Outdoor Diversion: A Preview of Winter on Washington and Jefferson

Summits: Mount Washington (6,288'), Mount Jefferson (5,716')

Trail route: Up beside Cog Railway, Gulfside Trail, Jewel Trail

Trail conditions: Dry, frozen ground to start with snow and ice at higher elevations

Weather: Cold and sunny with lots of blue sky

Total miles: 10.7

Total time: 10:15

Over the past six weeks I have done several 52 With a View summits. This would be my first 4,000 foot hike since a Zealand and Bonds traverse solo hike in September. The weather forecast appeared favorable for a hike above treeline to a couple of Presidential summits with Jim, Jill, Amy and Robin. This would be my first hike this season carrying winter pack, winter layers and wearing winter boots.

We met at the Marshfield Station hiker parking lot and after depositing our ten dollars we were on our way before sunrise. We crossed the bridge and started our hike beside the cog railway. There were other hikers also on their way up and for a brief time we had a conga line going before we separated at Waumbek Station where we all took a short break.

Further up just before Jacob's Ladder we put on microspikes to help with the traction on increasing snow and ice. It was about this time that thin clouds moved across the high summits and this combined with the sun rising over Mount Washington created a cloudbow with several half rings of multiple colors, it was spectacular! This was a fleeting phenomenon and I was not fast enough to get a photo but others in our group did.

There was a stiff breeze blowing and this is when I discovered I had left my windbreaker at home. I did have my down jacket and put this on over a thin single layer. This worked well and most importantly did not make me sweat which was my biggest concern. The thin clouds had dissipated and there was full sunshine but there was a biting wind on the summit of Mount Washington. We found a spot behind a building out of the wind and it was quite comfortable.

While on the summit I added some toe warmers inside my boots as my toes were cold. I didn't think they would warm up anytime soon and we would be above treeline for several more hours. We then took a photo by the summit sign and continued our hike over to Mount Jefferson.

We were about to begin one of the biggest challenges/annoyances of the day. There was just enough snow to just barely cover or hide most of the rocks creating quite the obstacle course, it was really tough going in these conditions. We met many hikers along the way to Jefferson. Around the summit cone there were lots of hikers basking in the sunshine.

After some summit pics we moved down below and ate lunch. It was definitely a day for lingering and basking but not for long since we had more hiking to do. We retraced our steps to the Jewel Trail and it was downhill from here. I hesitate to say all downhill because there is a short uphill section near the bottom.

Our final obstacle was the water crossing at Marshfield Station. The water was running high and fast. There was no safe way to cross without getting very wet. We bushwhacked up to the bridge that we initially crossed early this morning and arrived back at our vehicles with dry feet just as the sun was setting.

I need to do this same hike again next month. Hoping for similar weather conditions but would also like more snow to create a better path over the rocky terrain.

Today was an ideal day for hiking some Presidential summits, even better with great company!

Enjoy the photos!