Hike #9: Mount Jackson & Mount Webster
Elevation: 4,052 (Mount Jackson) and 3,911 (Mount Webster)
Date: August 10, 2013
Location: border of Coos and Carroll Counties, NH
Distance: 6.5 miles
Time: 5:11 (47:51/mile)
It was the first day of a vacation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We hadn’t been hiking in a couple of months, giving ourselves a break after our 17-hour hike of the Presidentials. Our focus had instead turned toward the ocean and Cape Cod, with a couple of vacations spent chucking kids into waves, digging toes into sand, and wandering slowly along the water’s edge scanning for beach glass instead of scrambling across rocks, testing toeholds, and trudging along well-worn paths through forests and streams.
We were staying in a condo overlooking the mountains in Jackson, on route 16. Coincidentally, Sara pointed out the hike we settled on would be of Mount Jackson, for our sixteenth 4,000-foot summit. Stars sufficiently aligned, we geared up and headed out.
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| Sara, starting our hike and vacation |
The route started across from AMC’s Crawford Notch Visitors Center, a huge but beautiful place that was well-integrated into its surroundings, subtle despite its size. We quickly disappeared into the trees and found the first 1.4-mile leg along the Webster-Jackson Trail to be smooth sailing, albeit pretty muddy. Thick moss on boulders and trees told us that the wetness wasn’t just from the prior day’s soaking rains. Fortunately, Bugle Cliff had better traction, affording us great (and safe) views from an early spot on our climb.
We stopped again for a break an hour in, and Sara pointed out that we had a loop to return to this point. She wanted to head toward Mount Webster. Although not a 4,000-footer, it was relatively nearby and might afford good views. So we decided to add it to the route, opting to prioritize adventure over the purity and snobbery of just doing 4,000-footers. Tackling it first was Sara's way of forcing us to not bail on the hike prematurely in order to enjoy the apres-hike dommer at Mout Mountain, a great smokehouse and brewery she'd introduced me to a couple of years back. Or perhaps we'd have a freshly-cooked meal on the balcony, watching the sun setting over the mountains.
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| Admiring the view from Bugle Cliff |
We were rewarded a short time later as we came upon a waterfall and small lagoon. I hadn’t expected this, and loved watching the water pouring off a rock ledge, churning up noise and spray when it hit the lagoon. Peak-bagging was the ostensible goal. But recently we’d both been immersed in work, spending evenings with dueling laptops, and spending vacation time with bigger groups. We’d felt like two ships passing in the night. So lingering in admiration of the serenity in front of us was part of the point of the vacation: to reconnect, to bond over common experiences, to share in the intimacy of the two of us surrounded by thousands of acres of natural beauty.
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| Didn't know there was a waterfall on the way to Mt. Webster's summit! |
Two hours and two-and-a-half miles into the hike, we turned onto the Webster Cliff Trail and a brief spur to hit the Webster summit. It afforded great views of Crawford Notch, although I spent half the time looking for my baseball hat, which had been launched from my head by the wind, as if it were ordinance from a catapult. As I tried to step lightly amidst the delicate landscape, Sara chatted up some Appalachian Trail through-hikers. They’d buddied up several states prior, and seemed to range from around college age or recent grad to late-twenties. One in particular, “Mr. Bordeaux”, had come from England and was in the midst of an epic life adventure. It turned out Sara was already following him on Twitter, which would establish a more personal connection as he finished his last two states of his journey. On a gloriously sunny day, as opposed to the prior day’s miserable weather, everyone lingered, enjoying the conversation and sun. But we all had our own journeys to continue so we eventually said our good-byes and headed on.  |
| Show of hands - who loves rock scrambles? |
Sara enthused for a bit on through-hikers and her aspiration to one day become one. I think it contributed to the adrenaline rush that led to her high-stepping and quick strides along the ridgeline of the Webster Cliff Trail. It seemed a hair short of trail running, and was out of character for her. Normally, her pace was slower, more deliberate, and her mindset more cautious. Now, she was shoving aside some of the normal internal dialogue to focus on rapid line selection, sort of like skiing or mountain biking. It required focus on the moment and also led to chewing up the distance, so in no time we found ourselves approaching the final ascent to Mount Jackson’s peak. Even the steep climb to the summit didn’t seem to bother her; after I scampered much of the way up to a lookout, she followed suit seemingly without concern and soon sat alongside me on a rocky outcropping, admiring the view and identifying faraway mountains.
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| "48 for the Fallen" is a great tribute to fallen soldiers from New Hampshire |
After the final climb, and just under the 4-mile mark, we found the wind to be as bad on Jackson’s summit as on Webster’s. We hunkered down between rocks and shrubs for a quick lunch. While the scenery was great, the wind and accompanying noise wasn’t, so we didn’t linger as long as we might otherwise. But when we moved to the sign marking trails and the summit, we paused. A disabled veteran, Ray Cabral, was making a point of climbing all of the New Hampshire 4,000-footers and placing a flag and laminated picture and story of a New Hampshire soldier who had died in action. Reading the details of Chief Petty Officer Nathan Hardy provided a sobering perspective. He died in Iraq, leaving behind a wife, son, parents, and a brother. I’m off on my adventures, challenging myself, enjoying myself and the impacts these events have on my life and how I approach raising my kids. In support of such things, another dad dies halfway across the world. He leaves a family and wider circle of friends with a whole that can never truly be filled, no matter how proud they are of him, and no matter that he died engaged in something he felt passionately about. The request accompanying the memorial was to post a picture to his Facebook page, “48 for the Fallen”. It was an interesting demonstration of how a place as solitary as a mountain peak in the middle of a national forest can be the hub of an activity, with random hikers offering an act of respect that may bring some small measure of comfort to an undoubtedly still-grieving family whom they’ve never met.
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| Goal of a 3:30 finish. Lots of time to spare! |
We began our descent from the summit of Mount Jackson with me and my challenges feeling terribly inconsequential. But the steepness and slickness of the rock as we transitioned onto the Webster-Jackson Trail required refocusing my attention to the matter at hand. It was tricky, with some controlled sliding being the best technique. Once off the smooth rocks, the terrain remained steep for a stretch before it began being replaced by more mud. And when we hit the first intersection of the day, our loop was complete, leaving only an easy final leg. As we saw our time unfolding, our goal had been to finish the 6.5 mile hike by 3:30. It required a final sprint to the finish line, but we came in on target, with seconds to spare.
Dirty and happy, we felt as if we’d already shed some of the stresses of our daily lives. Hiking again provided the opportunity to connect over shared experiences. Tackling Jackson and Webster marked a great first hike since the Presi Traverse. But the real goal wasn’t peak-bagging. It was the chance to refocus on each other. And whatever our evening turned out to include, we’d already shared smiles, stories, and silences, and that sense of togetherness was sure to deepen as our week unfolded. All in all, seemed like a great start to a week in the mountains!
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| Enjoying my well-earned apres-hike refreshment on my first day of vacation! |
See you on the trail,
Jay Bell, AKA Rock Hopper
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