Is this plausible or am I nuts?

[KPMMBM]

Does anyone hike Boundry Trail to Jefferson Notch Road in Winter? Thinking of that to get over to Caps Ridge to do Jefferson. I saw a report from last weekend on NE trail conditions but wondered if this is done much. Do snow mobiles use the road all the way through? Is this a route that would limit exposure on a windy day (vs Jewell and Gulfside). I did Caps Ridge in fall and I seem to remember we weren't exposed the whole way. Can you tell I'm scheming, trying to find a way to get to Jefferson with all this wind we've had lately?

 

[Tom Rankin]

I've seen the road still open in very early winter, but right now I have no idea. I would expect snowmobile traffic, but I can't be sure.

 

[peakbagger]

I seriously doubt the Boundary Line trail gets any use in the winter and the lack of bridge near the Cog road (unless it has been replaced) would limit any boot leg snowmachine usage. Jefferson Notch road is normally open to snow machines at least until the Cherry Mtn trail junction north of Caps Ridge in the winter so it would be a good way of hiking down from Caps Ridge trail if you don't mind sleds screaming by at high rates of speed. They can not stop so it up to you to get out of the way.

That said Caps Ridge is about as exposed as you can get in windy conditions and the terrain tends to build ice on the caps. Yes you start higher up, but the exposure is much greater once you leave the woods and the consequences are higher if you get in trouble.

With regards to Jefferson, it all comes down to picking your days and a couple of early morning cancelations when the wind conditions in the AM don't match the forecast. Prior to the cog road being plowed, I think 70% of the winter 4 k folks did Jefferson via an overnight at Gray Knob , with another popular route being the Castle trail which also goes quite high on the leeward side of the ridge up to treeline. It too is exposed but the exposure is less than the caps. This route is marginal if there is any blowing snow as the trail is not well defined and dropping into Castle Ravine or onto the west face of the ridge are not good places to be. I happened to luck out one winter and we drove up to the Caps Ridge lot and did Jefferson as a day hike on New Years day, it was a low snow year for sure but it was a rare time where plastic boots with front point crampons made up for the pain of wearing and walking in them as the lower caps were close to solid ice that luckily thinned out as we went up.

 

[DayTrip]

Are you referring to the 11/16/13 report on NETC? I believe they mentioned "Would ONLY recommend this Route to the most adventurous of souls seeking some serious adventure". At that time of year I doubt full winter conditions had truly set in and you can see how long it took them to complete even then (noting of course they didn't return that way and stayed walking more or less with the wind/sheltered from the wind). I did a few similar hikes at that time of year (Slide Peak and Adams 4) and there were deep drifts in the hollows above treeline but the overall trail conditions were nothing like they are now. I'm not sure how relevant that NETC report is to you now.

As far as exposure, I've done this trail many times in summer/fall (as late as mid November) but never done it in true winter. The Caps Ridge Trail has direct West exposure to the prevailing winds for at least a mile. You'd likely be walking directly into the prevailing wind for that entire distance coming back. The lower sections of the trail are in the trees but the wind still gets in there because you are on the spine of the ridge. Also, the "caps" are particularly awkward and steep. I don't imagine that would be a good spot in winter, although I suppose with everything covered in snow maybe they could be avoided by bushwhacking around but it also has a lot of scrub on the slopes in that area so getting hung up in them with snowshoes could be another hazard depending on how firm and deep the snow is.

As far as Boundary Trail I'd probably just walk the road the entire way to parking lot. I believe it does get a lot of snowmobile traffic but I'm not 100% sure on that. So the road will probably be packed and in good shape to the trail head. The shorter distance of the Boundary Trail I'd imagine would be more than offset by the condition of it and the likelihood of breaking the trail and figuring out where it is. That is a pretty lengthy road walk to the trail head though so while in the trees I'm not sure how much you're accomplishing by going that way versus taking the Jewell Trail route. I'm at work so I don't have my AMC Guide in front of me but I want to say it is 3.5-4.5 miles from the intersection on base road to the trail head. Trail itself I think is about 2.5-2.7 miles.

So I guess it is a question of a long road walk to avoid above tree line exposure or a more enjoyable walk out of the trees if the weather is decent. Love to see that trail report if you take a crack at it though.

 

[KPMMBM]

the report I referred to was actually this past week. was hoping to maybe flush out the author if he/she is on here

 

[Mike P.]

Lost my .25 view on this. The .02 Jewell is far better IMO. Cap's isn't really a trail you could quickly descend or ascend in bad weather. The road is a better walk but limited visibility (corners and hills) makes it harder to share with sleds than the Garfield & Gale River roads, (or Greylock's roads).

You could probably pick three or four from here (from dozens of strong hikers - Has Earl & Sue done it? If not, some reservations as they do a lot of trips, why not this one?) to do it but if this is a solo plan, Emerald is looking for a spokesperson. I've done about 1/2 of the 48 solo in the winter including Washington & would consider a Jewell trip solo in the right weather but not the Cap's Ridge. You could argue that on a Saturday it's hard to be alone on the major peaks but on Boundry and Cap's Ridge, maybe not. It might be sometime before someone comes by & you are unable to move on your own.

