BIGEarl
Well-known member
April 20, 2013: Jackson
Trails: Webster Jackson Trail (Jackson Branch)
Summits: Jackson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
This day was planned to be a Double Hit & Run with Hale on the front end and Jackson for the afternoon. On the drive through Franconia Notch I noticed the level of the stream at The Basin was way up from the previous weekend. I commented to Sue as we passed but never connected it with the conditions on North Twin Trail. We started for Hale from the end of Little River Road intending to hike it via the Fire Warden’s Trail. Little River was way up but still there was no alarm going off in my head. A short distance before the start of the Fire Warden’s Trail we came to a roaring stream that had no good option to cross and have dry feet on the other side. We could have bushwhacked upstream to find a crossing, (and we did for a short distance) but the lost time would probably mean only one mountain for the day. We decided to u-turn, head back to the truck, and hike Jackson. We were pretty sure there would be no obstacles to completing that hike.
We started heading to Jackson early afternoon. The day was sunny and warm and the snow condition on the trail was a little unstable. With the soft snow we needed to stay on the center of the tracked route or go deep with postholing. We both paid attention to foot placement and had no postholing problem. Initially, we were bare booting the hike. Even though there was snow and ice on the trail we were able to find adequate places to step for solid footing as we climbed. When we came to the first ice-covered steep pitch below Bugle Cliff spur we decided it was time for the MICROSpikes. We went with light traction and stayed with it for the remainder of the hike.
Once the traction was taken care of it was a simple matter of staying on the main tread way to avoid trail damage to postholing. We reached the Jackson Branch/Webster Branch trail split, went left and started for the summit. Roughly a third of the way from the split to the summit we came to a place where there was sun, little wind, and lots of soft snow. Yeah, Snowman Time! Sue dropped her pack and went to work. In no time one of Sue’s friends was standing on the side of the trail with a big smile.
Back to the climb we continued up. A short distance further we came to a very large blowdown that appeared to be very recent. There was only one set of tracks passing around it. The tree came down on the trail and it’s necessary to bypass off-trail in order to pass. We cleared this obstacle and continued our climb. From the blowdown to the summit there was no other problem.
We reached the ridge below the summit, got our first view to the top, and started the final test on our way to Jackson. The trail gets very steep on the final approach. It’s loaded with ice and loose snow on top with very poor footing. Poor traction is a challenge. The MICROSpikes did the job for us. Carefully we made our way up through this section and were soon on the open ledge of the summit area. We still had a couple small sections of ice to get past but the most difficult part of the climb was behind us.
We hit the summit with cool conditions and a pretty good breeze. After feeding the gray jays and getting the usual summit pictures we had a choice; layer up or leave. The cold conditions had made both of us a little uncomfortable. We decided to make the u-turn and head back down.
Leaving Jackson was as interesting as arriving, at least for the steep section near the summit. Carefully we both worked our way down through the icy ledge and managed to get past and stay upright through it all. The rest of the hike back to the trailhead had no surprises. In roughly an hour and a half we were back to the truck and packing for the drive home.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Webster Jackson Trail (Jackson Branch)
Summits: Jackson
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
This day was planned to be a Double Hit & Run with Hale on the front end and Jackson for the afternoon. On the drive through Franconia Notch I noticed the level of the stream at The Basin was way up from the previous weekend. I commented to Sue as we passed but never connected it with the conditions on North Twin Trail. We started for Hale from the end of Little River Road intending to hike it via the Fire Warden’s Trail. Little River was way up but still there was no alarm going off in my head. A short distance before the start of the Fire Warden’s Trail we came to a roaring stream that had no good option to cross and have dry feet on the other side. We could have bushwhacked upstream to find a crossing, (and we did for a short distance) but the lost time would probably mean only one mountain for the day. We decided to u-turn, head back to the truck, and hike Jackson. We were pretty sure there would be no obstacles to completing that hike.
We started heading to Jackson early afternoon. The day was sunny and warm and the snow condition on the trail was a little unstable. With the soft snow we needed to stay on the center of the tracked route or go deep with postholing. We both paid attention to foot placement and had no postholing problem. Initially, we were bare booting the hike. Even though there was snow and ice on the trail we were able to find adequate places to step for solid footing as we climbed. When we came to the first ice-covered steep pitch below Bugle Cliff spur we decided it was time for the MICROSpikes. We went with light traction and stayed with it for the remainder of the hike.
Once the traction was taken care of it was a simple matter of staying on the main tread way to avoid trail damage to postholing. We reached the Jackson Branch/Webster Branch trail split, went left and started for the summit. Roughly a third of the way from the split to the summit we came to a place where there was sun, little wind, and lots of soft snow. Yeah, Snowman Time! Sue dropped her pack and went to work. In no time one of Sue’s friends was standing on the side of the trail with a big smile.
Back to the climb we continued up. A short distance further we came to a very large blowdown that appeared to be very recent. There was only one set of tracks passing around it. The tree came down on the trail and it’s necessary to bypass off-trail in order to pass. We cleared this obstacle and continued our climb. From the blowdown to the summit there was no other problem.
We reached the ridge below the summit, got our first view to the top, and started the final test on our way to Jackson. The trail gets very steep on the final approach. It’s loaded with ice and loose snow on top with very poor footing. Poor traction is a challenge. The MICROSpikes did the job for us. Carefully we made our way up through this section and were soon on the open ledge of the summit area. We still had a couple small sections of ice to get past but the most difficult part of the climb was behind us.
We hit the summit with cool conditions and a pretty good breeze. After feeding the gray jays and getting the usual summit pictures we had a choice; layer up or leave. The cold conditions had made both of us a little uncomfortable. We decided to make the u-turn and head back down.
Leaving Jackson was as interesting as arriving, at least for the steep section near the summit. Carefully we both worked our way down through the icy ledge and managed to get past and stay upright through it all. The rest of the hike back to the trailhead had no surprises. In roughly an hour and a half we were back to the truck and packing for the drive home.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Last edited:
