| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Jackson, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Webster-Jackson Trail, Webster Cliff Trail, Mizpah Cutoff, Crawford Path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, February 3, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Webster Cliff Trail north of Mitzpah (en route to Pierce) has some fun blow-downs-- a bunch you have to crawl under which can be tricky with a pack. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Fun late afternoon hike- Webster-Jackson trail was nicely packed, and the folks coming down were friendly. (And since it was late, they were all coming down!) Despite it seemingly being cold, I only needed my long-sleeve technical & earmuffs until on the verge of the summit-- then the fleece, puffy & balaclava came out quickly.
The summit was quite icy & windy- a place to endure, but not hang around. Micro-spikes were passable here. It was actually rather challenging finding the Webster Cliff Trail towards Mitzpah-- I saw a few faint tracks. If there was fresh snow, poor light or more drifting, I wouldn't have been able to find the trail. The ice from Jackson summit to treeline (towards Mitzpah) was a substantial sheet-- fortunately there was enough loose snow on the edges for the microspikes to gain traction (and it was a short section).
Webster Cliff trail from Jackson to Mitzpah and Mitzpah cut-off were lightly traveled (compared to the hard-packed Webster-Jackson & Crawford Path). I stayed in microspikes, and had no issue. One could feel comfortable in snowshoes here, as there was loose powder. The two field sections had amazing views of the presi's.
I didn't see a single hiker on this section-- beautiful trail-- an easy traverse, really fun snow to walk in (not too hard, not too powdery), with a couple views. Easily my favorite part of the hike.
Crawford Path was a "sidewalk" as another writer described it. You can jog down it. A little too shallow for butt-sledding, though some tried. Ran into a couple parties coming down that had done Pierce & Eisenhower. Everyone commented that despite it being reasonably cold and windy, we didn't need all our layers.
Micro-spikes the whole way. I really recommend Webster Cliff between Jackson & Mitzpah if you're hiking around here. |
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 | Name: |
Eric |
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 | E-Mail: |
ericarmy11@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-02-03 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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