gulf is there to enjoy. Its size might be a little intimidating to some. At floor level on Great Gulf Trail the view is very different. The trail generally follows the Peabody River all of the way in. Along the way there are a number of junctions with other hiking trails and a network of ski trails, pools that appeared very refreshing (we never found out), and other natural sights such as The Bluff and Clam Rock. Along the 4.5 miles to Six Husbands Trail we gained 1800 feet in elevation but it didn’t seem like it. The climb is very gradual and there is lot’s to enjoy along the way; close in views as well as views to Mount Adams and Mount Washington. When we started the temperature was already over 75 degrees and climbing fast, but the dewpoint was only a comfortable 63 degrees. Even with the relatively dry conditions we were quickly up to temperature. By the time we reached the first trail junction only 1.8 miles in we were all pretty wet with perspiration. The 1800 feet in elevation really helped regarding temperature. It seemed like we were always able to stay reasonably comfortable all day; for me it lasted all of the way to the ending trailhead when the heat and humidity were suddenly back.
At the Six Husbands Trail we stopped for quick refreshment. We all knew the real work was about to start. I had a hydration plan that started the day with two quarts of Gatorade before taking the first step, another quart of Gatorade on the hike to Six Husbands Trail, and finally filtering water for another quart of Gatoraid at the final crossing of Peabody River or Jefferson Brook. In addition I had three liters of water in my bladder. On the way across Peabody River I stopped to make some drinking water. With that out of the way we were hiking Six Husbands Trail, the main event for the day.
Six Husbands Trail starts off easy. The trail is clear and dry and reasonably smooth going on the section leading to the junction with Buttress Trail. From there everything changes and changes fast. First we started into an area of large boulders; many of which had short trail sections passing underneath. After working our way through, under, or around the huge boulders the trail really went vertical and we were making our way up steep slabs. I don’t think this would be a pleasant trail to ascend in the rain. After climbing around the boulders and up a few slabs we came to the ledge ladders. I believe there were four separate ladders attached to the ledge to aid in climbing. We passed through the ladders section and found ourselves making our way up bare slabs that led to the ridge below Edmands Cutoff junction. There were a few places where handholds were difficult. As we climbed I started to think this trail would be extremely unpleasant in the rain, and I wouldn’t want to descend this trail under any conditions. I’m sure others have gone the other way without any real problems but they probably had two good arms, I have only one.
Near Edmands Cutoff I decided to swap foot beds in my right boot. I was annoyed with the additional pad and didn’t want to fool around with it mid-hike. Amy was getting hungry and decided to continue on to the summit where she could stop for some lunch while waiting for Sue and me to arrive. With the boot adjustment out of the way we continued up. Next was the junction with Gulfside. There, we met another hiker with a dog. This hiker and her canine friend made the turn and started down Six Husbands Trail. I really hope everything went well for them, Six Husbands did not appear dog-friendly to me. At least it was dry.
Sue and I continued to climb. By now we were hiking Northern Presidentials granite blocks and have been for a while. The beating they provide is impressive. On the plus side is the footing they provide; it’s great – just be prepared in case you land on a loose one. The rough granite can really tear up bare skin if you go down (experience talking). The trip from Gulfside to the junction with Jefferson Loop is only .3 miles and we covered this quickly. From there to the BIG cairn is only a couple hundred yards. There we found Amy finishing lunch and looking happy.
Once we cleared the treeline there was a pretty good breeze of I’d guess around 15 – 20 mph at the treeline and ~30mph at the summit. The higher we climbed - the higher the wind. By the time we made it to the summit for our usual pictures it was tough to stand still for the camera. We got some pictures and continued down Caps Ridge Trail. First we headed to an area below the summit for a few more pictures, and then set off on our exit hike.
As we descended the wind eased up. By the time we reached the Caps Ridge - Cornice trails junction the strong gusty wind was easily tolerable. There were some people that had climbed to the junction with Cornice but turned around there due to the wind. The wind was up but I didn’t think it was anything to force a u-turn. Different people have different comfort zones.
Caps Ridge is a fun trail in either direction. Working our way through the Caps (upper and lower) provides fun scrambling conditions. This is another trail that is probably not good in wet conditions. We had a nice dry day to enjoy and simply hiked the descent. Once past the lower Cap we made our way into the scrub, hiked our way through the remaining rough trail conditions, and soon passed the Link Trail junction. A short distance later we were on the outcropping of rocks that have the glacial potholes. Sue had mentioned them early in the hike and I knew we needed to stop for a few pictures.
The potholes are a little over half-way out and we had the hard half behind us. We completed the short ~1 mile to the trailhead. Sue and Amy were like a couple race horses on the home stretch and needed to stop a couple times for me to catch up. Eventually, we stepped into the trailhead lot roughly an hour under plan. Nice! And, I really don’t think we were pressing things at all along the way. We loaded our things into the back of the truck, loaded ourselves into the front, and then set off for the Great Gulf Trailhead to retrieve Amy’s vehicle.
That was a really fun way to spend the day with lots of new territory to enjoy and terrific hiking conditions. It was really nice to see we all came out even – each of us managed to bang one shin while climbing Six Husbands Trail.
Thanks Amy and Sue for a great day in the mountains. I’m looking forward to our next adventure.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Great Gulf Trail, Six Husbands Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail, Caps Ridge Trail
Summits: Jefferson
Hikers: Getawaygirl (Amy), Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
For a couple years Amy has been interested in hiking Jefferson via Six Husbands Trail. Last year, scheduling and weather problems combined to make the hike not happen. This year the hike also made it to the target hike list for Sue and me. Everything lined up right for this weekend and off we went.
Originally, we were looking at a round trip from Great Gulf trailhead. After considering the length of the hike, the required start time, and the weather conditions, we decided a traverse made the most sense hiking from the Great Gulf Trailhead to the Caps Ridge Trailhead in Jefferson Notch. Sue and I met Amy in Jefferson Notch, tossed our things into her car and drove to the Great Gulf Trailhead and our start. We landed on-trail as planned.
The forecast for the day was pretty nice but the conditions didn’t seem in-line. Like us, Amy ran into rainy conditions on the drive to Jefferson Notch, the sky was overcast, and there was no sign of blue sky in the distance. Fortunately, the humidity seemed a little lower than the oppressive level it had been over the past few days. We grabbed our things and took off. From the trailhead to the junction with Gulfside Trail this was all new territory for me, and I believe new territory for Amy and Sue as well. A short distance from the trailhead we came to our first treat for the day; the first of two suspension bridges over the Peabody River. After a few pictures we made our way across the bouncing bridge and started into Great Gulf.
Standing on Mount Clay or the final section of Gulfside Trail leading to Mount Washington, a full view of Great Gulf is there to enjoy. Its size might be a little intimidating to some. At floor level on Great Gulf Trail the view is very different. The trail generally follows the Peabody River all of the way in. Along the way there are a number of junctions with other hiking trails and a network of ski trails, pools that appeared very refreshing (we never found out), and other natural sights such as The Bluff and Clam Rock. Along the 4.5 miles to Six Husbands Trail we gained 1800 feet in elevation but it didn’t seem like it. The climb is very gradual and there is lot’s to enjoy along the way; close in views as well as views to Mount Adams and Mount Washington. When we started the temperature was already over 75 degrees and climbing fast, but the dewpoint was only a comfortable 63 degrees. Even with the relatively dry conditions we were quickly up to temperature. By the time we reached the first trail junction only 1.8 miles in we were all pretty wet with perspiration. The 1800 feet in elevation really helped regarding temperature. It seemed like we were always able to stay reasonably comfortable all day; for me it lasted all of the way to the ending trailhead when the heat and humidity were suddenly back.
At the Six Husbands Trail we stopped for quick refreshment. We all knew the real work was about to start. I had a hydration plan that started the day with two quarts of Gatorade before taking the first step, another quart of Gatorade on the hike to Six Husbands Trail, and finally filtering water for another quart of Gatoraid at the final crossing of Peabody River or Jefferson Brook. In addition I had three liters of water in my bladder. On the way across Peabody River I stopped to make some drinking water. With that out of the way we were hiking Six Husbands Trail, the main event for the day.
