Mt. Jefferson via Caps Ridge & Jewell (White Mountain National Forest)

Mt. Jefferson via Caps Ridge & Jewell (White Mountain National Forest)

Distance: 7.72 miles
Elevation: 3,178 feet

Time: 7 hours, 58 minutes (5 hours, 57 minutes)
Hike Type: Point-to-Point
Hiking Challenges: New Hampshire 4000 Footers, Terrifying 25

The Hike

"Oh look, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions!" - I thought to myself as my 12:45am alarm went off! This might be my earliest morning yet! Sarah drove up last night and camped on Jefferson Notch Road, but I am both camping gear-less and have unpredictable bowels that usually resolve themselves during my 2-3 hour drive to the whites, so I elected to sleep in my bed. Joke was on me! I slept horribly, waking up every 30ish minutes after having a bad dream about either 1) school starting or 2) the hiking going terribly wrong. Fun! This was also legally my last day of summer - I had my first day back to school the next day (thankfully it was just adults, no kids until after Labor Day!). Anyway, up at 12:45am, got in the car and started my long drive up to the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail trailhead!

The planning of this hike was just funny - it probably wouldn't have even happend if Sarah didn't ask me to join her in the Blue Hills yesterday. The first part of the drive up was interesting becuase 12:45am is so late that people are still awake. I had my first wildlife sighting of the day - a rat on Storrow Drive that I almost ran over just after 1:00 am! After getting out of Botson, my drive became VERY foggy up until the White Mountain Region. I did make a classic pit stop at Hooksett for some "breakfast" and to disappointedly not use the bathroom. Thankfully, once in the White Mountains, the fog cleared up, revealing some incredible stars, notably in Franconia Notch. 

There were a few patches of fog between Franconia Notch and the trailhead, but when I arrived at 3:43am the skies were crystal clear with insanely bright stars. I could just barely make out some mountains thanks to the light from the crescent moon, and I could see some fog on top of some peaks. There were a few other cars in the parking lot but no human activity, just the sound of the Ammonoosuc River. I rested my eyes for ~15 minutes, enjoying the sounds of cascading water and whatever my lower digestive system was doing (I still have not made any... deposits). 

Sarah scooped me up around 4:10am (after paying my $5 day-use fee, of course!), we drove to the Caps Ridge Trail trailhead at the top of Jefferson Notch Road, and we were hiking right at 4:45am. It was 64 degrees, just a little humid, and VERY dark. This is the first time I had nervous butterflies for a hike in a long time! The dark paired with the unknown of the Northern Presidentials made me VERY gratefull to be hiking with a friend who has been up here before. The higher summit forecast truly sounded like we were in for a lovely day!

"High pressure building over the region will start a drying and clearing trend during the pre-dawn hours Tuesday. The first half of the day will likely feature fog-free summits and mostly clear skies. However, clear skies will be short-lived as a shortwave trough and associated cold front begin to sag south later in the afternoon. Isolated showers may develop ahead of this feature as it approaches the international border later Tuesday afternoon. [...]. Tuesday: Mostly clear under partly sunny skies. Slight Chance of afternoon rain showers. High: Upper 50s. Wind: NW shifting W at 15-30 mph early, 5-20 mph midday, and 20-35 mph later." from Mount Washington Weather Observatory Higher Summits Forecast.

Headlamps were on as we navigated the wet lower portion of the Caps Ridge Trail. Thankfully there were plenty of bog boardwalks to help us, too. The trail climbed moderately, and the guidebook claims that there is one steep section, but I truly don't remember anything ridiculous. We were breathing heavy, but that's just hiking! I guess my lack of memory can fall under the saying "miles in the dark don't count!"

As we continued to climb, the sky very slowly began to brighten. First from black to a deep navy blue, and slowly worked its way up the spectrum. Sarah was the line leader here because I am scared of the dark - it was also super kind of her to take all of the spider webs to the face! We traversed some blowdown patches with views to the bright moon and MARS (we thought that was super cool). I was yapping about how I learned on the Skookumchuck Trail that the Alpine Zone doesn't define treeline, but it defines where trees cannot grow more than 8 feet, and no more than 20 feet later we found the "Welcome to the Alpine Zone" sign - fun!

