Sat., Aug. 11 -- Mt. Jefferson (NH)

5.0 mile loop; 2,700 ft. elevation gain
Summit: Mt. Jefferson = 5,716 feet
Route: Caps Ridge Trail

Review: If you like rock climbing, you'll love the Caps Ridge Trail!

It's easy to misjudge the difficulty of this trail -- its relatively short length and modest elevation gain (for a Presidential) would seem to indicate an easy, quick ascent. It's not! It is, in fact, a strenuous hike up a very steep and rough trail that requires serious scrambling up rock ledges. There are three "caps", or rocky outcrops, to get over before you reach the Cornice, which is 0.4 miles from the summit.

This view of the top of Mt. Jefferson was taken from an outcrop of granite on the south side of the trail, about 1.0 mile in. Unfortunately you can't see the grandeur of the three caps from this photo.

The day started out warm and sunny, with clear views of the summit. By the time we reached the Cornice, however, clouds and fog rolled in and obscured the summit. We ate lunch on top, bundled up and sheltered from the 20mph wind and 50-ish temperature, with no views in sight. That's the way it is in the Whites -- weather can come from nowhere and completely conceal the summit and the views.

It took us 3-1/2 hours to get to the top, and nearly as long to descend the way we came. It was tough on our legs, especially our knees, but there were no injuries.

Leslie Greer and her group of co-leaders from Boston Chapter's Forty Plus -- Janet Spriggs, Linda, Dawn jones and Barbara -- were all cheerful and helpful. They invited me to join them and Santosh Raina for dinner at the Bernerhof Inn. It was a German restaurant, so I had the sauerbraten--beef that's been marinated for 4 days--with roesti potatoes and red cabbage. It was a delicious choice, fortifying me for the next day on the slopes.

I had a nice room at the Dana Place Inn in Jackson. A bit pricey, but there were nice amenities in the bathroom, a room AC and of course, breakfast included the next morning. The restaurant also serves dinner, if you don't feel like going into town after a full day of hiking.