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| Ascending the Castles towards Mt. Jefferson |
If one mountain could be considered a nemesis, it would be Mount Jefferson. My brother saw at least three different attempts thwarted over the years. Then, in 2013, gale force winds, freezing fog and day-long precipiation made a summit ascent impossible during our joint
Presidential traverse. We finally knocked the third highest peak off our list in 2014 using the express ascent route - the
Caps Ridge Trail.
Considering the tally of so many failed attempts, one visit to Mount Jefferson just didn't seem like enough. One summit fail. One summit success. It was time to take the lead.
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| Long way to go, View of Mt. Jefferson and the Castles from Bowman's |
The best way to do Mount Jefferson isn't the Caps Ridge. It is the Castle. This picturesque trail with sweeping, panoramic views follows the craggy, castellated ridge rising towards the summit from the northwest. It's not easy. One White Mountain hiking blogger rates its difficulty as "Bring the Alieve." Lots of folks suggest doing the Castle Trail as an up and back, but I'd say that turning it into a loop with the Israel Ridge Path makes for one of the best hikes in all the Whites.
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| Rock hopping is par for the course on Castle |
I hit the trail at 5:55 AM. The previous day was a total rainout, so the Israel River crossing at the start of the Castle Trail was a tad tricky. The place to cross is immediately when the trail hits the river, not the actual signed crossing point upstream. The trail is a long, plodding slog up seemingly-endless rocky steps, then a brief respite of level terrain before leaving treeline and crossing the Castles - a series of vertical rock pillars that form the ridgeline.
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| View of the way up from the way down, the Castellated Ridge from Israel Ridge |
The 360-degree views were remarkable on a windless, near-cloudless day in early June. The final stretch of the trail is the familiar half-mile of rock-hopping over the huge boulders that form Jefferson's summit. Once there, I hung out for nearly an hour. No one came.
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| Summit Selfie with U.F.O. or whatever that is |
For the descent, I hopped down to the Gulfside Trail and had to navigate over a somehwat scary snowbank in Edmand's Col that covered the trail and angled downward into the ravine. My route down, the Israel Ridge Trail, is a great contrast to the Castle. It's a steep but attractive trail featuring tree canopy, moss and lichen formations, a series of amazing water cascades, and the sound of the river most of the way. Izzy Ridge ends with a double crossing of the Israel River and then reconnects with the Castle Trail to the finish line. I was back at the Bowman's lot at 1:00 PM.
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| The Cascades, Israel Ridge Path |
All in all, it was a day of perfect trails and perfect weather. And, since the only humans who I saw all day were some horizon silhouettes on Gulfside and a pair of RMC trailbuilders on Israel, perfect solitude.
Peak: Mount Jefferson
Elevation: 5,716 feet (Gain: 4,200 feet)
Distance: 10 miles
Route: Loop, Castle Trail, Loop Trail, Gulfside Trail, Israel Ridge Path
Conditions: Sunny and calm
