Mount Jefferson

Date: 7/10/2020

Elevation: 5,712’

Miles: 5.3 miles

Time: 6 hours, 47 minutes

Trails: Caps Ridge Trail

I already can’t wait to do this hike again. That may be my recent lack-of-time-outdoors talking…but I’m pretty confident I felt that way right after doing it too.

If you like rock scrambling like me, this is the hike for you. After an easy first mile up (“up” is really even a stretch here), you’re already above treeline. The trailhead parking lot is the highest in the White Mountains, so you get a lot of the elevation gain done for you in the car. It might not seem that way once you leave treeline and look up at the rock face in front of you, but if you’re confident on the rocks, it’ll be a quick hike.

My mom and I went up to the White Mountains to hike just the two of us together for the first time since I was in eighth grade (I think?). We had originally planned on doing Carrigain because of its easier terrain, but the night before my mom decided she was up for Jefferson. I showed her pictures of the trail so she knew what to expect…and so she couldn’t blame me for how difficult it was :)

We pulled up to a full parking lot at 8:45am and hit Caps Ridge Trail, which has earned itself a spot on “The Terrifying 25” — a list of the 25 most terrifying trails in New Hampshire. I think my mom might rank it at #1 after this hike. But like I said, the trail starts off very easy with a flat first mile or so through the ones.

You pop out to a big boulder, which I’m sure has great views but we were socked in at this point. I was pretty bummed because I knew Jefferson offered a 360º view from the top and I was worried we weren’t going to get it. From here the trail gets much more difficult and the scrambling begins. It’s an arms and legs full-body deal to get up some of the rocks, but I love those moments because they require all my focus and mental energy to go towards my body and what I’m doing; I can’t think about anything else, so I don’t. It’s an amazing zone to be in.

I’m not sure my mom would feel the same way as I think she found it a littleeee scary. We realized that slow and steady would be the best approach with me going first so she could see where/how I went up and whether she wanted to follow my path or try something else. About halfway up we broke through through the clouds and got a great undercast for the next few hours. Yay views!

The last half mile is just a looooong boulder field that requires some navigating, but at least the summit is in sight! Around 11:30am we made it to the top, wooohoooooo. The fog had rolled in again by the time we were up there, but as we sat and ate our pb&js it cleared up a bit and we got to soak in the views.

After some much-needed rest and peanut m&ms, we headed down the backside of Jefferson towards Mt. Washington to avoid the never-ending boulder field. It’s just a little lollipop loop that spits you out before all the caps on your way back down.

Getting down rock faces is a lot harder than going up, so it was more slow and steady for us with plenty of breaks. Some of the short slides got a little sketchy for my mom, so I ended up carrying her pack too for an extra workout.

I was really proud of my mom for overcoming a lot of her fears on this hike and I’m so glad we were able to get back in the mountains together. She made good use out of the hiking poles that my brother and sister got her for her birthday, and I hope she continues to use them in the future (nudge, nudge Mom!!).