danno
New member
I finished my list of New Hampshire 4kers. All 48 done this year. The first, Mount Tom and Field, done Jan 29, 2006, and the last two done August 23, 2006 - 3 days before the first anniversary of my heart surgery. I feel very lucky to have set this goal for myself and to be able to have finished it. Whoo Hooo!!!!
Jefferson. The drive up to the caps ridge trail was cool. Some great places to swim on the river coming off the mountains next to the road (in hot weather of course), and a unique mountain ridge 'feel' to the road the higher you got. Jefferson was in the clouds when I started the hike. I was hoping it would clear. I met two parties on the ridge coming down as I was going up, both had summited in the clouds. My first views of the ridge were in the clouds, which is where I was once I got past the 2nd cap. From the trail junction above the caps the clouds were pretty thick, I had to stop quite a few times to look for the trail, many times guessing where the cairn was before seeing it. It was blowing pretty hard on top, and I swear I saw a few flakes of snow (there was an occasional small white flake-thing floating past in the wind). It was cold on the summit. I took one or two quick photos and booked it down as I didn't have an extra layer to put on under my shell. If I'd have stayed up there much longer I would have had some cold issues. As it was my hands burned a little from the cold till I got back down to the caps area. Once back at the caps I was out of the clouds again, and it was quite a bit warmer. I could see Franconia ridge in the distance, cloudy but the summits looked open. I got back down to the trailhead at 12:28p (started at 8:22a, summited at 10:39a). #47 done. I will definitely return to this trail on a clear and dry day, a very fun hike.
By the time I was driving my bike down the Jefferson Notch road the clouds were off the summit.
On to Garfield.
The Garfield trailhead wasn't marked off Rt 3 or at the trailhead (no signs), and the garmin gps map didn't have the trailhead in the right place (at least for the current trail), so I had to guess that I was on the Garfield Trail instead of the Gale River Trail. I'm glad I guessed right. I did ask the first hiker I saw if I was on the Garfield trail, which seemed like an odd thing to do. He said he had the same issue finding the right trail.
The Garfield Trail is a long easy trail. 3000' elevation gain over 5 miles. I was able to book it up somewhat quickly (though I did feel the earlier hike a bit in the legs). I will say that there are switchbacks over the last 1.5 miles or so where I wish I could have just gone straight up the mountain instead. Why have a switchback if there's very little elevation gain? Anyways, I left the trailhead at 2:05p, and got to the summit around 4:45p. The view from the top was one of the best I'd seen in the whites. Unbelievable. The sun hitting the mountains made for a great light at this time of day, and I could literally see almost all the mountains on the list of 48. Simply breathtaking. It was fairly windy on top, but it was easy to get out of the wind inside the old fire tower foundation. I took some photos, ate some food, and scoped out the view for a while. I headed off the mountain around 5:30p and boogied back down to the trailhead. Didn't see anyone on the way back down (I did see a few people on the way up). I got off the mountain at 7:09p, shortly before sunset. #48 done.
I got back to the bike, geared up, and headed to Conway for a cup of coffee, then back to Portland, where I arrived around 10:30p (I was on the road at 5:15a).
Photos to follow when I get them processed.
A long day, but definitely a great day. Jefferson was fun (and exciting with the weather on the summit) even though there were no views on top, and Garfield was simply amazing on top. I was happy I chose to end my list on that Garfield, and happy to have been able to finish this goal within the calendar year of my surgery.
Jefferson. The drive up to the caps ridge trail was cool. Some great places to swim on the river coming off the mountains next to the road (in hot weather of course), and a unique mountain ridge 'feel' to the road the higher you got. Jefferson was in the clouds when I started the hike. I was hoping it would clear. I met two parties on the ridge coming down as I was going up, both had summited in the clouds. My first views of the ridge were in the clouds, which is where I was once I got past the 2nd cap. From the trail junction above the caps the clouds were pretty thick, I had to stop quite a few times to look for the trail, many times guessing where the cairn was before seeing it. It was blowing pretty hard on top, and I swear I saw a few flakes of snow (there was an occasional small white flake-thing floating past in the wind). It was cold on the summit. I took one or two quick photos and booked it down as I didn't have an extra layer to put on under my shell. If I'd have stayed up there much longer I would have had some cold issues. As it was my hands burned a little from the cold till I got back down to the caps area. Once back at the caps I was out of the clouds again, and it was quite a bit warmer. I could see Franconia ridge in the distance, cloudy but the summits looked open. I got back down to the trailhead at 12:28p (started at 8:22a, summited at 10:39a). #47 done. I will definitely return to this trail on a clear and dry day, a very fun hike.
By the time I was driving my bike down the Jefferson Notch road the clouds were off the summit.
On to Garfield.
The Garfield trailhead wasn't marked off Rt 3 or at the trailhead (no signs), and the garmin gps map didn't have the trailhead in the right place (at least for the current trail), so I had to guess that I was on the Garfield Trail instead of the Gale River Trail. I'm glad I guessed right. I did ask the first hiker I saw if I was on the Garfield trail, which seemed like an odd thing to do. He said he had the same issue finding the right trail.
The Garfield Trail is a long easy trail. 3000' elevation gain over 5 miles. I was able to book it up somewhat quickly (though I did feel the earlier hike a bit in the legs). I will say that there are switchbacks over the last 1.5 miles or so where I wish I could have just gone straight up the mountain instead. Why have a switchback if there's very little elevation gain? Anyways, I left the trailhead at 2:05p, and got to the summit around 4:45p. The view from the top was one of the best I'd seen in the whites. Unbelievable. The sun hitting the mountains made for a great light at this time of day, and I could literally see almost all the mountains on the list of 48. Simply breathtaking. It was fairly windy on top, but it was easy to get out of the wind inside the old fire tower foundation. I took some photos, ate some food, and scoped out the view for a while. I headed off the mountain around 5:30p and boogied back down to the trailhead. Didn't see anyone on the way back down (I did see a few people on the way up). I got off the mountain at 7:09p, shortly before sunset. #48 done.
I got back to the bike, geared up, and headed to Conway for a cup of coffee, then back to Portland, where I arrived around 10:30p (I was on the road at 5:15a).
Photos to follow when I get them processed.
A long day, but definitely a great day. Jefferson was fun (and exciting with the weather on the summit) even though there were no views on top, and Garfield was simply amazing on top. I was happy I chose to end my list on that Garfield, and happy to have been able to finish this goal within the calendar year of my surgery.
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