Jefferson and Washington insanity loop

[jessbee]

In an effort to see how far I could push myself hiking I decided to set out from the Caps Ridge Trail up Jefferson, over to Washington, then down into the Great Gulf, back up Jefferson and down to the Caps Ridge trailhead where my car was waiting. It was an incredible (and knee-destroying) hike and I highly recommend two trails for adventurous hikers:

Wamsutta Trail, which can be picked up from Nelson Crag/Alpine Lace heading down from Mt. Washington. It's a narrow trail with amazing views headed down into the Gulf. I didn't cross paths with a single hiker the whole time (just the way I like it). Also there were a variety of birds, for the nature lovers, including boreal chickadees and some beautiful warblers, as well as the ubiquitous white-throated sparrow.

Six Husbands Trail heads up from the Peabody River to the peak of Jefferson, a very steep trail that begins through mixed woods, then a patch of huge, lumbering boulders, some of which form interesting caves (a little hard to follow here), and then up into the scrub and finally it finishes above treeline. I only passed one pair of hikers along this trail. Again, tremendous views of the valley and neighboring Presidentials.

I'm usually a quick hiker but I found myself stopping constantly just to appreciate the unbelievable scenery I found myself in. Scrambling over all the rocks was fun too, a good hike for me includes using my arms and hands! Once you leave the Mt. Washington auto road and other nonsense behind it is just a wonderfully serene experience.

These trails are kind of out there and I wouldn't recommend the route I took (15 miles in 11 hours yikes!) but if you can work them into your hiking you won't regret it! If you've done these trails before please suggest a better route to do them, if you can.

 

[Frodo]

Awesome hike jessbee!

My only suggestion is if you want to do some fun challenging hikes with limited "other hiker encounters", I recommend starting at the Great Gulf Trailhead and go from there. That way you don't have to do an "over and back" (unless you want to) . You will also see very few people (like you did), but won't have to deal with the typical crowds on the Caps Ridge, and the summer masses on Washington

The Great Gulf is vast with numerous "fun" trails like Wamsutta, Six Husbands, Sphinx, Great Gulf Headwall (which is awesome!), Madison Gulf, Buttress, Osgood Ridge, and even the old abandonded Adams Slide Trail (which I have yet to do).

Have fun!

 

[MichaelJ]

Nice! That descent and re-ascent is definitely a killer on the knees, but in many ways worth it as the Great Gulf (and in this particular case, Jefferson Ravine) are incredibly gorgeous.

Post #2? Welcome to VFTT!

 

[AMF]

Did a similar trip myself some years back... tho' not intentionally! Left southern NJ at 11 pm, got to Pinkham area at 5 am with intention of hiking into GG for some quick shuteye. Unfortunately, it was July 4 wkend! Kept hiking & looking for a camping spot... up Sphinx... across Jeff... then Washington... down Huntington... still no camping spot... back to car around 6 pm... drove back home. Nothing like being young 'n dumb!

 

[MrAmeche]

Sounds like a fantastic hike, jessbee. I did a similar hike a few weeks ago and the descent of the Caps Ridge in the pouring rain nearly killed me and my knees, but an awesome time nonetheless. Any pictures?

 

[jessbee]

ok MrAmeche, here are some pictures

You know the pictures never tell the whole story, but here are a few that came out alright... There's the obligatory Washington summit pic, atop that treacherous pile of rocks . The big rock photo is from Six Husbands, and the others are just some great views of the valley from the trails. But, you had to be there to really see it

 

[drewski]

osolation hike july 30

check out this bobandgeri @rbhayes.net click on his hike description and look it over..this was a serious death march..good pics etc

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

check out this bobandgeri @rbhayes.net click on his hike description and look it over..this was a serious death march..good pics etc

Here is the link drewski was referring to.
Click here, then click recent hikes, then Davis Path
Both hikes are goods for the legs.

 

[MichaelJ]

and the others are just some great views of the valley from the trails. But, you had to be there to really see it

There's nothing quite like being up at the Great Gulf headwall and looking out at the enormity of the Gulf. I could actually sense the vastness, even without my eyes. Here's one of my favorites, as well as this one.