Soon after entering the Alpine Zone, the Caps Ridge Trail comes to its first viewpoint. A truly excellent view - on the left we could see the caps with a clouded Mt. Jefferson behind, to the middle was Mt. Clay with Mt. Washington's highest antenna poking above the right shoulder, followed by Mts. Monroe, Eisenhower, and Jackson. There were clouds in Crawford Notch, and then we could see Willey, a clouded Field, and Mt. Tom. Behind us was the Dartmouth Range (that I know nothing about) with Mt. Martha and Owl's Head behind. To the right of them was a sea of undercast followed by the Pilot and Pliny Ranges. At our feet were cool glacial potholes, too. The sky was now bright enough were we didn't need headlamps to see, and to say we were awestricken would be an understatement. There was the slightest pink hue to the horizon at this point, 5:30am. 

After truly soaking in the view (and sending out a few early morning "WOOO"s, we dipped back into the woods, soon coming up on the junction with The Link trail (which someone creatively turned the "L" into a "D" - I've read that trail is brutal). 

We continued our climb, which was slowly becoming more and more open with better and better views. Eventually, we came to the first bit of scrambling, which we believe is the first cap. Care had to be taken to make sure we had good hand and foot placement, but it was nothing too intense. As we climbed, the clouds on the higher peaks began to burn off, and the slight pink in the sky turned into a stronger pink with yellows and oranges, too. 

The scrambles were actually very fun, and the views made it all the better! Mt. Clay was the first in view to start catching sunlight, which illuminated the small details of its terrain in a beautiful orange. By this point, I felt like I had taken 1,000,000 photos, and I was not stopping anytime soon!

We continued up and over the first cap, which provided views of the next ones and a false summit of Mt. Jefferson. There were occasional yellow blazes and cairns that did help - they were sparse, but always there at times when they were needed. 

Continuing up, we now could see a great view of the "Castles" along another of Mt. Jefferson's ridges, and then sun was slowly beginning to peek over the Presidentails, illuminating just the tops of nearby mountains.

After a bit of scrambling, I started to get ahead of Sarah. Partly because I was hungry for more views, partly because I zoned out, and partly because she popped her foot off a few months ago and was still getting back into hiking. She did joke that she thought her first 4,000 footer back would be something small and easy like Mt. Osceola, but here she is in the northern Presis... whoops!

The sun continued to rise, revealing a really beautiful summit-cone-shadow behind us. Mts. Clay & Washington were thriving in this golden hour, and we just couldn't stop yapping about how beautiful this was! I even found a blueberry!

Somehow sooner rather than later, we finished the "Caps" section of the trail. We didn't notice any super clear caps besides the first and the last, but we knew we had finished that section because we hit the junction with The Cornice. 

The trail quality deteriorated after The Cornice junction, which is apparently normal for the northern Presis. It was basically a pile of loose rocks with cairns to guide you - kind of like a connect the dots. I continued full-steam ahead, getting some fun photos behind of Sarah looking absolutely tiny compared to these behemoth mountains.

Soon enough I hit the point where the sun was shining over the ridge and I was BLINDED. It was equally beautiful and irritating. The Presidential Range from Washington all the way to Pierce looked excellent, though.

Eventually, the trail mellowed out briefly at the false summit (I think the one that we could see from the Caps). The wind was blowing and the alpine grasses were almost shimmering. They have their early autumn brown coloring now, which I loved. This section reminded me slightly of the summit area on Mt. Mansfield.

The final push was a physical and mental challenge. A lot of loose rocks with the sun shining directly in my face. I basically would hike to a cairn, block the sun with my hand to find the next one, and then get there, and so on. 

Slowly but surely, I made my way to the final summit scramble and found the summit marker - a small steel bolt! I was a few minutes ahead of Sarah, which gave me plenty of time to roam around and take a million more photos. 7:40am - summited #37! 

