Mount Jefferson 7-7-19
Mount Jefferson 5712’
5 miles 2700’ Elevation Gain
Eric, Nellie, Unadogger, Pemi, Gem, Michael, Kevin, Judy and Wicket
We had been planning to do this hike with Una & Michael for quite some time so that Little Gem could finally finish her 48 on Mount Jefferson. Some health issues had kept her off trail for awhile, but she was obviously feeling better as we started out.
The weather on Saturday was super hot and humid, not to mention unstable, so we decided to wait for Sunday, and it was definitely the right choice. We met at the highpoint on Jefferson Notch Road and started out along the Caps Ridge Trail under cloudless skies with perfect temps.
We hadn't seen Eric in quite some time and in that span his beautiful old girl Maddie had passed away. We were sad at the thought of her passing, but delighted to see that now he has a new rescue, Nellie.
Nellie is super sweet, and was readily accepted into the pack by both humans and dogs. An experiment with her as we started out was to see how far ahead she would go, and if she would return on call.
She failed the test and wound up on leash. The excitement of the trail was just too new, she'll get it soon, and will no doubt become a good off-leash trail-mate before too long. Eric didn't think she'd become an a 48'R, but now she has one-only 47 to go!
I love this trail. We quickly find ourselves popping up above the trees on a huge outcrop that has glacial potholes worn into its otherwise smooth surface. These were filled with rain water and the dogs slurped them up, and Gem laid down in one to cool off.
From this rock you get a 360* view. You can see back to Brettonwoods, and over to Marshfield Station where the Cog begins its ascent of Mount Washington. You can hear the steam whistle and feel the history as you stand soaking it all in.
Looking above the valley you see the wall of the Southern Presidentials marching away too the southwest. Beside Monroe you can see the Lakes of the Clouds AMC Hut which appears the size of an ant as it is dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.
Beyond to the west you look across the Pemigewasset Wilderness and its various peaks to the spine of Franconia Ridge and the mass of Moosilauke over 50 miles distant. Beyond those still is Vermont's Green Spine with its prominent peaks of Camel's Hump and Mansfield.
To the northwest we can see the peaks of the Pliny & Crescent Range, and to the north the great Castlellated Ridge. We are almost level with "The Castles" as our eyes follow it up toward the mass of Jefferson in front of us. OK! Up we go!
The dogs are as exhilarated as we all are. The going gets tough now, with lots of tricky rock scrambling, but each picks their own way, and everyone scrambles over the massive boulders and ledges that make up the three prominent "Caps".
From each of these we have the same stunning views we had at the potholes, and better! The buildings and towers on Washington were visible, and we wondered at how crazily busy the "City in the Clouds" must have been on such a perfect day.
Meanwhile we continued to pick our way over the boulders towards the summit. If you have never been above treeline in the Whites one way to describe it would be imagine yourself as an ant trying to reach the top of a tall pile of gravel.
So, like ants on gravel, we clamored our way to the top of the pile. Dozens of other ants clamored about. We found some gravel to sit down on near the summit and fed the dogs and humans a celebratory meal in recognition of Gem's achievement.
Lots of dogs have achieved this accomplishment over the years, including Pemi & Terra, Gem's big sisters, but few are the dogs that succeed in this feat that come in weighing under 25lbs.
At 18lbs Gem may be one of the smallest and lightest, and almost certainly the first Cavalier King Charles to do so. If we are ants crawling over a gravel pile then the people are the giant carpenter ants and Gem is one of those tiny, tiny ants that scurry around going about their business.
A big congratulations to Gem, such a big accomplishment for a little girl! I know this because I've lived it before, and now I have had the pleasure of living it again from a different perspective.
This was Wicket's 38th mountain on her list, just 10 to go and we can celebrate once again! Yay for mountain dogs Gem, Wicket, Pemi and Nellie!
Read More5 miles 2700’ Elevation Gain
Eric, Nellie, Unadogger, Pemi, Gem, Michael, Kevin, Judy and Wicket
We had been planning to do this hike with Una & Michael for quite some time so that Little Gem could finally finish her 48 on Mount Jefferson. Some health issues had kept her off trail for awhile, but she was obviously feeling better as we started out.
The weather on Saturday was super hot and humid, not to mention unstable, so we decided to wait for Sunday, and it was definitely the right choice. We met at the highpoint on Jefferson Notch Road and started out along the Caps Ridge Trail under cloudless skies with perfect temps.
We hadn't seen Eric in quite some time and in that span his beautiful old girl Maddie had passed away. We were sad at the thought of her passing, but delighted to see that now he has a new rescue, Nellie.
Nellie is super sweet, and was readily accepted into the pack by both humans and dogs. An experiment with her as we started out was to see how far ahead she would go, and if she would return on call.
She failed the test and wound up on leash. The excitement of the trail was just too new, she'll get it soon, and will no doubt become a good off-leash trail-mate before too long. Eric didn't think she'd become an a 48'R, but now she has one-only 47 to go!
I love this trail. We quickly find ourselves popping up above the trees on a huge outcrop that has glacial potholes worn into its otherwise smooth surface. These were filled with rain water and the dogs slurped them up, and Gem laid down in one to cool off.
From this rock you get a 360* view. You can see back to Brettonwoods, and over to Marshfield Station where the Cog begins its ascent of Mount Washington. You can hear the steam whistle and feel the history as you stand soaking it all in.
Looking above the valley you see the wall of the Southern Presidentials marching away too the southwest. Beside Monroe you can see the Lakes of the Clouds AMC Hut which appears the size of an ant as it is dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.
Beyond to the west you look across the Pemigewasset Wilderness and its various peaks to the spine of Franconia Ridge and the mass of Moosilauke over 50 miles distant. Beyond those still is Vermont's Green Spine with its prominent peaks of Camel's Hump and Mansfield.
To the northwest we can see the peaks of the Pliny & Crescent Range, and to the north the great Castlellated Ridge. We are almost level with "The Castles" as our eyes follow it up toward the mass of Jefferson in front of us. OK! Up we go!
The dogs are as exhilarated as we all are. The going gets tough now, with lots of tricky rock scrambling, but each picks their own way, and everyone scrambles over the massive boulders and ledges that make up the three prominent "Caps".
From each of these we have the same stunning views we had at the potholes, and better! The buildings and towers on Washington were visible, and we wondered at how crazily busy the "City in the Clouds" must have been on such a perfect day.
Meanwhile we continued to pick our way over the boulders towards the summit. If you have never been above treeline in the Whites one way to describe it would be imagine yourself as an ant trying to reach the top of a tall pile of gravel.
So, like ants on gravel, we clamored our way to the top of the pile. Dozens of other ants clamored about. We found some gravel to sit down on near the summit and fed the dogs and humans a celebratory meal in recognition of Gem's achievement.
Lots of dogs have achieved this accomplishment over the years, including Pemi & Terra, Gem's big sisters, but few are the dogs that succeed in this feat that come in weighing under 25lbs.
At 18lbs Gem may be one of the smallest and lightest, and almost certainly the first Cavalier King Charles to do so. If we are ants crawling over a gravel pile then the people are the giant carpenter ants and Gem is one of those tiny, tiny ants that scurry around going about their business.
A big congratulations to Gem, such a big accomplishment for a little girl! I know this because I've lived it before, and now I have had the pleasure of living it again from a different perspective.
This was Wicket's 38th mountain on her list, just 10 to go and we can celebrate once again! Yay for mountain dogs Gem, Wicket, Pemi and Nellie!
