| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Jefferson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Caps Ridge Trail, The Cornice, Sphinx Trail, Great Gulf Trail, Six Husbands Trail, Castle Trail, The Link |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 24, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Main lot looked to have filled during the day, with a few cars parked along the road. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All were rock steps, maybe a hop or two. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several major blowdowns on the Great Gulf section, but none are show stoppers. I took out the smaller stems in a modest multi blowdown on Sphinx near Great Gulf and trimmed the remainder. Most of the waterbars on Caps Ridge are filled and non functioning. Some Irene damage to the Great Gulf section but not a lot. Link section rooty as expected on the Castle side, but the trail on the Caps Ridge side was quite nice and well maintained. All signs in place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Pepper might give this whole hike 1-2 paws up. There is no water for too much of the hike, including all the above treeline sections, and while I can bring some for drinking, he loves the sip n dips to cool off and they feel sooo good. Today the bright sun was also hot on his black fur, so on our return leg to above treeline we slowed our pace, took several shade cooling off stops and very much enjoyed chatting with Doug H, Linda & Rudi on Jefferson. These trails run be tough on dogs in other ways; above treeline in particular the rock crystalline structure is often very sharp and can abrade or puncture soft paw pads at any time but especially on the steeper boulder down hikes. There are some tricky scrambles as well that need spotting on all the trails except Cornice, even one on Link. The ladders on 6 Husbands are particularly problematic. Pepper is very good on ladders, but the two lowest are near vertical made of simple board steps. I knew I could carry him if needed, but we worked it out so that he would do one or two steps at a time with me beside him, hands under his butt in case he slipped. He's then wait for me to move 2 steps up and then we'd repeat. It was fun working it out together. The third was easier and he did it before I got there, and he avoided the last 2 by going up the boulder, then waiting for me to spot his cross over to the ladder. There's a few scrambles that need spotting as well in the same area. Rudi made it up Caps Ridge to Jefferson fine; two very nice dogs decided Castle wasn't worth it. They were the only dogs we met except for a little guy down low on Caps. Sphinx didn't seem difficult for hiking dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This was partly a Terrifying 25 list hike, partly avoiding summer crowds, and partly sharing a fun hike I did years ago with Pepper. We got up Caps Ridge before the other hikers were out, saw none on Cornice, 1 on Sphinx, 2 on 6 Husbands and none on Link. There were plenty on Jefferson. Sphinx & Great Gulf had some wonderful falls, 6 Husbands has a nice section of very large boulders and a long above treeline stretch with great views, as does Castle. Link was a pleasant walk back and the loop avoided the steep Caps down hike. All in all it was a great hike on a wonderful day; one we've got to repeat more often. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-08-24 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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