| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Jackson, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Eisenhower, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Webster-Jackson Trail, Webster Cliff Trail, Crawford Path, Eisenhower Loop |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I was the first car in the lot across from Webster-Jackson at ~7:15 this morning. It was about 3/4 full when I finished around 2:30. There were also cars parked along the road near the Highland Center though there were plenty of open spaces there. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There were a lot of snow-weighted branches covering the trail forcing me to duck under or sometimes advance on my knees. It's hard to be 100% sure but I think at least some of them were from blowdowns. This was especially bad in the first half mile of trail heading from Jackson toward Pierce. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One happy yellow lab. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Webster-Jackson to Jackson Summit: This trail is in great shape, very solid frozen base. I used snowshoes because I knew I'd need them later but if you're doing and out-and-back to Jackson you can probably get away with spikes. Not sure about Webster. Finding the trail toward Pierce at the summit was a little challenging due to low visibility and drifts erasing previous tracks.
Jackson to Mizpah Hut: (Is this trail Crawford Path? Webster Cliff? It's not clear from my map.) The trail from Jackson to the hut looked like it hadn't seen any traffic for a few days - there were a few inches of blown/fresh powder and it would vanish completely in exposed sections. It wasn't too bad to follow though, it's definitely been seeing some traffic. The problem, especially bad in the first half mile after Jackson, was tons of snow-weighted branches blocking the trail. I had to inch forward on my knees through several sections and was constantly getting snow dumped on me. My gloves and shirt got soaked and I was starting to get a bit cold. If you have a hood definitely put it up for this section or else you will find it full of snow and ice.
Mizpah Hut to Pierce: This section had seen more traffic and was well broken out. A few annoying duck-unders here but much better than the Jackson->Hut section.
Pierce to Eisenhower: Recommend snowshoes here - it's mostly broken out but there are some soft/drifty areas. Everything was in the clouds with very low visibility until I hit about 4500 feet on Eisenhower then there was beautiful blue sky and an amazing undercast. Amazing views of Washington. It looked like the trail continuing on to Monroe had seen some traffic but you would definitely want snowshoes for that.
Crawford Path down Pierce: This trail is well broken out with a solid base. Fine for snowshoes but also probably fine for spikes if you're only doing Pierce. |
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 | Name: |
Joanna |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-01-31 |
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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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