We took a purposely late start because the weather forecast warned of morning fog on the summits. Weather.com was also calling for 30% chance of PM rain in Gorham, so we were trying to balance between the two. We missed the "sweet spot" by probably half-an-hour as the summit cleared behind us as we headed down, but it was a great day to hike and what an experience!
So, we left the parking lot on Jefferson Notch Road around 10AM. The temperature was 53 degrees F, and it looked like a nice hiking day IF the fog would lift off the summits.
After an easy mile, we arrived at the first view. The huge rock to sit on was cool, and the glacial potholes were full of water from the weekend's rains.
The views looking out and down were great, but the views up quickly disappeared into the clouds. We were quite certain, though, that the trail went over the rocky "caps" that you see in the second picture below. We continued to hope for clearing as we walked.
Almost as soon as we arrived at this viewpoint, we had beggars with us - Gray Jays. They are always a welcome sight!
After visiting with the Gray Jays, we started up the next mile - over the "caps". We passed the intersection with the Link, then had an easy walk through the thinning forest.
What is this gunk on the trees? It seemed to be on a lot of the small cherry trees. Some kind of fungus? Looks like poop on a stick.
Next, it was time to CLIMB. Cap #1, Cap #2... the uphill really wasn't that bad.
By the time we reached the intersection with Cornice Trail (0.4 miles from the summit), we were in full clouds. The winds started to pick up. We put on hats and gloves for the final section. The winds at the top were 30-35mph and visibility was very low. We found what we thought was the summit and took quick pictures of each other. See the steel pin where the brass plate should be. YEAH! Now we've been on top of all NH48 peaks!!
We headed over the top and down into a small col. Here we found a huge intersection of trails and a large cairn. We spoke with several other hiking groups that were around. A lone hiker who was making his 4th ascent of Mt Jefferson confirmed for us that we had found the real summit in the fog up there.
As we started back down, the wind was blowing us around hard enough that we couldn't always guarantee that our feet were going to land where we wanted them to. On these rocks, that is a really bad thing.
We met a couple that were just on their way up. They told us that within 10-15 minutes, we were going to feel like we'd entered another world. Sunny, warm, with little wind. We couldn't believe how right they were. We got down below the clouds and WOW!! We could see many miles. The hike down was hard on the knees, but very interesting due to the clearing. Whew - some of the edges are steep here! We hadn't been able to see how far we would fall when we were climbing up. We found the downward climb to be slower and more taxing on our bodies than the uphill had been.
Tim is now enthralled with the "Castles" that he could see across on the next ridge. We'll probably be doing that trail soon too.
Pictures of Mt Monroe and Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Soon, we were back in the trees. This thrush sat still for Tim for quite a few seconds.
Back at the original viewpoint, you wouldn't even know it's the same place! What a day!! No sign of the Gray Jays... they must still be full of Tim's Clif Bar from earlier.
We made speedy work of the last mile to the car. 48!!!
