BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 29, 2012: Jefferson via Jewell
Trails: Jewell Trail, Gulfside Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail
Summits: Jefferson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Summerset, and me
The area had just been hit by a pretty good snowstorm. Throughout the storm, there were very high winds generally from the east, which should have blown a lot of snow over to the west side of the Presidentials. We were ascending from the west. The previous day and overnight before the hike there were very high winds from the west/northwest. I assumed these winds would at least help with clearing the area above the treeline, but probably not help much with the below-the-treeline accumulation.
The National Weather Service posted storm totals and listed the amounts for Whitefield and Bethlehem at 6.0 inches and 9.5 inches respectively (definitely not scary numbers). These locations were the closest listings to our intended hike. Most likely we were to be faced with breaking out Jewell Trail to the treeline (roughly 3.0 miles), but above the treeline the hiking should be on a windblown surface; at least that was the planning assumption. Considering the possible conditions that waited for us and the added time for trail breaking, I decided we should probably go for an early start.
We arrived to the hiker lot below Marshfield Station and found Summerset already there and ready to go. There were a few other vehicles there but once we started our hike we found no tracks headed to Jewell. At one point in the planning process I was thinking if Ammonoosuc Ravine was broken out, we could climb to Washington, head from there to Jefferson, and descend via Jewell. Breaking out Jewell top-down isn’t bad; we’ve done it before (last year) on a Monroe-Washington-Jewell loop. We stayed with Plan A and headed to Jewell.
I wasn’t sure if the bridge at the Cog base had been repaired so we went to the bypass route. Soon, we were breaking trail to the treeline. The snow had a pretty solid crust under the layer of fresh snow and we had no trouble in moving at a generally normal pace. As reported by the NWS, the total amount of new snow wasn’t as significant as being hyped by local ski areas (they’re probably working hard to sell tickets on a holiday period, or perhaps they’re measuring drifts). Bottom line, trail breaking added to the amount of effort needed to make our way to the treeline but not as much as expected. I held the lead for the first ~1.5 miles and Sue took it from there. The greatest problems we ran into on the climb of Jewell were a couple blowdowns; but even those weren’t significant. We enjoyed a good climb to Gulfside Trail and were only ~20 minutes over book time – not bad.
As we approached the treeline the wind was enough to make us add a layer and pull out our face masks – that’s all we needed to stay comfortable. Above the treeline we were treated to terrific views. We had clear visibility under the upper cloud layer to Mansfield, and the other peaks in central Vermont. After taking a few distance view shots we were back in the climb. From there we did the final .7 mile exposed climb to Gulfside Trail. I was a little surprised at the Jewell/Gulfside trails junction. The signpost is gone. I looked around but couldn’t find it. The thing may have just fallen over but now it’s under snow. I made a few mental notes on the area for our exit hike. We made the turn and headed north on Gulfside for Jefferson.
Everything was going great above the treeline. As expected we had a windblown surface under foot including large sections of Styrofoam. We reached the area of Sphinx Col and started the climb to Jefferson. Soon after starting up from Sphinx Col I was hit with a really nice leg cramp – very unusual for me. Unfortunately, from that point on there were quite a few more; mainly the left but occasionally my right would join the party. I increased my liquid intake, gel packs, shot blocks. These moves may have helped but I still ended the day with a couple very painful legs. I’m sure this cost some time but we continued to the summit. On our way from Sphinx Col to Jefferson, the snow started and soon the views were gone.
We followed the big cairns marking Gulfside to the Jefferson Loop Trail, made the turn, and headed for the summit. At the summit area, the really BIG cairn isn’t as big as I remember from my previous visits. It appeared the top few feet have been removed. We climbed to the summit, got the usual pictures, and headed back out the way we hiked in.
As we hiked south on Gulfside I was concerned about hitting Jewell. The blowing snow had wiped out our tracks in many places and I know the upper Jewell Trail could use a few more cairns. We reached the general area of the trails junction and could see a couple cairns on the slope below us; we made the turn and headed for the cairns. Soon, we were on Jewell heading for the treeline. Getting back into the trees was a welcomed change since the wind had come up and the blowing snow was a challenge. The wind was coming from the south so things weren’t too bad.
We hit the treeline and were back in mild conditions for the remainder of our hike. There were no surprises on the remainder of our exit hike and we cruised to the trailhead – no headlights required. We made it back to the vehicles at roughly 10% over book time – sore legs and all. Nice!
We had a good day hiking Jefferson. This was Summerset’s 25th for her W-48 (I think), congratulations. Our list keeps getting shorter.
