| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Jefferson, Edmands Col, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Caps Ridge Trail, Mt. Jefferson Loop, Gulfside Trail, Edmands Col Cutoff, Randolph Path, The Cornice, Castle Trail, The Link |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 18, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Jefferson Notch Road is in excellent condition. FYI they just paved Clinton Road and we drove apres hike just for fun because it is black powder smooth! caps Ridge Trailhead, about a dozen cars in the lot when we left and we watched the second to last car leave as we were getting back and we were last at 4 pm. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hop-able |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There is a big tree across the Caps Ridge Trail, about a quarter mile up, its limbed but not an easy step, it should be removed. OH BOY, Redliners know this trail barely is a trail, it needs a lot of brushing and there is plenty of standing water by the spring and beyond. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
I would never bring a dog up above tree line in the Presies |
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 | Bugs: |
Oh yah head net and bug hat were necessary. flies chew ya while doing trail work on Edmands Col Cutoff |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Found bottom of someone's hiking pole while we were doing trail work, I bet they they were bummed out to lose it it wasn't broken just fell off the bottom and got stuck under all that growth. |
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 | Comments: |
This was an interesting day nice weather, wild fire smoke and then big wind, hail and rain. We decided to do trail work clearing the nearly completely grown in Edmands Col Cutoff. Hike up Caps was good, rocks dry and the sky was weird with haze sometimes the sun would come out and then it was gray and weird. We saw a few dozen people up and over Jefferson, people making their way to Lakes of the Clouds from Madison hut too. The trail is now clear from the Col for about 600 feet. The spring was running well. The trail is overgrown the footbed in not visible, thankfully some big rocky areas give a hiker a moment out of the scrub. We dreamed of making it to the scree field but that is going to take another 2 or 3 hours to get it done. Everything was dandy and we were watching the weather and made the decision to leave to get back by 3. Well no surprise weather arrived early and we were on The Cornice when it hit and hit hard. 50mph gusts and steady hard rain starting with hail and then rain, it was difficult to and we questioned what kind of idiots would go hiking in this weather. Instinctively we headed down Castel Trail to get the heck below treeline asap. Castle Trail and The Link were in nice condition and under the tree cover we still often found dry rock. We were happy to see that The Link is being well cared for (this was our first trail recovery clearing project we did together). It was dark in the trees. Back at the car we were glad we had towels and a change of clothes. We carpooled together from Cannon's Peabody Lodge parking lot and upon our return we discovered that the Cannonball Pub is open friday thru Sunday. We made it inside just before last call at 5 pm! What a day in the mountains. |
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 | Name: |
Nordic_Gal, Danielle |
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 | E-Mail: |
amybike@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-07-19 |
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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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