Mt. Webster, Jackson, Pierce, and Eisenhower
Distance: 14.9 miles
Elevation: 4396 feet
Time: 11 hours, 32 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; 52 With a View; New Hampshire 4000 Footers
I have been looking forward to this hike for a few weeks now. Gen and I were originally going to hike it the weekend I did North Moat, but she had COVID. It was now time! The day started with a 2:00am alarm after staying up a little too late watching a show about Mormonism, a 3:30am stop at the Hooksett rest area, 4:30am stop at Boise Rock for Gen's Rocks that Rock list, and arriving to an active parking lot just around 5:00am. We made use of the composting toilets, nodded at other maniacs doing this this early, and got suited up for our long day in the southern Presis! (Confession time, I forgot this was a fee area and we only had $2 so that's all we threw in the envelope.... sorry!!!! We said we need to take a handful of fee envelopes and pre-stuff them so we're ready next time).
The hike started with a short road walk from the Crawford Path Trailhead onto Mt. Clinton Road, then onto US-302. Our first official trail was the Saco Lake Trail, which greeted us with 1,000 spiderwebs to the face. We took the short spur to the Idlewild viewpoint along the sketchy railing, which really didn't give any cool views other than straight down at the boardwalks. We carefully slid back to the trail and found a beaver swimming about in the lake! The Saco Lake trail deposited us back on US-302 where we had views of the lake, Crawford Depot, and Elephant Head. We walked for a short minute on the road and officially came upon the trailhead for the Webster-Jackson Trail - let the games begin!
We climbed only for a few minutes before taking the Elephant Head spur, which had a bunch of bog bridges, some in better shape than others. Thankfully, it has been a dry few weeks so the bridges were not needed. There is a nice view of Crawford Depot from Elephant Head, and it was another rock for Gen today! We took a few photos and retraced our steps back to the Webster-Jackson Trail and continued our climb. The Bugle Cliffs viewpoint was next, and it was the same view of Elephant Head, just higher up and better. This was the last view for quite some time, so I'm glad we took a moment to have a meat stick here. We also saw our first person of the day!
Continuing the climb up the Webster-Jackson Trail, our hearts were pumping but we were going strong. We reached the split of the Webster and Jackson branches of the Webster-Jackson Trail, and took the Webster Branch. The AMC White Mountain Guide forewarned of a steep descent to a waterfall, and then a steep ascent back on up, and it was very correct. The Silver Cascade Brook falls were lovely - if we didn't have a full day ahead of us we joked about going for a swim. The trail climbs steadily and painfully for the next mile to the summit of Mt. Webster. It was one of those climbs where I found myself turning around hoping for a dopamine boost of a view, but got nothing. It definitely dragged by the end, but the views from Mt. Webster made up for it right away!
We had the whole viewpoint to ourselves, and were able to sneak around to get more views. We snacked and did our best to hide from the relentless, cold wind, but eventually had to dip back into the woods because it was CHILLY. We took the Webster Cliffs Trail to Mt. Jackson, which was overall a very gentle trail with a few small scrambles, and then one BIG final scramble to the top. At one point, I turned around to see Gen in lizard mode fully spread eagle on a rock. The summit of Jackson was incredible with views towards the notch and the northern presidentials. We put on our windbreakers to enjoy the view, and the summit area had enough room for multiple hiking parties, as there were a lot. The best hiker we passed was an excellent dog who was carrying their own hiking pack and had goggles on! 10/10 dog.
The descent from Jackson was steep, but quickly leveled out. The White Mountain Guide mentioned "alpine meadows" in this section, and they were absolutely gorgeous. Two main meadows, with a few smaller patches here and there. A few flowers were in bloom. We could see the northern presidentials in one direction and Mt. Jackson in the other - just amazing. Someday I'll do some reading and find out what exactly creates that kind of environment. Another dip into the woods, and the trail meanders gently up and down with a few random scrambles all the way to the Mizpah Spring Hut. The trail areas on either side of the hut seemed to have intense wind damage - curious what storm caused that (or was it something else?... aliens??).
The huts are quickly becoming some of my favorite things. We had a chance to use the bathroom without running off trail, refilled our water, sat down and ate, stared into the void, enjoyed the view, and smelled the baked goods that we didn't have any cash for. The bunk rooms in the hut were cool - they reminded me of the cabins at Fairview Lake, where I always went for marching band camp. While on the hut, one woman asked the croo member which direction the "chimney" was to get to Pierce which did not make me feel warm fuzzies.
