With less than two weeks remaining until the start of school, a White Mountain family trip finally came together. We opted for Jefferson via Caps Ridge Trail, a trail I had not yet been on. I promised my family two things - views and a post-hike swim. We had both, plus a surprise visit from the Canada Jays. We ran into Denise Penn on the way up, and Amanda ran into her third grade teacher's assistant at Sawyer Rocks.
Jennifer, with the Ridge of Caps leading up to Jefferson, Amanda making friends with the welcoming committee
We stopped at the outlook with the glacial potholes on the way up, and had fun with the Canada Jays. We stopped here on the way down too and conversed with a father and his two sons. There were kids of all ages on the trail today.
Jefferson summit!, Matt with the big cairn
At the caps, the kids lit up with delight and scrambled rapidly out of sight of their parents. Low centers of gravity and quick reflexes were a real help. Definitely provided some fun, and maybe even a momentary "Hmmm." (not as big a Hmmm as Huntington Ravine.) They kept believing the visible bump was the summit, but I knew better (Jefferson being semi-notorious for false summits.) The real summit was not far past the visible bump though and presently we hit the real top where sibling rivalry kicked in to see who might be first to the pin.
Short detour towards Jefferson Ravine (proof Adams is further away than it looks)
After lunch, we took a short stroll along the Gulfside / Six Husbands to peer into Jefferon Ravine. Yes, Six Husbands is on my bucket list, but it will be a while before the kids would put up with that much effort. Down is easier on the young ones than on their parents and again we had to put one of us in front so they wouldn't scamper out of sight. Like water, they tend to follow the path of least resistance which isn't always the trail
Spiderman Impression, Eastern Comma Butterfly (Polygonia comma) - Photo by Amanda
Once off the caps, the motivation of going swimming kicked in and we double-timed it back to Jefferson Notch, stopping briefly at the potholes, for a few blueberry snacks, and to take this butterfly photo (Amanda has a budding interest in photography and this is her un-altered composition.)
Tim
Jennifer, with the Ridge of Caps leading up to Jefferson, Amanda making friends with the welcoming committee
We stopped at the outlook with the glacial potholes on the way up, and had fun with the Canada Jays. We stopped here on the way down too and conversed with a father and his two sons. There were kids of all ages on the trail today.
Jefferson summit!, Matt with the big cairn
At the caps, the kids lit up with delight and scrambled rapidly out of sight of their parents. Low centers of gravity and quick reflexes were a real help. Definitely provided some fun, and maybe even a momentary "Hmmm." (not as big a Hmmm as Huntington Ravine.) They kept believing the visible bump was the summit, but I knew better (Jefferson being semi-notorious for false summits.) The real summit was not far past the visible bump though and presently we hit the real top where sibling rivalry kicked in to see who might be first to the pin.
Short detour towards Jefferson Ravine (proof Adams is further away than it looks)
After lunch, we took a short stroll along the Gulfside / Six Husbands to peer into Jefferon Ravine. Yes, Six Husbands is on my bucket list, but it will be a while before the kids would put up with that much effort. Down is easier on the young ones than on their parents and again we had to put one of us in front so they wouldn't scamper out of sight. Like water, they tend to follow the path of least resistance which isn't always the trail
Spiderman Impression, Eastern Comma Butterfly (Polygonia comma) - Photo by Amanda
Once off the caps, the motivation of going swimming kicked in and we double-timed it back to Jefferson Notch, stopping briefly at the potholes, for a few blueberry snacks, and to take this butterfly photo (Amanda has a budding interest in photography and this is her un-altered composition.)
Tim
