.September 2005
I made two mistakes with this hike. With only 1.9 new A.T. miles to hike, I didn't bring my camera. I actually have made this mistake a few times and now I always bring a camera. The second mistake was not writing about this hike until now. As a result, I am unsure of the actual day that I hiked it. Snoopy and I will summit Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington. I have already completed those summits so I don't get to cross off any 4,000 footers from my list. On the return trip, I will summit Mount Clay at 5533'. Clay however is not an official 4,000 footer because there is not enough of a drop between it and Mount Washington. I have heard stories of hikers getting to the top, taking out their list of NH's 4000 footers to cross it off, and then realize it is not on the list. Bummer.
Snoopy and I left from Jefferson notch. By about 9:30 we were on top of Jefferson. It was a great feeling on this crystal clear day. I was the first one up there. There wasn't a person around as far as I could see.
Snoopy and I headed down to where Six Husbands Trail met the Gulfside Trail(which is the A.T.) From there we headed south so I could complete my 1.9 new A.T. miles. After another hour or so I finally saw some people come from the other way. I presumed they took the auto road up to Washington and were hiking down. They stopped to pet Snoopy. I reached the Jewell trail which was where Lynn and I had hike to the year before so my new A.T. miles were complete. Snoopy and I made our way up to the summit of Washington. People at the top were impressed that Snoopy had climbed to the top. I was proud of him. I met two thru hikers who were leaving the summit and hiking the A.T. all the way around to Pinkham Notch. It was 1:00 in the afternoon. They have their work cut out for them to reach Pinkham Notch by dark.
After a good rest, we headed back down. The people I passed earlier were returning. One of them said, "Hey, it's the man with the dog again." Then one of them added, "We remember the dog, but we don't remember you." I wasn't offended and actually got a kick out of this. Dogs are usually big hits on the trail and usually no one pays much attention to the owners.
We summited Mount Clay on the way back. This was a very unique summit. For being in such a rugged area, the summit had a large flat spot in it. It looked as if a large section of it had been carved out.
Snoopy and I didn't go back up to Jefferson but took the Cornice Trail to cut off a couple miles. Snoopy was getting pretty tired by now so we took a nap on Monticello Lawn before completing the steep trail down Ridge of the Caps
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