Six Husbands Trail starts off easy. The trail is clear and dry and reasonably smooth going on the section leading to the junction with Buttress Trail. From there everything changes and changes fast. First we started into an area of large boulders; many of which had short trail sections passing underneath. After working our way through, under, or around the huge boulders the trail really went vertical and we were making our way up steep slabs. I don’t think this would be a pleasant trail to ascend in the rain. After climbing around the boulders and up a few slabs we came to the ledge ladders. I believe there were four separate ladders attached to the ledge to aid in climbing. We passed through the ladders section and found ourselves making our way up bare slabs that led to the ridge below Edmands Cutoff junction. There were a few places where handholds were difficult. As we climbed I started to think this trail would be extremely unpleasant in the rain, and I wouldn’t want to descend this trail under any conditions. I’m sure others have gone the other way without any real problems but they probably had two good arms, I have only one.
Near Edmands Cutoff I decided to swap foot beds in my right boot. I was annoyed with the additional pad and didn’t want to fool around with it mid-hike. Amy was getting hungry and decided to continue on to the summit where she could stop for some lunch while waiting for Sue and me to arrive. With the boot adjustment out of the way we continued up. Next was the junction with Gulfside. There, we met another hiker with a dog. This hiker and her canine friend made the turn and started down Six Husbands Trail. I really hope everything went well for them, Six Husbands did not appear dog-friendly to me. At least it was dry.
Sue and I continued to climb. By now we were hiking Northern Presidentials granite blocks and have been for a while. The beating they provide is impressive. On the plus side is the footing they provide; it’s great – just be prepared in case you land on a loose one. The rough granite can really tear up bare skin if you go down (experience talking). The trip from Gulfside to the junction with Jefferson Loop is only .3 miles and we covered this quickly. From there to the BIG cairn is only a couple hundred yards. There we found Amy finishing lunch and looking happy.
Once we cleared the treeline there was a pretty good breeze of I’d guess around 15 – 20 mph at the treeline and ~30mph at the summit. The higher we climbed - the higher the wind. By the time we made it to the summit for our usual pictures it was tough to stand still for the camera. We got some pictures and continued down Caps Ridge Trail. First we headed to an area below the summit for a few more pictures, and then set off on our exit hike.
As we descended the wind eased up. By the time we reached the Caps Ridge - Cornice trails junction the strong gusty wind was easily tolerable. There were some people that had climbed to the junction with Cornice but turned around there due to the wind. The wind was up but I didn’t think it was anything to force a u-turn. Different people have different comfort zones.
Caps Ridge is a fun trail in either direction. Working our way through the Caps (upper and lower) provides fun scrambling conditions. This is another trail that is probably not good in wet conditions. We had a nice dry day to enjoy and simply hiked the descent. Once past the lower Cap we made our way into the scrub, hiked our way through the remaining rough trail conditions, and soon passed the Link Trail junction. A short distance later we were on the outcropping of rocks that have the glacial potholes. Sue had mentioned them early in the hike and I knew we needed to stop for a few pictures.
The potholes are a little over half-way out and we had the hard half behind us. We completed the short ~1 mile to the trailhead. Sue and Amy were like a couple race horses on the home stretch and needed to stop a couple times for me to catch up. Eventually, we stepped into the trailhead lot roughly an hour under plan. Nice! And, I really don’t think we were pressing things at all along the way. We loaded our things into the back of the truck, loaded ourselves into the front, and then set off for the Great Gulf Trailhead to retrieve Amy’s vehicle.
That was a really fun way to spend the day with lots of new territory to enjoy and terrific hiking conditions. It was really nice to see we all came out even – each of us managed to bang one shin while climbing Six Husbands Trail.
Thanks Amy and Sue for a great day in the mountains. I’m looking forward to our next adventure.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