The summit area was a little dreadful to hang out on - very small with MANY sharp rocks, but the overall summit plateau was super spacious. I was exceptionally blown away by how massive Mt. Adams looked (and just how many rocks there are up here!). Once Sarah caught up I headed back to the true summit to give her some "WOO"s and "THIS IS CRAZY"s, and then she fell. I swear my heart stopped! We're on top of the third tallest mountain in the Whites, and if she reinjured her ankle 20 feet from the summit I have no idea what we would do! Thankfully, she only smashed her knee up against a rock! She took a couple minutes to recouperate, but soon made up to the summit with me for a snack and a break!

We spent some more time gawking at the views and yapping about how beautiful and fun that climb was (minus the last bit). It was 53 degrees with wind at the summit - windchill was likely in the mid-low 40s. We could just make out a part of the Cog Railway and the Auto Road from this vantage point, and we saw the first cars headed up the mountain at 8:15am! It was also fun to look behind us to see the Wildcat-Carter-Moriah range. We spent a good amount of time yapping - trying to figure out which peaks we could see and which peaks were which, before finally getting a move on around 8:20am. 

After a short, steep descent off the top, I took a thousand more photos on the summit plateau area. I know that the answer is "the glaciers" - but I cannot begin to fathom how all of these rocks got here!

Now on the Mt. Jefferson Loop, we continued on a much easier descent to the BEAUTIFUL Monticello Lawn (creatively named - I'm grateful for the musical Hamilton, otherwise I would have never had made the connection!). The grasses swayed in the wind and filled in all the gaps between the piles of jagged rock, making for a really beautiful contrast. We even had some moments of hiking on dirt! Dirt never felt so good.

We continued along, first entering the Gulfside Trail at the Mt. Jefferson Loop's terminus, and then passing the terminus of The Cornice. We began to get views into the Sphinx side of the Great Gulf. We saw a few people ahead of us, the first humans we'd seen all day, and at this point in our hike, I was winning 2-0 in fart baseball! We also found a few more blueberries!

The views forward were majestic as the dramatic Great Gulf drew nearer, and the views behind made you wonder "how did we actually climb that thing?" I made the decision to skip Mt. Clay so we could have more time swimming in the Ammonoosuc after our hike, which turned out to be the perfect move! Eventually, we made it to Sphinx Col, where the Sphinx Trail begins in a really cool notch in large rocks. There is also supposedly a rock formation known as The Sphinx "near a high meadow a short distance down tot he E from Sphinx Col," according to The 4,000 Footers of the White Mountains: A Guide and History (Smith & Dickerman, 2023). We saw the wilderness boundary and decided we legally had to walk into the wilderness, high five, and walk out, so we did! the Col was more visually rugged, but trail footing was still pretty good.

From the col, the Gulfside Trail began to gradually ascend up the side of Mt. Clay. I waved to the Mt. Clay Loop junction, hoping to return another day (as I'm writing this a few days later, I do plan to go back tomorrow, stay tuned to see if all goes to plan!). 

This part of the Gulfside Trail alternated lovely dirt with the sharpest rocks known to mankind. We could see many more people than before, but it was nowhere near crowded (and as I'm reflecting and writing this, I probably only realized the people because we're above treeline, there's probably always this many if not more people around). We had an exceptionally neat view of the Caps and the summit of Mt. Jefferson (plus the viewpoint from EARLY in the morning with the glacial potholes!).

The summit clouds had burnt off along with most of the undercast, but there were still some clouds traveling at a lower elevation than where we were walking, which was super cool. They were slowly flowing over the small mountain peaks and ridges - including the Caps!

We heard a strange sound - it started like a Loon but continued on like a tornado siren - and then we realized it was the first cog trains of the day heading up! The lead train was expelling both black and white smoke, while the two trains below had no visible emissions. We could hear the trains loud and clear, which was a unique experience in the backcountry. 

After a bit more slow walking we finally made it to the Jewell junction. The sun was shining bright at this point in the hike, people were out and about, and it was time for another snack! We enjoyed watching the cog.

The upper stretch of the Jewell Trail was very rocky and painful on the feet. Sarah was hurting at this point in the hike, so we were taking it super slow. She reassured me that I could go ahead if I wanted to, and I reassured her that if I wanted to I would! A cloud rolled over the ridge we were on but rolled right off, too. It was fun to see the trail cooridor down below.

