Gail and I returned to Jefferson, NH, one of our favorite places in the northeast due to its access to the White Mountains. We love the place our friends own, and they love that we are willing to do a bit to help with the vast amount of upkeep it needs. We had some nice hikes and biking. Keep scrolling....
Sometime after passing Albany, we saw this sign. It was hard to keep Gail from turning, but she kept driving and we soon saw a young bear run across the road.
Earlier this summer I got stung in the leg, and a couple weeks later the stinger worked its way out. Then the spot showed signs of infection so I went and got it evaluated. This is how it looked on the drive up, a few days into antibiotics. There was no discomfort so I wasn't too worried.
The first morning and the familiar view of Cherry Mountain from the porch. Despite possible record-high temps for the day, a nice start.
If a new record high is possible, I thought we should go where the record is in the upper 60's: Mount Washington. Gail did some research on which trails we should take and we chose the Ammonoosuc Trail up and the Jewell to come down. They are near where we stay and start/end at a pretty high elevation. Let's go for a cool walk..
Right out of the gate this trail has a steady climb, and thus, it's one of the shortest routes up to the alpine zone. We hadn't committed to going to the summit of Mt. Washington, just up to Lakes of the Clouds and over to the Jewell Trail. It was nice and cool along the Ammonoosuc River, and not too much sun above treeline.
Two gems at the Gem Pool.
We reached the Lakes of the Clouds Hut a little after 10, so plenty of time to go to the summit of the highest mountain in the northeast. We took the Crawford Path, supposedly the oldest maintained hiking trail in the country. Native Americans didn't hike, they traveled.
You wouldn't know it from the day we were there, but it gets windy on top of Mt. Washington.
Nice spot for lunch. Looking north at Clay, Jefferson, Adams and Madison.
In addition to the danger from extreme weather, you have to remember there's a road and cog railway that go to the top. Too many people get caught up in hiking in the wilderness and don't take necessary precautions.
We then went over to the Gulfside Trail and had fantastic views of the mountains and the Great Gulf. We skipped going over the summit of Clay. The scattered clouds were helping with the sun, and it only got up to 66 so the record stays at 68 for the day, but it was our first hike of the trip so give us some slack for not doing another summit.
We spent about four hours above treeline. The Ammo Trail abruptly reaches it, but we were on the Crawford, Gulfside and Jewell Trails for over three miles. We just had to get down to the white spot: the cog rail depot and the trailhead.
Once we got home, we settled in and awaited the arrival of Connie and Andy, who would be joining us for a few days. They made a stop in southern NH on the way and hiked Cube Mountain and were a bit beat up, maybe a little intoxicated (probably the heat). But we convinced them to go up the road at sunset and see the view of where we spent the day.
In the morning, we headed for Willard Mountain for a short hike to a great view of Crawford Notch. It might be a short trail, but the rocks make sure you pay attention to what you're doing.
See? Nice view.
A refreshing break on the way down.
Thanks to missing a turn to a swimming hole on the Ammonoosuc River, we turned onto a road Gail recognized as the access to Lower Falls. On this day when Mount Washington did set a daily record high temperature (69 degrees F!), it wasn't as crowded as some of the other swimming holes further upstream. I stayed in the shade and the water as much as possible, often at the same time.
I make it a habit to get up by 5 AM whenever we're there and go out on moose and bear watch. All I ever see is a great sunrise, some wild turkeys and hear the beagles at the farm near us howl as they are fed. On this morning, I decided to bike to Pond of Safety where moose are common, but I didn't see any. They were probably scared away by the sound I made when I slowed too much on my bike and tipped over. There's always some mishap involving Pond of Safety.
Back home, Connie assessed my leg and decided even though the inflamed area was getting bigger, the color was improving and I didn't need to go to the local med center for another eval and maybe a different antibiotic. Rain was expected, and everyone needed a lighter day to recover from the previous days. Gail and I explored the forest service road above us that goes up the south side of Mount Waumbek. No moose or bear, but lots of tracks. We were also enamored with a cabin up the road that she is putting an offer on soon. Connie and Andy drove and walked to Pond of Safety and experienced an influx of migrating warblers that sounded like a pretty incredible experience.
We all did a bunch of chores and relaxed in the afternoon.
Everyone agreed a loose rock on the screened porch should be reset. I was told the sand to do it was right there. This was a bag of sand that the only thing I could read was "Quikrete" which I thought was what I needed. Fortunately, Andy noticed it was just sand, and we found some mortar to do the job. Connie and Gail worked to remove briars and saplings from the meadow, and somehow, Gail avoided being stung when she stepped on a yellow jacket nest. It was entertaining to watch them through my binocs as they rage-flew for the rest of the day.
Another crystal-clear morning for a short bike ride around the block. Six Gun City isn't the draw it once was now that Santa's Village has opened nearby, but for my money, it has the better view.
The local mountains. The Pliny Range has several peaks, named and unnamed, over 3000' and Waumbek, a 4000 footer.
We were determined to get our guests up at least one 4000' mountain, if not up to the alpine zone. We decided on Garfield since it has a reasonable grade up to a 360-degree view at the top. I'm still trying to get to more 4000' summits so I had them drop me off at the Gale River Trail and I would follow that to Galehead Mountain, cross the Garfield Range Trail, and meet them at Garfield. Being younger than all of them, and also following a gently-graded trail, I assured them I would be waiting for them and not the other way around. Here's Joe's head with Galehead in the background.
