d&d
Member
Jay, big jay. Hiked on 11 21 15
Cool temps to start out. 27 degrees at 7.30 a.m. thanks to peppersass for the previous jay post. Lots of good directions and information. This post contains some of her info. Trailhead is the Long Trail north, on rt 242, about 6.4 miles west of the intersection of rt 101 and 242 in troy. Trail head is at the height of land on 242. parking on left side if you are heading west. Long Trail north is across the road, just at the crest of the road where it starts going down again heading west. There is a small shelter just 20 yards in and shortly after there is a hikers register on the right. A short ways more and you will see a sign for jay camp with a trail heading left. You need to stay straight if you are heading to jay, unless you want to take the side trip to jay camp. Today the trail was icy with definitely some slippery spots. The grade is moderate with nothing extreme. At about 3400 ft, you will cross a set of stairs going over the snowmaking pipes, and the trail is white blazed going directly across the ski trail and onto the ledges, which is blazed right to the summit. Great views here and especially today. We had 50 plus mile views of Canada, New York, New Hampshire, and of course, the beautiful state of Vermont. During non ski season, you can avoid the ledges. When you go over the stairs, get on to the ski trail and head to the summit from there. Also, if you want to avoid some of the rocky trail during non ski season, start looking for the water pipes at about 3050 feet. The hiking trail parallels the ski trail. When you see the pipes, jump on to the ski trail which is only about 30 yards away, and head uphill. Do not attempt any of these ski trails with skiers out there. You may end up being splattened.
To get to big jay, when you leave the back side of the summit deli building, take a right and follow the fence line. Then there will be an area with no fence, then fence again. At about 200 yds downhill from the summit building, there is a slot in the fence where the long trail north picks up again. Enter behind the fence. Go about 25 yds down the trail, and the long trail takes a right. Do not go there if you are going to big jay. Take the left which looks a bit like a herd path. It starts out with some branches and brush, but just stay on top of the saddle and you will not lose the trail. Within a couple of hundred yards the trail is easy to follow with just some wet boggy areas to maneuver around in the low spots. Even with the cold weather we had, breaking through the thin ice could easily sink your boot. Trail sneakers not recommended. Found canister jar at summit and enjoyed a nice lunch and hot tea. Some views here and there on the way to big jay, but your best distant photo ops will be from the first peak. Some snow in the cols between the peaks. Lots of coyote scat. Overall trails were in good shape. Met up with about 15 other day hikers going to jay, but only 1 other single hiker other than tom and I that were heading to big jay. Total mileage 6 miles. Elevation gain 2527 feet. Even with a couple of decent breaks, this hike can be done in under 6 hours. Great day hiking with tom today for his #’s 72 and 73 on nehh. Click attached link for pics.
https://goo.gl/photos/X5hh1zLDAgHmriYb6
d&d minus 1 d 67/67, 91/100
Cool temps to start out. 27 degrees at 7.30 a.m. thanks to peppersass for the previous jay post. Lots of good directions and information. This post contains some of her info. Trailhead is the Long Trail north, on rt 242, about 6.4 miles west of the intersection of rt 101 and 242 in troy. Trail head is at the height of land on 242. parking on left side if you are heading west. Long Trail north is across the road, just at the crest of the road where it starts going down again heading west. There is a small shelter just 20 yards in and shortly after there is a hikers register on the right. A short ways more and you will see a sign for jay camp with a trail heading left. You need to stay straight if you are heading to jay, unless you want to take the side trip to jay camp. Today the trail was icy with definitely some slippery spots. The grade is moderate with nothing extreme. At about 3400 ft, you will cross a set of stairs going over the snowmaking pipes, and the trail is white blazed going directly across the ski trail and onto the ledges, which is blazed right to the summit. Great views here and especially today. We had 50 plus mile views of Canada, New York, New Hampshire, and of course, the beautiful state of Vermont. During non ski season, you can avoid the ledges. When you go over the stairs, get on to the ski trail and head to the summit from there. Also, if you want to avoid some of the rocky trail during non ski season, start looking for the water pipes at about 3050 feet. The hiking trail parallels the ski trail. When you see the pipes, jump on to the ski trail which is only about 30 yards away, and head uphill. Do not attempt any of these ski trails with skiers out there. You may end up being splattened.
To get to big jay, when you leave the back side of the summit deli building, take a right and follow the fence line. Then there will be an area with no fence, then fence again. At about 200 yds downhill from the summit building, there is a slot in the fence where the long trail north picks up again. Enter behind the fence. Go about 25 yds down the trail, and the long trail takes a right. Do not go there if you are going to big jay. Take the left which looks a bit like a herd path. It starts out with some branches and brush, but just stay on top of the saddle and you will not lose the trail. Within a couple of hundred yards the trail is easy to follow with just some wet boggy areas to maneuver around in the low spots. Even with the cold weather we had, breaking through the thin ice could easily sink your boot. Trail sneakers not recommended. Found canister jar at summit and enjoyed a nice lunch and hot tea. Some views here and there on the way to big jay, but your best distant photo ops will be from the first peak. Some snow in the cols between the peaks. Lots of coyote scat. Overall trails were in good shape. Met up with about 15 other day hikers going to jay, but only 1 other single hiker other than tom and I that were heading to big jay. Total mileage 6 miles. Elevation gain 2527 feet. Even with a couple of decent breaks, this hike can be done in under 6 hours. Great day hiking with tom today for his #’s 72 and 73 on nehh. Click attached link for pics.
https://goo.gl/photos/X5hh1zLDAgHmriYb6
d&d minus 1 d 67/67, 91/100
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