Jefferson & Washington to close out winter - 3/15/2008

How about a hike to Jefferson and Washington to close out the winter season on March 15, weather permitting? A couple of us are planning the hike to make Washington the final winter peak of the season. Not a bad place to close things out.

The plan will start at Marshfield Station and include the Jewell Trail, Gulfside Trail, and Jefferson Loop. We’ll start by hiking to the summit of Jefferson and then head across to Washington via the Gulfside Trail, which may include a visit to Clay on the way. Depending on conditions, we may u-turn and head back out via the Jewell Trail or take the Crawford Path to the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail for the return to Marshfield Station. The Jewell Trail exit adds just .6 miles.

Snowshoes and crampons are required.

Because of the amount of exposure this is a weather-sensitive hike. We’ll be watching the forecasts closely as they develop.

The target meet time at the lower lot near Marshfield Station is 7:00am with an on-trail target of 7:30am. We will hike a moderate pace which should have us back to the vehicles around 5:30pm. Sunset is 6:54pm (DST) and may mean another winter hike without headlights, but bring one just in case we run late.

Between Jefferson and Washington the route passes the junction with the Jewell Trail providing a mid-hike bail-out if needed.

For reference, the distance, elevation, and “book time” on this hike are 12.3 miles, 4700 feet, and 8hr 30min (I like to plan roughly 20-25% over in winter).


If you’re interested in joining this hike please respond to this thread or by PM or email.

I have two races to run on Sunday the 16th, so I may decide to take this day easy, but I'm eyeing it. One is my last in a series and I'm going to shoot for a PR... I made a resolution to be a better runner this year as long as it didn't interfere too much with my hiking. Just did Washington in winter for the first time last week and LOVED it. Will let you know...

Sounds like fun! ...do we have time for Monroe, too? It's right there if we descend via Ammonoosuc.

mark451@gmail

mhrsebago said:

Sounds like fun! ...do we have time for Monroe, too? It's right there if we descend via Ammonoosuc.

mark451@gmail

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Random thoughts…..

1. What we do after Washington depends on what we do before Washington. If we have time, energy, and interest I see no reason not to hit Monroe on the way out if we use the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail for our exit. After all, it’s on the way.

2. If the weather we receive between now and then includes significant rain and subsequent freezing, the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail may be a dangerous exit.

3. Since this will be the last hiking weekend of winter, it wouldn’t surprise me to see others interested in also hiking Monroe if possible.

4. There is certainly enough time to hike Jefferson, Washington, and Monroe together. I’ve done this combination several times and I’m no speedster.

5. Keep pulling for cooperative weather conditions.

BigEarl: Is this still on? I'm definitely interested (weather depending).

LarryD said:

BigEarl: Is this still on? I'm definitely interested (weather depending).

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Yes, the hike is still on - depending on the weather.

We have another tough weekend out of the way. Let’s hope the coming weekend has weather which is compatible with a hike to Jefferson and Washington – (and possibly Monroe??).

As I have said before, I’m not a weather guy and try to rely on the information from various commercial and government sources.

After reviewing the long-range forecast for Mt. Washington it looks like Saturday is expected to be the better of the two days. The forecast for Saturday versus Sunday has the temperature higher, the wind lower and at an acceptable level, and the probability of precipitation lower for Saturday. All good – if they hold through the week. By mid-week we should have a pretty good sense of the final target day, Saturday or Sunday. As it now stands, the hike is planned for Saturday and it appears to be the best choice.

My snowshoes broke last weekend so I am out until I get a new pair. That face does not accurately convey my saddness. Luckily a friend of mine has a pair for me. It's just a matter of getting together for them.

Early Bird said:

My snowshoes broke last weekend so I am out until I get a new pair.

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Okay - let's get this excuse out of the way real fast! We have snowshoes to spare - Tubs 25 or 30 - take you pick - be glad to bring a set along for you to use.

bobandgeri said:

Okay - let's get this excuse out of the way real fast! We have snowshoes to spare - Tubs 25 or 30 - take you pick - be glad to bring a set along for you to use.

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Wow! Thank you. If it doesn't turn out that I end up picking mine new ones up this weekend, I will take you up on that. Going to PM you with more details.

Updated 3/14/08, afternoon….

Well folks, we’re starting to close in on Saturday. I just checked the usual sites and find the National Weather Service is presenting the most “middle-of-the-road” forecast of the bunch.

Their forecast location is identified as: Lat: 44.28 Lon: -71.3 Elev: 6266

In their hourly forecast, the NWS has a probability of precipitation at 89% at 7:00am but it drops to 35% by mid-morning, then down to 19% around mid-day and generally stays at that level the remainder of the day. The wind is forecast to be very low all day at approximately 10 mph. The cloud cover is forecast to be at ~1000 feet or more above the summit elevation. The temperatures start at 16 degrees and climb to 24 degrees in the course of the day.

These conditions all look pretty good for the hike. I hope they hold. Except for the cloud cover it would be tough to order a better day. Plus, Saturday is definitely the better day in the NWS forecast.

Of course, things can change. But, for now they're still looking good.

At this point there have been quite a few that have expressed an interest in the hike. I am not sure of the folks that have decided to join the hike.

So, who’s in?

Please confirm by posting to the thread or by PM or email.



So far, and weather permitting – the list probables and possibles…


Probable:
Bob & Geri
Rebecca Hardy
Kevin McAllister
LarryD
BIGEarl
Pedestrian (John)
Onestep (Kurt)
Bob McCue
Jim Westhall

Possible:
Early Bird
Mhrsebago
Jeff
Mark

Possibly two more:

Jeff
Mark

We are sure the Earl will post a good trip report. We had a group of 12 and somehow found our way to Jefferson with poor viz. How poor was it? Well we did make a wrong turn ourselves at one point, but ran into a couple of hikers that had summitted Jefferson and on descending ended up doing a full circle around it search for a trail before coming back up to the summit to regain there there way abouts!

Returning via Gulfside, at 3:30, 7 of the now 13 (another hiker grouped up with us) desided to descend the Jewell trail, while Earl and 5 others headed up to Washington. The summit cleared around 5:30 - hope they got to enjoy the views.

There seemd to be an inversion tody - it was 51 degrees on the summit of Jefferson, while locals reported a high of 38 in Twin Mountain.