poison ivy
Well-known member
I can finally say that I’ve completed the AT in New Hampshire… hooray! With only a .7 mile gap left in New Hampshire, I spent a gorgeous Saturday hiking up, over and around Jefferson, one of my favorite mountains in the Whites, in order to finish up those miles. Pictures are here
I headed up the Caps Ridge Trail at 9 a.m. and it found it a little cool in the shady areas but hot in the sun. Within a half-mile I was excited to see frost lining the trail, (I cannot wait for the winter hiking season to start!!) but little did I know I’d be encountering plenty of actual snow at the higher elevations. I made quick work of the easy first mile and arrived at Whirlpool Ledge to encounter a beautiful view -- the Presidentials were snowcapped and clearly visible.
After lounging for a short while and chatting with some of the other passing hikers, I headed over to the Link Trail. While the Link has a reputation for being rough, I’ve already hiked Caps Ridge a few times and wanted to try something different. The Link starts off fine -- it does get rockier and rootier once you’ve actually committed to it. But the slope wasn’t all that difficult , just slow going because many of the roots were iced over, making them twice as slippery. I didn’t see any other hikers along the trail, but knew some were in front of me because I could hear them and see their footsteps in the dusting of snow along the trail.
It took me about an hour and a half to hike the 1.6 miles of the Link and I arrived at the Castle Trail, where I ate my lunch after being dive-bombed by two gray jays angling for some of my meal. I headed up the Castle Trail, which only had one particularly difficult scramble, but otherwise was a very pretty route.
. I met the two hikers I had been following along the Link -- this was the third hike ever for one of them! We chatted for a bit and I eventually moved on past them after finally breaking down and putting on my Yak Trax to stop sliding on the rocks. The top of the Castle Trail passes over a big field of boulders surrounded by about an inch of snow. I was happy to make it to the summit but surprised it that it took me so long!
From the summit, I headed down to Edmand’s Col, where I had stopped my AT miles on a prior trip, turned around and headed south to Monticello Lawn. The trail had about an inch of snow and was fairly slippery so I ended up donning my Yak Trax once again. It took me 45 minutes to reach Monticello Lawn, where I celebrated reaching my goal of finishing the AT in New Hampshire this year.
I headed down by the Cornice Trail and Caps Ridge, which were both completely clear of snow and ice. It was so warm in the sun, that I decided to lounge on Whirlpool Ledge for a while before heading out to the car. I made it back to the trailhead at 5 p.m. after a terrific day of hiking.
- Ivy
I headed up the Caps Ridge Trail at 9 a.m. and it found it a little cool in the shady areas but hot in the sun. Within a half-mile I was excited to see frost lining the trail, (I cannot wait for the winter hiking season to start!!) but little did I know I’d be encountering plenty of actual snow at the higher elevations. I made quick work of the easy first mile and arrived at Whirlpool Ledge to encounter a beautiful view -- the Presidentials were snowcapped and clearly visible.
After lounging for a short while and chatting with some of the other passing hikers, I headed over to the Link Trail. While the Link has a reputation for being rough, I’ve already hiked Caps Ridge a few times and wanted to try something different. The Link starts off fine -- it does get rockier and rootier once you’ve actually committed to it. But the slope wasn’t all that difficult , just slow going because many of the roots were iced over, making them twice as slippery. I didn’t see any other hikers along the trail, but knew some were in front of me because I could hear them and see their footsteps in the dusting of snow along the trail.
It took me about an hour and a half to hike the 1.6 miles of the Link and I arrived at the Castle Trail, where I ate my lunch after being dive-bombed by two gray jays angling for some of my meal. I headed up the Castle Trail, which only had one particularly difficult scramble, but otherwise was a very pretty route.
. I met the two hikers I had been following along the Link -- this was the third hike ever for one of them! We chatted for a bit and I eventually moved on past them after finally breaking down and putting on my Yak Trax to stop sliding on the rocks. The top of the Castle Trail passes over a big field of boulders surrounded by about an inch of snow. I was happy to make it to the summit but surprised it that it took me so long!
From the summit, I headed down to Edmand’s Col, where I had stopped my AT miles on a prior trip, turned around and headed south to Monticello Lawn. The trail had about an inch of snow and was fairly slippery so I ended up donning my Yak Trax once again. It took me 45 minutes to reach Monticello Lawn, where I celebrated reaching my goal of finishing the AT in New Hampshire this year.
I headed down by the Cornice Trail and Caps Ridge, which were both completely clear of snow and ice. It was so warm in the sun, that I decided to lounge on Whirlpool Ledge for a while before heading out to the car. I made it back to the trailhead at 5 p.m. after a terrific day of hiking.
- Ivy
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And that little scramble on the Castles that goes straight up? Wooo hoo!