Thanks Sue – good day.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Jewell Trail, Gulfside Trail, Jefferson Loop Trail
Summits: Jefferson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Summerset, and me
The area had just been hit by a pretty good snowstorm. Throughout the storm, there were very high winds generally from the east, which should have blown a lot of snow over to the west side of the Presidentials. We were ascending from the west. The previous day and overnight before the hike there were very high winds from the west/northwest. I assumed these winds would at least help with clearing the area above the treeline, but probably not help much with the below-the-treeline accumulation.
The National Weather Service posted storm totals and listed the amounts for Whitefield and Bethlehem at 6.0 inches and 9.5 inches respectively (definitely not scary numbers). These locations were the closest listings to our intended hike. Most likely we were to be faced with breaking out Jewell Trail to the treeline (roughly 3.0 miles), but above the treeline the hiking should be on a windblown surface; at least that was the planning assumption. Considering the possible conditions that waited for us and the added time for trail breaking, I decided we should probably go for an early start.
We arrived to the hiker lot below Marshfield Station and found Summerset already there and ready to go. There were a few other vehicles there but once we started our hike we found no tracks headed to Jewell. At one point in the planning process I was thinking if Ammonoosuc Ravine was broken out, we could climb to Washington, head from there to Jefferson, and descend via Jewell. Breaking out Jewell top-down isn’t bad; we’ve done it before (last year) on a Monroe-Washington-Jewell loop. We stayed with Plan A and headed to Jewell.
I wasn’t sure if the bridge at the Cog base had been repaired so we went to the bypass route. Soon, we were breaking trail to the treeline. The snow had a pretty solid crust under the layer of fresh snow and we had no trouble in moving at a generally normal pace. As reported by the NWS, the total amount of new snow wasn’t as significant as being hyped by local ski areas (they’re probably working hard to sell tickets on a holiday period, or perhaps they’re measuring drifts). Bottom line, trail breaking added to the amount of effort needed to make our way to the treeline but not as much as expected. I held the lead for the first ~1.5 miles and Sue took it from there. The greatest problems we ran into on the climb of Jewell were a couple blowdowns; but even those weren’t significant. We enjoyed a good climb to Gulfside Trail and were only ~20 minutes over book time – not bad.
As we approached the treeline the wind was enough to make us add a layer and pull out our face masks – that’s all we needed to stay comfortable. Above the treeline we were treated to terrific views. We had clear visibility under the upper cloud layer to Mansfield, and the other peaks in central Vermont. After taking a few distance view shots we were back in the climb. From there we did the final .7 mile exposed climb to Gulfside Trail. I was a little surprised at the Jewell/Gulfside trails junction. The signpost is gone. I looked around but couldn’t find it. The thing may have just fallen over but now it’s under snow. I made a few mental notes on the area for our exit hike. We made the turn and headed north on Gulfside for Jefferson.
Everything was going great above the treeline. As expected we had a windblown surface under foot including large sections of Styrofoam. We reached the area of Sphinx Col and started the climb to Jefferson. Soon after starting up from Sphinx Col I was hit with a really nice leg cramp – very unusual for me. Unfortunately, from that point on there were quite a few more; mainly the left but occasionally my right would join the party. I increased my liquid intake, gel packs, shot blocks. These moves may have helped but I still ended the day with a couple very painful legs. I’m sure this cost some time but we continued to the summit. On our way from Sphinx Col to Jefferson, the snow started and soon the views were gone.
We followed the big cairns marking Gulfside to the Jefferson Loop Trail, made the turn, and headed for the summit. At the summit area, the really BIG cairn isn’t as big as I remember from my previous visits. It appeared the top few feet have been removed. We climbed to the summit, got the usual pictures, and headed back out the way we hiked in.
As we hiked south on Gulfside I was concerned about hitting Jewell. The blowing snow had wiped out our tracks in many places and I know the upper Jewell Trail could use a few more cairns. We reached the general area of the trails junction and could see a couple cairns on the slope below us; we made the turn and headed for the cairns. Soon, we were on Jewell heading for the treeline. Getting back into the trees was a welcomed change since the wind had come up and the blowing snow was a challenge. The wind was coming from the south so things weren’t too bad.
We hit the treeline and were back in mild conditions for the remainder of our hike. There were no surprises on the remainder of our exit hike and we cruised to the trailhead – no headlights required. We made it back to the vehicles at roughly 10% over book time – sore legs and all. Nice!
We had a good day hiking Jefferson. This was Summerset’s 25th for her W-48 (I think), congratulations. Our list keeps getting shorter.
Thanks Sue – good day.
Pictures will follow.