 

[RoySwkr]

I have thought of this myself. I have climbed Caps Ridge in winter once when you could drive up and once in November when I had to park about a mile down. Obviously the approach walk makes it longer but as you note the distance above treeline is less than some other common routes and the Caps aren't really any tougher than many other above treeline routes.

It might be easier to park at the 4-way and walk the snowmobile trail the whole way, IIRC there are No Parking signs there but scofflaws seem to do it all the time

 

[TJsName]

It is plausible, but you might still be nuts.

I haven't done this in winter, but I have done Caps ridge in snowy conditions. The scramble between the 2nd and 3rd Caps would be pretty tricky to descend if it were icy (should be able to go right up it with crampons).

I would suspect that if the weather conditions are such that you wouldn't want to take the Jewell, you also wouldn't want to take Caps Ridge either. I would agree the the Boundary Line trail is likely to be unbroken, but depending on how consolidated the snow is, it might not be to bad. Doing Caps Ridge in winter seems like a better loop then out and back. I would go-up the Jewell and descend the unbroken Caps Ridge trail. If you own an ice ace, it might make sense to bring it.

 

[DougPaul]

If you are looking for a less traveled route up Jefferson, you might consider Castellated Ridge. It has a lot of above T-line travel, so I suggest that you only consider it in good weather conditions. When I did it (good snow conditions) we were able to walk around the castles without difficulty. The only issue was the crossing of the Israel River. (The crossing is close to the trailhead so if there is a mishap, the car isn't far away.)

Doug

 

[DayTrip]

If you are looking for a less traveled route up Jefferson, you might consider Castellated Ridge. It has a lot of above T-line travel, so I suggest that you only consider it in good weather conditions. When I did it (good snow conditions) we were able to walk around the castles without difficulty. The only issue was the crossing of the Israel River. (The crossing is close to the trailhead so if there is a mishap, the car isn't far away.)

Doug

I met the care taker of this trail this past Fall (forget his name - Don maybe??) when I did the Castle Trail and he said the same thing. What is the snow field situation where the Castellated Ridge blends into the summit mass and you ascend the cone? Is this a similar problem area to going up via Edmands Col or no? And I assume there is more shelter (relatively speaking) from W and NW winds as you get "behind" the summit cone and off the ridge.

I really enjoyed this trail and agree it must be spectacular in winter in the right conditions. I always wondered how tricky the first several castles would be in winter though.

 

[AlpineBee]

I hiked up the Jewell Trail to Jefferson on February 1st. I came down Caps Ridge, Jefferson Notch Rd, and the Boundary Trail. The weather happened to be very nice: low wind, high 30s, sun, and surprisingly little snow on the gulf side trail. The hike down caps ridge was fairly treacherous. I encountered a lot of ice beneath six inches of powder. Having crampons on meant that I tripped on a lot of rocks. Crampons off meant I slipped on ice. The snow drifts were wild. There is a section below the first cap with some deep holes. Those were covered with a layer of snow. Since I've hiked the trail a lot, I just poked around the snow with my axe to find the holes.

Be very careful. The conditions need to be perfect. Be ready to cancel or change plans depending on the weather reports the morning of your trip.

Dennis

 

[KPMMBM]

As of 8:00 on Thursday night, its Plan B for tomorrow, Field, Willey, & Tom loop. Jefferson will still be there next time, right?

 

[DougPaul]

I met the care taker of this trail this past Fall (forget his name - Don maybe??) when I did the Castle Trail and he said the same thing. What is the snow field situation where the Castellated Ridge blends into the summit mass and you ascend the cone? Is this a similar problem area to going up via Edmands Col or no? And I assume there is more shelter (relatively speaking) from W and NW winds as you get "behind" the summit cone and off the ridge.

I really enjoyed this trail and agree it must be spectacular in winter in the right conditions. I always wondered how tricky the first several castles would be in winter though.

It has been a long time since I hiked it, but I don't recall any difficulties other than the stream crossing. IIRC, we were able to simply walk around the castles on the snow. There were three of us--one being a beginner*. No problems for any of us.

* The beginner had an advantage for the stream crossing--she was wearing K-boots while rest of us were wearing (winter) leather.

Since the route is long and lightly traveled, it may be worth waiting for snow conditions that don't require heavy breaking.

Doug

 

[NHClimber]

Here's another idea -- snowmobile up to the trail head. I was up on Jefferson Notch Rd. earlier this year on my sled. It was a w/e and while there is some amount of sled traffic, it's no big deal. It is a main corridor (11) though. In any event, you gave me a great idea to combine this with a sled ride. I have done the 48 but not all in winter and haven't really been looking to do them all in winter so doesn't matter to me if it doesn't count. Sounds adventurous, which I like.