Gulfside Trail ?

[richard]

I plan on hiking Mt Jefferson soon. I notice on my map that I can continue on to Mt Adams using the Gulfside Trail. Anyone ever do this route? Is there anything I should be concerned about? Is it a very difficult trail? I would have to do an out and back solo. Oh yeah, I’ll be going up the Caps Ridge Trail.

 

[Raven]

It's not difficult compared to other stretches along the ridge. Similar. It is partially protected as it stays below the height of land on the ridge after the col. You'll drop steadily into Edmands Col then generally ascend gradually to Thunderstorm Junction just below Adams summit. It's not a hard stretch but it's longer than it appears to the eye. Sounds like a good day.

 

[weatherman]

Only caveat is on the way back down: my first time up Jefferson waaay back when involved an "easy" hike down the Castle trail (which was a bit tough) followed by the infamous Link on a contour back to Caps Ridge. For your entertainment, search "Link trail" on this forum. Otherwise sounds like a great day! Watch the weather- that's one exposed route.

 

[DayTrip]

It is a pretty comfortable route with the exception of the drop into/climb back out of Edmands Col. There is a maybe 0.1-0.2 mile section that is very steep and rough on the Jefferson side (the section between the Loop junction and Edmands Col). No worse than anything you'll see on Caps Ridge but it is the worst part of the stretch between Jefferson and Adams in my opinion.

 

[Grey J]

Lots of exposure but potentially superb vistas all day. Love all the views both ways above Edmands Col, Jefferson to Adams and vice versa. Off the top my head, I'd say around 9 miles and 4000+ feet of elevation? Hope you have a great day.

 

[Mike P.]

So, is the plan to hike Jefferson then descend to Edmand Col, climb Adams, go back up Jefferson and then descend Cap's Ridge?

or

when going back to Edmands Col, going around Jefferson's summit cone and utilizing "The Link"

Adding Adams adds about 1600 feet of vertical gain, the trip over to Adams is not bad, the trip back up Jefferson is steeper. It's doable but a pretty rugged hike best down by the fit.

Do you need to hike Madison at some point? I'd do Adams and Madison together over doing Adams and Jefferson together. If I wanted to do a two peak hike with Jefferson, I'd do Washington instead and I'd go up and down the Jewell.

 

[richard]

I did Jefferson only this past Saturday.My knee was giving me trouble and I didn’t want to push it. Those piles of rocks do a job on me. It was a fun hike though. Nice weather and beautiful views. I’ll do Adams in combination with Madison soon...if it goes well. Thanks.

 

[Mike P.]

I did Jefferson only this past Saturday.My knee was giving me trouble and I didn’t want to push it. Those piles of rocks do a job on me. It was a fun hike though. Nice weather and beautiful views. I’ll do Adams in combination with Madison soon...if it goes well. Thanks.

I hope the knee feels better, the Northern Presidentials are not very knee friendly. Some of the trails up Adams and Madison are less rocky than others. Some of the old trail builders, like J Edmands did a better job of laying out the stones.

 

[richard]

That's one reason we like winter hiking -- with good snow cover, the bumps, nooks, and crannies are nicely smoothed out.

As long as the weather cooperates, I also prefer winter hiking in the Whites. But I need to hike in all seasons. Just have to make necessary adjustments.

 

[peakbagger]

I have been hanging out with "redliners" this year. Lot of nice smooth underused trails out there easy on the feet. Looks like 99% of the hikers hit 10% of the trails so the lesser used ones don't get used and don't need to get paved with rock like the overused ones do.

BTW the Westside trail that connects Gulfside to Crawford path around the summit of Mt Washington was built by the same crew that built Gulfside and probably the nicest stretch of above treeline trail on Mt Washington. Most folks skip it as it skips the summit.

 

[alexmtn]

I agree that the Gulfside Trail will get you to the Adams neighborhood from Jefferson pretty routinely. Safety-in-numbers-wise, it's plied heavily by AT hikers, Presi and hut traversers.

If on your return from Adams you're not psyched about the 700'+ climb back up Jefferson from Edmands Col, you can consider a 1.5 mile bypass on the Cornice for just a 0.2 mile penalty in distance. It's lightly used and rocky, so as you take it after returning from Adams on Gulfside, you'll notice that it's forcing you into a slower pace -- but in the course of bringing you back to Caps, it adheres pretty faithfully to the 5,000' contour. Just pay attention to the fact that the first junction you get to is with the Castle Trail, not Caps, which comes next (It's a 5+ mile road walk between those trailheads).

Alex

 

[richard]

Thanks. All good information.