Slowly, the trees began to grow taller again. Sarah had to pee in a little hobbit hole, which was super funny too. All I could see were the tops of the scrubby trees shaking as she fought to balance! Thankfully, her doctor told her that doing intense exercise like this cannot reinjure her ankle, but it will hurt like a b**** as it gets strong again. We continued on until we were back in the protection of the trees (now moderately sunburnt). 

Here, our quality of life began to improve again. The grade eased, the sun was behind trees, and the footing improved immensely. Life was good! We had some quiet "void time" during the upper stretches, and when we were less than two miles from the car we passed a couple of French Canadians who were dressed in sweats actively fighting for the lives saying "I thought this was the easy way to go!" A guy who passed us soon after said "they're in for a LONG day."

We could hear the cog on-and-off for most of this stretch, passed and crossed paths with a few other groups, and hiked through some neat blowdown patches. A red squirrel ran across the trail as someone passed us. She said "man, I hope these squirrels know how good they have it in these mountains. If I came back as an animal, I'd come back as a squirrel here." Sarah was then cat-called by a red squirrel for the first time! She had no idea that insane rattling and squeaking was a squirrel, but now she's officially in the club!

Sarah's ankle was really hurting near the end, so we decided she'd take the Jewell Connector to the Cog Railway Base Station, and I'd finish the rest of the Jewell Trail and scoop her up in the car. We crossed Clay Brook on a bridge (lovely), ascended briefly, and said our momentary goodbyes. Sarah made her way to the base station, and I picked up the pace through truly beautiful woods so she hopefully wouldn't be waiting for too long. This marked the end of our fart baseball game - Sarah attempted a comeback but still lost 5-2.

The trail descended for a bit and then got so muddy. So so muddy. Mostly avoidable, though! Before I knew it I was crossing the Ammonoosuc River and leaving the woods at the trailhead, saw some familiar people from the trail, used the vault toilets (thank goodness I think I peed for 3 whole minutes), and picked up Sarah! She said timing was perfect, she was only waiting for a couple minutes after sitting down! We drove up to Jefferson Notch Road to get her car from the trailhead, and then drove down Base Station Road for a bit to a pull-off at a the river! 

Sarah told me people like to cliff-jump here which I am fully uninterested in - I've learned too much about currents and waterfalsl and I would not be tempting fate! We scrambled down to a pebbly area which was a perfect swimming hole. Sarah got right in and I am not much a swimmer, but I desperately wanted to feel clean. I waded in up to my waist, stood for a moment, and then dunked. The water was equally shocking and refreshing, but I think my body went into shock! I cleaned off and went back to my car to dry off, put on clean clothes, and then I brought down my beach chair to relax for a little bit. Funny enough, this was one of the first places I ever visited when I started coming to the White Mountains. Emma moved to Vermont in 2019 and I can't remember when specifically, but one time I was driving up and took a little driving tour of the region, which included a stop here. Funny how life works!

We had a solid half hour here just enjoying the water, but unfortunately, it became time for us to make the LONG drive to go teach marching band. We had dinner at Hooksett, and made it through rehearsal - all the way to 8:30pm! To say I slept like a rock would be LIE. I had my first day in the morning! Nothing like hiking to mess up the sleep schedule!

Step-By-Step

- Start hike on Caps Ridge Trail.

- Follow Caps Ridge Trail over the summit of Mt. Jefferson to terminus.

- At terminus, turn right onto Mt. Jefferson Loop.

- At terminus, continue straight onto Gulfside Trail.

- At third jct., turn right onto Jewell Trail.

- Follow Jewell Trail to second car at Ammonoosuc Trailhead.

"Caps Ridge Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

AMC Yellow-blazed Caps Ridge Trail makes a direct ascent of Mt. Jefferson from the height-of-land (3,008 ft.) on the road through Jefferson Notch, the pass between Mt. Jefferson and the Dartmouth Range. (This road is closed in winter.) This is the highest trailhead on a public through-road in the White Mountains, making it possible to ascend Mt. Jefferson with much less elevation gain than on any other trail to a Presidential peak over 5,000 ft., except for a few trails that begin high on Mt. Washington Auto Rd. Caps Ridge Trail is steep and rough, however, with numerous ledges that require rock scrambling and are slippery when wet, and the upper part is very exposed to weather. Therefore, the route is more strenuous than might be anticipated from the relatively small distance and elevation gain. (Note: It is not easier to ascend Mt. Washington via Caps Ridge Trail than via Jewell Trail because of the descent from Monticello Lawn to Sphinx Col mostly cancels out the advantage of the higher start.

