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March 4, 2006 |
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Our 7:15 ‘meet at trailhead, hiking at 7:30’ is slightly behind schedule. But Lawn Sale (Mark) and the BobandGeri duo arrive at the cog parking area where Young Blood (Charles) is waiting, and we’re on our way a bit before 8. It’s a snowy morning – the big, soft, slow snow that makes you feel good about winter. However we are expecting our peaceful conditions to be radically different when we get above tree line where the winds are forecast to 50-60 mph. Our goal is to get to tree line, and make further plans based on conditions. Previous attempts at Jefferson were obviously not successful – we canned one trip in the parking lot (rain & wind), and the day we reached Washington the weather was deteriorate and we headed back down. Crossing over the cog tracks and the first walk bridge, we’re planning to put on snowshoes on the other side. Bob decides we can bare boot instead as the snow on the trail is not very deep. 15 more steps and the ice beneath the snow leads us back to putting on snowshoes. As we get away from the noisy generator (?) by the cog, it is truly peaceful. No wind here and the trees are covered in heavy snow --it’s beautiful. We’ve found winter again. The usual Charles and Bob antics keep Mark and I entertained. At one food stop, Charles manages to cause a fair amount of snow from the trees above to drop onto Bob. Later, either from guilt or ‘just because’, Charles dumps a major tree load of snow on himself. (See photos below) It’s still snowing as we near tree line, but occasional clearing in the trees and skies give us a few views of the cog tracks across the ravine. The transition between protected tree line and complete open terrain is pretty quick. We snack a bit and gear up with clothing. The wind is blowing, but not too much at this point. We still have a few glimpses across the ravine and behind us, but nothing of our destination above. The going gets tough as we experience rocks, snowdrifts, some ice and some areas of reasonable trail. With the amount of rocks, we decide to bare boot the rest of the way up to the Gulfside Trail. It’s slow going and getting windier. We dig out balaclavas, goggles and warmer clothing. We can see the cairns well enough, the trail is easy to follow and we find ourselves on the GS trail. A few minutes later Bob, Mark and I put on crampons but Charles holds out. Stopping for adjusting clothing and crampons of course gets you colder. Winds are heavier, vis is going down and we’re wondering about our sanity. We decide to hike 10 minutes and re-access again at that time. A few minutes and we’re starting to warm up and feel better about things. Charles bringing up the rear is stopped at a particular icy traverse section with his bare boots. I came back to him to offer a second pole and he crosses fine. We spy a somewhat larger cairn that will offer him a little protection while he gets his crampons on. We’re checking each other’s facemasks, goggles etc to be sure we’re protected as possible. The going is not too bad. We are hiking on mostly blown snow - some icy patches, not too many deep drifts. Luckily you see a number of signs along the way which helps you feel like you’re making progress – we quickly come across two signs for springs, one for the Clay pass. In two sections (excuse my vagueness of exact location) we are in larger rock areas that offer some more wind protection. We stay close together, ask each other frequently about comfort levels, and keep checking facemasks. Mark has large glasses that are freezing up (we only have 3 other goggles sitting at the cabin!) but the rest of us are doing ok and he insists he can see enough. The wind gusts occasionally give us a bit of a push. It is certainly windy, but we do not feel it is anywhere near the forecast levels. Hallelujah, we see the monster cairn just below the Jefferson summit. The wind has blown a clear spot behind it and we stop to grab a little more food. The snow behind this clear spot has been sculpted and looks like a sand dune with different levels. Bob is anxious to get to the summit, which is literally less than a hundred yards away, and we can actually see it. We head on up and enjoy a major break from the wind from this approach. It’s about 1:30 and we are here! Bob is snapping photos while we carefully position ourselves around the cairn. It is very windy at this point (@ 50mph) and now Charles’ goggles are starting to fog. We enjoy a few (very) brief moments and head back to the shelter of the larger cairn to celebrate with more food. Time to quickly pack up, check clothing and head out. Mark follows Bob’s red jacket and pack; Charles is following me and later tells me he focuses on the yellow of my Koflach boot heel and steps where I step. We slowly make our way back along the GS trail and are surprisingly heading up more than I remembered coming down. Enough that I ask to be sure we are not climbing Clay. The wind seems to be quieting. Mark measures it at one point showing about 23-24 mph. Our previous trail is obliterated by wind and snow, but the frequent large cairns are very easy to follow. As we near Jewell, we decide to drop lower and cut off a bit of the corner at the actual intersection. (we had done this on the way up). Back on with the snowshoes. We get back onto Jewell and continue to make our way down. We are spotting cairns, but the snow is much deeper and we’re hitting good drifts and spruce/brush traps. At one point, 2 cairns right next to each other – and we can’t spot the next one. We look a few directions keeping Mark at the cairn. We know that the trail enters tree line fairly close to the ravine area and feel in worse case we would keep ourselves from heading down anything too steep (i.e. the ravine) and get to tree line. Luckily we see a large formation in the distance, motion for the rest of the group of follow down. More snow traps and a few face plants. (bob gets credit for the most spectacular, and/or possibly the most vocal) We’re back on the trail and we spot the hunter-orange scarf we tied close to the tee line area. A few more minutes and we are back into the quiet protection of the trees. It’s complete bliss in here, very peaceful and beautiful. We find a good spot for some more food, hot choc and apple cider and feel pretty good about our accomplishment. The rest of the way down is quite pleasant, and we’re happy to finally see the cog station. It’s now about 5pm. What a day!! We’ve finally hit our #47 and the somewhat illusive Mt Jefferson. I asked Mark (on winter list #10) to remember this trip when he does #’s 20, 30 and 40. He’s promised he’ll remember this trip on EVERY winter hike. How can the day get better? On the way out, we call the cabin to check on dinner plans with the rest of our weekend visitors: Dave Metskey and Christine (Kea) have tele’d at Brettonwoods, Amy (Poison Ivy) was over at Madison. Well, we find out Christine (Ms. Extraordinaire cook) has dinner started for everyone--Whoo hoo! Charles and Melanie will join us and we have a wonderful evening sharing stories and photos of everyone’s adventures. |
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Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of Rte 3 and 302 in Twin Mountain, head south on Rte 302 a few miles to the Cog Base Road on your left. Follow the road 6 miles to the end and park in the Cog parking lot
Time to summit: @5 1/2 hours Time to descend: @3 1/2 hours |
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and our