marty
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Hi all,
I have been targeting a loop hike of Little Jackson and Jackson Mt. (Big Jackson) for some time. My torn up knee was feeling better, so I decided to give it a try.
For those unaware, the Jacksons are just east of Tumbledown Mountain in Weld, ME.
I parked at the Brook Trail, which has a connector trail to the Parker Ridge and Little Jackson Trails. I did this to try something new, plus I was unsure if the original road to the trailhead was still open, having heard about some property owner issues. The connector trail added about 20 minutes and 150 feet of vertical each way. Turns out the original road to the trailhead is still open, so I will opt for starting there vs. the Brook Trail in the future.
I started up the Parker Ridge Trail. After doing about 700 feet of ascent, I was rewarded by an undercast. Mt. Blue is the most prominent of the mountains:
I then hit the spectacular open ridge and got a shot of Tumbledown Pond and the Tumbledown Peaks (note - blue thing just to the left of the pond is a tent):
I then took an unofficial trail/herd path from the pond up to Little Jackson. The trail goes around the eastern shore of the pond and then bears right in a small boggy area. It then heads up and eventually is marked by cairns and goes through a major blueberry patch (yum). Took this shot of the pond and beyond on the way:
Here is a shot from the Little Jackson summit area to the north, with Saddleback and the Horn being the most distinct:
Here's a shot to the northwest, showing Elephant and Bemis Mountains on the left, with a tiny sliver of the southeastern section of Mooselookmeguntic Lake in the middle:
Here is a shot of Big Jackson from Little Jackson:
And here are West Peak and Avery Peak of the Bigelows in the middle. Sugarloaf and maybe Spaulding are on far right:
There is a new way to loop around Little Jackson from the Little Jackson Trail. There is a sign painted in red on a rock, with red blazes and cairns. Looks like a cool loop that appears to visit some sort of weather measurement instrument on one of the summit knobs. Will have to try it in the future. Here is what to look for:
I then took the Jackson Mt. Trail up to Big Jackson. The trail is clearly signed, but it is more of a well maintained herd path than a trail at this point. It was generally unmarked, but was easy to follow. It had some unexpectedly nice views along the way, including this shot of Little Jackson:
Saw this funky building on the summit. Not exactly sure of the purpose:
The summit did have a partial westerly view and also had a summit jar::
I then headed to the Jackson/Little Jackson col and discovered that the undercast to the south was gone. Here is a shot of Webb Lake from the col:
The rest of the trip was a fairly easy descent on the Little Jackson Trail, up Parker Ridge about 100 yards and then the annoying connector trail back to the parking lot. All in all, a great trip to this fantastic area. Will be back for sure next summer, if not sooner.
Regards,
Marty
I have been targeting a loop hike of Little Jackson and Jackson Mt. (Big Jackson) for some time. My torn up knee was feeling better, so I decided to give it a try.
For those unaware, the Jacksons are just east of Tumbledown Mountain in Weld, ME.
I parked at the Brook Trail, which has a connector trail to the Parker Ridge and Little Jackson Trails. I did this to try something new, plus I was unsure if the original road to the trailhead was still open, having heard about some property owner issues. The connector trail added about 20 minutes and 150 feet of vertical each way. Turns out the original road to the trailhead is still open, so I will opt for starting there vs. the Brook Trail in the future.
I started up the Parker Ridge Trail. After doing about 700 feet of ascent, I was rewarded by an undercast. Mt. Blue is the most prominent of the mountains:
I then hit the spectacular open ridge and got a shot of Tumbledown Pond and the Tumbledown Peaks (note - blue thing just to the left of the pond is a tent):
I then took an unofficial trail/herd path from the pond up to Little Jackson. The trail goes around the eastern shore of the pond and then bears right in a small boggy area. It then heads up and eventually is marked by cairns and goes through a major blueberry patch (yum). Took this shot of the pond and beyond on the way:
Here is a shot from the Little Jackson summit area to the north, with Saddleback and the Horn being the most distinct:
Here's a shot to the northwest, showing Elephant and Bemis Mountains on the left, with a tiny sliver of the southeastern section of Mooselookmeguntic Lake in the middle:
Here is a shot of Big Jackson from Little Jackson:
And here are West Peak and Avery Peak of the Bigelows in the middle. Sugarloaf and maybe Spaulding are on far right:
There is a new way to loop around Little Jackson from the Little Jackson Trail. There is a sign painted in red on a rock, with red blazes and cairns. Looks like a cool loop that appears to visit some sort of weather measurement instrument on one of the summit knobs. Will have to try it in the future. Here is what to look for:
I then took the Jackson Mt. Trail up to Big Jackson. The trail is clearly signed, but it is more of a well maintained herd path than a trail at this point. It was generally unmarked, but was easy to follow. It had some unexpectedly nice views along the way, including this shot of Little Jackson:
Saw this funky building on the summit. Not exactly sure of the purpose:
The summit did have a partial westerly view and also had a summit jar::
I then headed to the Jackson/Little Jackson col and discovered that the undercast to the south was gone. Here is a shot of Webb Lake from the col:
The rest of the trip was a fairly easy descent on the Little Jackson Trail, up Parker Ridge about 100 yards and then the annoying connector trail back to the parking lot. All in all, a great trip to this fantastic area. Will be back for sure next summer, if not sooner.
Regards,
Marty
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