Mt Jefferson 5716'

Mt Jefferson 5716 - Parked on Jefferson Notch rd
7.3 miles Caps Ridge; The Link: and The Castle Trail

President Jefferson would have been proud of his mountain, standing with Adams as almost Washington's entourage, like they'd have his back in a fight. Six of us brought the fight to Jefferson this past Saturday, and a fight we found.

The normal route up Caps ridge looked entirely too pedestrian for a full day, so when we walked .9 up the easy grades on that trail we took a left onto The Link. Although the Link is below treeline, the trail shrinks down to a herdpath and gets extremley technical in places. Not alot of elevation, but the trail sits on steep overhangs with small footspaces for a good mile, not forgiving and no place for heavy packs. After some steep elevation and a few real upper body moves we met up with the Castle trail, starting what would be a 5 mile stretch in the alpine zone.

The Castle trail is amazing. My photos do not do it justice, I rank this with Franconia Ridge for views and effort. The Northern slopes of both Jefferson & Lafayette are indeed similar, its just that Jefferson's N slope keeps going on & on! Complete boulder field instead of a trail at one point, had a few of us saying "choose your own adventure".

And an adventure it was, views that close (!) to Washington made everything worth the effort. Best weather you could ever hope for in the Presidentials, 50 degree temps and a warm breeze at the summit, didnt take the hoody or jacket out of the pack all day.
Amazing day and ready for another soon!

Pemi Quest 2013

N Twin 4761'; S Twin 4902'; W Bond 4540' Zealand Mtn 4260'
Parked cars on Haystack rd and Zealand rd - Slept near Mt Guyot 4500'ish

8 adventurers journeyed the deep wilderness this past weekend in search of meteor showers and high mountains, we found clear views of both. Perseid meteors and cliffs? Ok. Twist my arm.

Water crossings on the N Twin trail were perilous. The guide advises a bushwack on the East side of the Little River, allowing hikers to skip a few of the major crossings. We got lucky on the last crossing as two logs allowed us to walk across, almost fell to my doom! I bet this area could get serious when the water is higher, remember to avoid this trailhead in the future just too crazy.

N Twin herself was quite a cool little peak, doesn't let the southern mountain take all the vistas. Washington looked stunning on a clear day (finally) and you can a great look of Galehead Hut and the rest of the Pemi from a seperate outlook on the western side.

Repeated S Twin. I will come back here again and again and again. If I could live on this peak somehow in my hammock and sell water....

My previous time on the Twinway I was headed in the opposite direction and very fatigued from a journey originating on the Wilderness trail and Lincoln Woods. Rightfully this time I was smelling the roses, got to appreciate the alpine gardens up there and take my time doing it too.

West Bond is amazing and frustrating to say !Right off the trail! from the Guyot Campsite junction. Skipping it last year seems foolish now that I've been back, not that I'm complaining. Bondcliff looks great with a little sunset, and I know it won't be my last from this remote wonderland. People live there entire lives in New Hampshire and they'll never see this place or even know it exists!

Zealand Mountain has no views, just a pile of rocks and a cute sign. I would not recommend hiking in from the hut, that looked like hell on my descent, compared to an easy jaunt up from the twinway on a western approach...The hut was serving potato dill soup ($2) which was ok but the oatmeal cookies sucked. I told her they were great but I'm full of shit sometimes.

The falls and the easy hike out is really just a skip down memory lane at this point. I wont gush on and on about the Zealand rd area (because its my Rivendell), just know that our journey ended there and it was an epic journey at that.

30 Mountains! Full speed ahead next few weeks! I am healthy and leaves are starting to change!