We made great time getting to our trail head at about 8am. The for goal today is to summit Mt Jefferson via the Caps Ridge Trail (5.4mi rt) . The trail head is off the unmaintained road called the Jefferson notch road which actually allows one to drive up to an elevation nearly 3ooo feet or so. I believe this to be the the highest public road elevation you can drive by car in the White Mountains (excluding the Mt Washington Auto Road) . This trail also affords the fastest route above tree line in all of the White Mountains. The trail starts cresting the trees at a little over a mile in.

My hiking party consists of my two daughters Alex and Christy and I. This would be there first real hike of any length and first one up above tree line. So we started up the trail and quickly reached the outlook that afforded a view of the days objective. The caps are basically three large rock outcroppings that you need to cross on a ridge. They can be seen in the distance in the 2nd photo with Alex. The 3rd photo is closer view of the obstacle(s), if you look close you can see the people working the trail section. This trail should not be considered in wet weather since footing on the rocks would be troublesome.

The girls and I made great time up to the first cap then things got a bit tougher. The caps require some scrambling on the rocks and footing needs to be looked for in some cases but with patience it’s all quite manageable. I used hiking poles during this hike and recommend them for any hiking trek simply to take pressure off the knees. The poles also and afford some stability when needed. I wouldn’t recommend the the caps ridge trail for initiating someone to hiking but it certainly isn’t critically difficult either.
After crossing the caps the trail turns into a rock walk. For the most part the ground is all larger rocks like a big boulder pile, easy walking but with a steady accent. The girls were tired and like all hikes when you can see the summit it never seems to get there soon enough. So we decided it would be best to have lunch early instead waiting until the summit. This actually worked out since we had a nice view all to ourselves as the summits can often be busy.
We pushed on and arrived at the top were the views were outstanding and I could tell the girls were proud they had accomplished it. I was proud for them too since there were a couple times I thought they might impose mutiny and demand we reverse our course. They also didn’t appreciate the tablets I placed in the water bladders for the day even though they provide electrolytes and a light lemon lime flavor.

We enjoyed the summit for an hour or so watching the cog ascend it’s track in the distance on Mt Washington and then meandered over to the Summit marker for photos. We then marched off toward Monticello’s lawn, a grassy area on the hip of Mt Jefferson. At this point we started back down the Caps Ridge Trail back to the parking area.

The hike down was tricky, again not super hard just requiring some navigation and footing decisions. Things seem higher going down crossing over the Caps. Some of the areas proved a bit challenging, but taking our time everything was just fine.

The day overall made for a fabulous hike and although a lot of work was so fun and enjoyable. Of course anytime I can spend an entire day with two of my daughters and it doesn’t involve shopping it’s a good thing. They both claimed upon completion that they will go again so it’s safe to assume there are a couple more people initiated into the world of hikerdome.

A note the caps ridge trail should only be tackled in decent weather since once above tree line it is hard to make time over the caps to any shelter. In bad weather the rocks would very difficult and slippery.

The girls had a great day of it and i enjoyed spending the time with them. I don’t get the opportunity to monopolize a day of there time very often, so there company alone made my day.

You can see all the photos from this trip by clicking on this Link to Photos.