I was doing great until the intersection of the Garfield Range Trail and the Franconia Brook Trail. I'm not saying the last 3/4 of a mile was all like this, some of it was sheer rock face, but it kicked my ass and I gave up the idea of beating them to Garfield. They got there about a half-hour before me.
On top of Garfield with Galehead and the Twins behind me.
A crudely-drawn route I took. Red line was the drive, blue was the hike.
It was August 15, what would have been Mary Ellen's 70th birthday. To honor the occasion, I broke out our first aid kit (she was all about safety) and had a cookie to go with my Aleve.
Everyone looking pretty good before the descent.
One last look at Franconia Ridge.
Connie and Andy loaded their weary bodies into their car and headed for a stay in Vermont the next morning. Gail and I headed out on our bikes to the Presidential Rail Trail that passes the northern mountains of the range. She wanted to go all the way to Gorham, I wanted to do more hiking. My plan was to go up Mount Jeffferson on the ridge on the right, across the cornice and down the Castle Ravine Trail in the center.
The ridge is castlellated, meaning rock outcrops with an appearance similar to castles. Here I got my first good look at them of the day, and the gulf that contains Castle Ravine.
It's hard not to ponder where you'll be in a few hours, but it's important to remember you have to get there safely first. I tried to stay focused.
The castles. The trail didn't require going over the top of each one, but there was lots of exploring to do for extra views and fun climbing.
Another crudely drawn route. Blue was the bike trip, black the hike so far. Gail continued another 10 miles on her bike from where I stopped, then had to ride all of it in the other direction for a ride of over 40 miles (and an iced latte). Some people might not consider that a day off.
There's home.
Even though I got a later start than normal, it was still early enough in the day to summit Mt. Jefferson. This is looking northeast towards Mt. Adams. Hard to believe there aren't any trails up that side of it.
Looking southeast to Mt. Washington. Hard to believe there are three trails that go up that side of it. Gail and I were on the Gulfside Trail Tuesday at the top of the headwall.
Nice view of the Castles with Cherry Mountain, Sunday's destination, in the background.
Going down... I'd climbed part way up this during our trip in 2021, and all the way in 2023 and it was a thrill. I was a little more hesitant to go down because the force put on the loose rock as you step down is greater and they shift more than ascending, but I was careful and made to the trees and solid ground in about an hour.
Having both survived our separate adventures, we headed to the rail trail on our bikes again the next day. Gail was sticking to biking again to go to Cherry Pond on the rail trail, and I was going to the trailhead from the rail trail to hike up Cherry Mountain and the little bump visible in the picture, Owl's Head.
Though it was pretty smokey from wildfires out west, a front was supposed to come through and I hoped maybe it would blow the smoke away and give me clear views of the Presidential Range. That didn't happen, but since Cherry is in our view from the lodge, I consider it obligatory to climb it whenever we visit.
What did happen as the front approached, was several waves of broad-winged hawks with a few red-tailed hawks mixed in passed low overhead and even a few far below me. I've been to Derby Hill and Braddock Bay to see broad-wings migrate by the thousands in the spring, but this was completely unexpected and a truly special experience.
This snapper slowed my return home. I considered jumping over it, but I wasn't interested in learning if they can jump straight up. It moved off the boardwalk after I woke it up.
Back home, a little rain finally moved in and cleared the smoke away.
For our last day of hiking, Gail chose Carrigain Mountain, another new 4000' peak for me. It stands alone in the center of the mountains and every time I saw it during our stay, I thought it looked like it's one we should have gone to long ago. But that's true for so many... This is on the ridge before the final ascent to the summit and fire tower.
Looking back down at the ridge from above.
It really is in the middle of everything. Great views of Franconia Ridge, the southern mountains, the Carter Range and Bald Faces to the east, and as is often the case, the Presidential Range sticking up above everything. The Peakfinder app even pointed out that on this stunningly clear day, we could see numerous Green Mountains in Vermont, and Dix Mountain over 110 miles away in the Adirondacks.
The road to the trailhead had a washout over the winter and is closed so we took our bikes and rode the steep two miles up, but then got to coast back down to the car. We even passed two people who passed us on the trail about an hour earlier.
Hardly a washout worthy of a road closure if you ask me. They just need to dump a few loads of gravel to fill it in.
And a return to Lower Falls on the Ammonoosuc River. This time we had the place to ourselves for about a half hour before going to meet our friend, Geoff, for dinner. We'd hoped to hike with him and connect with a few other local friends, but summer is so busy and people have obligations. Next time.
Our final morning dawned even clearer than the day before. Reluctant to leave, I walked up the road to Waumbek Mountain again (no moose or bears), and we stuck around a couple hours to do some more chores for our hosts.
When I put in some stones to keep plants away from the building, I discovered this root going under the porch. It was likely the reason many of the stone tiles were displaced, so perhaps I put a dent in that action.
One last dip in Priscilla Brook.
Ugh, the traffic jam at 9:30 AM before Santa's Village opens at 10. Next time we wait until 10:30 to leave.
The freshly sythed meadow. We didn't find any more bees nests.