        The south end of Jefferson Notch Rd. is located directly opposite Mt. Clinton Rd. at a crossroads on Cog Railway Base Rd. (the road that runs from US 302 to the Cog Railway). The north end is on Valley Rd. in Jefferson (which runs between US 2 and NH 115; the jct. is 1.3 mi. west of US 2 and 2.9 mi. east of NH 115). The high point in the notch is 5.2 mi. from Valley Rd. on the north and 3.2 mi. from Cog Railway Base Rd. on the south. Jefferson Notch Rd. is a good gravel road, open in summer and early fall and closed in winter, but because of the high elevation it reaches, snow and mud don’t disappear until late spring, and ice returns early. Drive with care, as the road is winding and narrow in places, and watch out for logging trucks.

        Caps Ridge Trail leaves the parking area and crosses a wet section on log bridges. It ascends moderately, with one steeper section, up the lower part of the ridge, passing through several blowdown patches. At 1.0 mi., an outcropping of granite on the right provides fine views out to the southwest and up to the summit of Mt. Jefferson and the Caps Ridge ahead. Several potholes in this outcropping were formed by glacial meltwater.

        About 100 yd. beyond the outcropping, the Link enters from the left, providing a nearly level but very rough path that runs 1.6 mi. to Castle Trail just below the Castles, making possible a very scenic, although strenuous loop over the Caps and the Castles. Caps Ridge Trail follows the narrow crest of the ridge, becoming steeper and rougher as it climbs up into scrub. Views become increasingly frequent. At 1.5 mi., the trail reaches the lower Cap after a steep scramble up ledges and runs entirely in the open from here. It skirts to the right of the high point of the first Cap, passes through a slight gap, and scrambles up very steep ledges to the second Cap. The trail winds up the ridge with somewhat less difficult scrambling to the highest Cap at 1.9 mi., descends slightly off its upper end, and then continues to climb steeply as the ridge blends into the summit mass. At 2.1 mi., the Cornice enters left, providing a very rough route to Castle Trail and Edmands Col, and then diverges right in 20 yd., providing a relatively easy shortcut to Gulfside Trail at Monticello Lawl and points to the south. Caps Ridge Trail continues climbing steadily northeasts and then east over the rocks, keeping a little south of the ridge crest, to the summit of Mt. Jefferson (the high point is reached by a short scramble to the left). It then descends east 40 yd. To the base of the little conical summit crag, where Caps Ridge Trail meets Mt. Jefferson Loop just above the latter trail’s jct. with Castle Trail near a large cairn.

        Descending from the summit crag, Caps Ridge Trail leads slightly south of west.

"Mt. Jefferson Loop" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

AMC This trail provides access to the summit of Mt. Jefferson from Gulfside Trail. It diverges right (southwest) from Gulfside Trail 0.2 mi. south of Edmands Col and climbs steeply up the slope. Just below the summit, Six Husbands Trail enters on the left, and in 125 yd. CastleTrail enters on the right; in a few more yd. the jct. with Caps Ridge Trail is reached at the base of the summit crag, near a large cairn. The true summit is 40 yd. right (west) on Caps Ridge Trail; a short scramble up to the right reaches the high point. Mt. Jefferson Loop then turns left and descends moderately to the south, with reasonably good footing, to rejoin Gulfside Trail on Monticello Lawn.

        Descending from the trail jct. near the summit crag, northbound Mt. Jefferson Loop leads northeast, and southbound Mt. Jefferson Loop leads south.

