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Showing posts from September, 2024

Mt. Jefferson

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Where: Mt. Jefferson (5712') When: 9/24/2024 With: Solo The weather and my schedule lined up, so I headed to New Hampshire for the second Tuesday in a row. My destination this time was Mt. Jefferson, the next 4000 footer north of Mt. Washington in the Presidential Range. I'd thought I might get it last year  when I climbed Mt. Monroe , but I also climbed Mt. Washington on that trip and had nothing left in the tank for Jefferson. It's a unique 4000 footer. The most popular route, the Caps Ridge trail, begins high on the mountain and it's just a 2767' climb to the 5712' summit. It's also only 2.5 miles from the trail head to the top, but it's a tough 2.5 miles. I pulled into the lot off the unpaved Jefferson Notch Road after a three hour drive, joining two other vehicles already in the lot. A man got out of the pickup truck next to me and began packing up as well. Though the temperature was barely 50 degrees, I stowed my North Face sweater in my pack and w...

Mt. Cabot

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Where: Mt. Cabot, NH (4170') When: 9/17/2024 With: Solo My alarm was set for 5:00, but I was wide awake at 4:00, and when Jane got up around 4:30 I decided to call it a night. I pulled out of the driveway a few minutes after 5:00, and was at the trail three and a half hours later. This was the first long trip (432 miles round trip) for my new Subaru Crosstrek, and  I'd had to delay this hike by a month or so while I put 1000 break-in miles on it. It did just fine though. There were two other cars in the lot when I arrived: a pickup truck with MA plates and a sedan with Virginia plates. A woman was by the sedan, packing up, and she started up the trail before I had a chance to say "good morning". The temperature was in the mid-50s, so I removed the North Face sweater I'd been wearing and stowed it in my pack, and left my puffy Patagonia jacket in the car. I took a photo of the trail head sign for the timestamp and was on my way. I decided to try something new this ...