Mts. Jackson and Pierce

It was an epic day doing the Mts. Jackson and Pierce loop hike today. Incredibly crisp, clear, zero wind, sunny all day weather. By crisp of course I mean it was seriously cold, by some estimates -17 degrees when we started. But once moving we were perfectly comfortable all day (that lack of wind thing). We were down to just 3 of us as started up the Webster Jackson trail at 9am sharp. The trail was completely broken with maybe a foot of snow off trail. It’s a pretty good workout going up to Mt. Jackson but the trail is super pretty in the winter - sun dappled forest vistas via a curving ascent on a well protected side of the mountain. We saw maybe 6-8 folks max on the way up. We arrived around 10:30 to the summit of Mt. Jackson which had a stunning 360 degree view of the Whites, with one of the best views of Washington I've ever had, it was so clear. The sky was almost painfully blue, and against the bright white snow I immediately thought to purchase some Blue Willow china when I got home. We waved hi to Jon and Mike (they were doing Mt. Washington), chatted with the few folks that were there, and continued forward onto the Webster Cliff trail towards Mr. Pierce.

We struggled for a minute to confirm we were actually on the trail because there was only one snowshoer who had actually traversed the ridge trail since it literally started snowing in NH. Luckily Jim forgot his spikes and wore his snowshoes all day (naturally, I instructed Russ to leave his snowshoes at the cars since that was what I did) so he took the lead but it was a really tough 1.7-mile slog to get to the Mizpah hut. Russ and I were post holing up to our knees (of course the snow was much deeper for this part of the hike, more like 2 1/2 feet). As I was starting to ruminate that maybe we should just reverse course at the hut as it would be easier, we came upon 5 snowshoers coming the other direction. So the last 1/4 mile to the hut was manageable where we promptly had lunch (reward!). There was a rather adorable young man there who was heading back to Mt. Pierce, so that meant at least 6 people had broken the trail before we had to tackle it. Yay! It's really the simple things in life isn't it? With renewed energy and enthusiasm after lunch, we got back on the trail for the .9 mile to Mt. Pierce. We came across another 4-5 people coming the other way (more trail flattening!) and arrived to a crowd of about 25 folks and some dogs hanging out at the summit. Another cherished another breathtaking view, especially of Washington (we waved hi to Mike and Jon again) before starting our descent on the Crawford Path.

By now the trail was perfectly packed down and we made good time. We encountered probably another 30-35 folks coming up to Mr. Pierce almost all the way back to 302. In fact it was a surprising how late some folks were starting up, but I had to admit that hiking out in the dark on such a comfortable snow pillow trail was not overly concerning. All told, another awesome GO hike.

The Mount Jackson and Mount Pierce via Webster Jackson Trail and Crawford Path is a 7.5 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Bretton Woods that is rated as difficult. Dogs are also able to use this trail so hopefully we’ll meet a few. This route can be done in either direction but we’re planning on going counter clockwise. It starts out with a long scramble up to the summit of Mount Jackson. On the hike up to Jackson we may also visit Elephant Head or Bugle Cliff along the way. We will get awesome views at Jackson and then it’s a relatively quick climb over to Pierce. The views at Pierce are breathtaking too, however it can get very cold/windy when we reach the top so we definitely need to pack in layers. Finally a more “gentle” descent on the Crawford Path trail back to 302.

ROUTE: Webster Jackson trail, Webster Cliff trail and Crawford Path
STATS: Approx. 7.5 miles; Elevation gain: 2877 feet

We will be hiking in winter conditions at a moderate pace with time to enjoy the scenery. There will be ice and snow. Light tracking devices are mandatory and we may need snowshoes if there is a recent snowstorm (please track this but I will also send out a weather summary on Friday. Light traction can be either Kahtoola MicroSpikes or Hillsounds Crampons that can purchased from your local outdoor outfitter such as REI or EMS; or online. If you don’t own a pair of snowshoes, you can always rent them from your local outdoor gear shop. 

Please have the appropriate gear/clothing to hike this time of year and the appropriate amount of layers to keep your core body warm. We recommend WINTER hiking boots, MicroSpikes, poles, wool hat, gloves, hand warmers, rain/wind gear, warm layers, HEADLAMP and NO COTTON. Carry at least 2 liters of water, lunch and snacks.