"Gulfside Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

[...], the trail crosses Monticello Lawl, a comparatively smooth, grassy plateau. Here, at 3.1 mi., Mt. Jefferson Loop rejoins Gulfside Trail about 0.3 mi. from the summit. A short distance beyond the edge of the lawn, the Cornice enters right from Caps Ridge Trail. Gulfside Trail descends to the south, and from one point, the rock formation known as the Phyinx can be seen down the slope to the left. A few yd. north of the low point in Sphinx Col, Sphinx Trail branches left (east) into the great Gulf through a grassy passage between ledges. Sphinx Col is 3.7 mi. from Madison Spring Hut, with 2.3 mi. remaining to the summit of Mt. Washington. In bad weather, a fairly quick descent to sheltering scrub can be made via Sphinx Trail, although once treeline is reached, this trail becomes rather steep and difficult.

        From Sphinx Col, Gulfside Trail leads toward Mt. Washington. In 220 yd., Mt. Clay Loop diverges to the left to climb over the summits of Mt. Clay, offering impressive views into the Great Gulf. Mt. Clay Loop adds about 300 ft. of climbing and 10 min. of time; the distance is about the same. Gulfside Trail is slightly easier and passes close to a spring but misses the best views. It bears right from the jct. with Mt. Clay Loop, runs south, and climbs moderately, angling up the west side of Mt. Clay. About 0.3 mi. above Sphinx Col, a loop leads to a potential water for a few steps down to the right. The side path continues about 30 yd. farther to Greenough Spring (more reliable) and then rejoins Gulfside Trail about 100 yd. above its exit point. Gulfside Trail continues its moderate ascent, and Jewell Trail from Cog railway Base Rd. enters from the right at 4.6 mi. [...].

"Jewell Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

WMNF This blue-blazed trail begins at a parking area (Recreation Pass required; restrooms; plowed in winter) on Cog Railway Base Rd., 1.1 mi. east of its jct. with Jefferson Notch Rd. and Mt. Clinton Rd. (Cog Railway Base Rd. is the road that leads from US 302 to the Cog Railway Base Station at Marshfield.) Jewell Trail ascends the unnamed ridge that leads west from Mt. Clay and ends at Gulfside Trail, high on the west slope of Mt. Clay, 0.3 mi. north of the Clay-Washington col and 1.4 mi. north of the summit of Mt. Washington. The grade is constant but seldom steep, there are no rock scrambles, and the footing is generally good below treeline and only moderately rough and rocky in the last section below Gulfside Trail. In combination with Gulfside Trail and Trinity Heights Connector, Jewell Trail provides the easiest route to Mt. Washington from the west, featuring a great length of ridge walking above treeline with fine views, but this section is also greatly exposed to the weather and offers no shelter between the summit and treeline. In bad weather, or if afternoon thunderstorms threaten, it may be safer to descend from Mt. Washington via Lakes of the Clouds Hut and Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, despite the steep and slippery footing on the latter. When the weather cooperates, descent by Jewell Trail offers much easier footing and thus may be preferred. The trail is named for Sergeant Winfield S. Jewell, once an observer for the Army Signal Corps on Mt. Washington, who perished on the Greely expedition to the Arctic in 1884.

        Jewell Trail enters the woods directly across the road from the parking area, descends slightly to cross the Ammonoosuc River on a bridge at 0.1 mi. and then swings northeast and ascends at an easy grade. At 0.4 mi., Boundary Line Trail diverges left, and Jewell Trail ascends the crest of the low ridge between Ammonoosuc River and Clay Brook, joining the old route of the trail at 1.0 mi. Here, a link path from the Cog Railway joins on the right (sign: “Cog R.R.”). [...].

        From this jct. with the link, Jewell Trail descends slightly to Clay Brook, crosses it on a footbridge at 1.1 mi., and then climbs northeast by long switchbacks. At 2.0 mi., the trail passes through a blowdown patch at the edge of the steep wall of Burt Ravine, which offers limited views. It then swings somewhat to the north side of the ridge and climbs east, staying well below the ridge crest until near treeline. Reaching treeline at about 3.0 mi., the trail zigzags at a moderate grade with rough, rocky footing up the ridge crest, which quickly becomes less prominent and blends into the slope of Mt. Clay. At 3.5 mi., Jewell Trail swings to the right, going far away from what remains of the ridge, and angles up the slope at an easy grade to Gulfside Trail. To ascend Mt. Washington, follow Gulfside Trail to the right (south?

Photo Album