While the final stretch of the Webster Cliffs Trail didn't live up to the title "chimney" - it was quick and steep. We passed one hiker who told us that we chose the hard way to go up.... There were two ladders/stairs, but nothing overtly sketchy. The best part of this climb was the "Welcome to the Alpine Zone" sign - it felt like a lovely "welcome back!" The top of the steep climb had obstructed views, and then a nice wooded ridge walk to the main view from Pierce, which was incredible. At some point, a root grabbed onto my foot and threw me into the softest tree I've ever landed on, which I guess was nice?
There is a large cairn at where I assume the summit of Pierce is, a USGS marker nearby, and then the grandiose view everyone falls in love with. The clouds were rolling, the wind blowing, and people were in abundance. Gen and I need to work on our people skills, because we could have definitely afforded to take more rests. Looking back at the photos, I am just blown away by these views. Being above treeline is truly just an incredible place. The Webster Cliffs Trail completes at the junction with the Crawford Path, which we took to Mt. Eisenhower (and eventually all the way back to the car).
The Crawford Path between Pierce and Eisenhower is just a beautiful trail. Mostly on slab rock, never too steep, and never sketchy. Views in all directions, just amazing hiking. At this point, I needed to break out my buff to shield my baby lungs from the cold, windy air. It was incredible watching Mt. Eisenhower, our final and tallest peak of the day, grew closer and taller. At one point I said to Gen "how on Earth do they expect us to get up there?!" and one passerby quickly agreed. We took the Eisenhower Loop to the top, which was a gob-smacking trail (I'm running out of words to use as synonyms for amazing and beautiful). A few steep moments, but overall gentle and scenic climbing. We somehow lucked out and had the windy summit of Mt. Eisenhower all to ourselves with its massive cairn and 360 views. If it wasn't so windy I could have spent all day up there. We enjoyed making the joke "Mt. Washington looks so close lets just go" and watching the cog head up the ridge. Once goosebumps were out and nippes like diamond cutters, we headed down the other side to finish the Eisenhower Loop.
This side felt steeper on the descent, but had constant views of the northern presis, Red Pond, and the meandering, crisscrossing trails down below. It was a little confusing to find our return route on the Crawford Path, but once we found it were officially on the return trail. We passed a good number of hikers at this point, and unfortunately I had to use the bathroom without falling off of a cliff. I'm not sure how, but I succeeded! There are partial views of the wilderness areas down below from the Crawford Path. The return to the junction with the Webster Cliffs Trail - just below the summit of Pierce was slow, steady, and scenic. We took one sitting break before the final climb to the junction, took in the views, and finally made it onto the final leg of the hike - the Crawford Path from Mt. Pierce down to the parking lot.
This section started very gently and increased in steepness as it went along. There were truly endless rocks which really started to take its toll, but we had our eye on the prize (food). This descent was long and featureless. At one point Gen and I passed a family, and one hiker said "wow you too are killing it!" to which I responded "FOOD" and said nothing else. We gained hope when we started to hear the Gibbs Brook, and the spur to the waterfall marks the final final stretch. We didn't go down to the falls because we were tired, but there were views of the brook from the bridge on the Crawford Connector. The Crawford Connector is an easy dirt trail (read: less rocky), and I felt like I was running once we passed Mt. Clinton Road (I was likely crawling). Back at the parking lot, we took some time to change our clothes, cool down, hydrate, and stare into the void. In solidarity, we were one of at least four parties that seemed to be doing the same. We then headed to the Pemi Public House in North Woodstock and had some of the best Mac & Cheese of our lives (or we were just starved and exhausted). Some other notes that I wrote in my journal: bugs (I don't remember any bugs, so that's nice), socks decimated (rip to my socks - I'm thinking of saving all the clothes I go through and making a tote bag or something out of them), blisters (nothing too bad, one on my heel and one on my middle toe), and scrapes (the trails ripped my legs up this day, no active bleeding but many scrapes).
- Park at Crawford Path Trailhead.
- Turn right onto Mt. Clinton Road.
- Turn left onto US-302.
- Turn left onto Saco Lake Trail.
- Take side trail to Idlewild View.
- At terminus of Saco Lake Trail, turn left onto US-302.
- Turn onto Webster-Jackson Trail.
- Turn right onto Elephant Head Spur, hike to Elephant Head, return.
- Continue on Webster-Jackson Trail.
- Take spur to Bugle Cliffs, return.
- Continue on Webster-Jakson Trail.
- At trail split, follow signs for Mt. Webster.
- At terminus, turn right onto Webtser Cliff Trail to view from Mt. Webster, turn around.
- Contine on Webster Cliff Trail to Mt. Jakcson.
- Summit Mt. Jackson, continue on Webster Cliff Trail to Mizpah Spring Hut.
- At Mizpah Spring Hut, continue on Webster Cliff Trail to Mt. Pierce.
- Summit Mt. Pierce, continue on Webster Cliff Trail to terminus at Crawford Path.
- Turn right onto Crawford Path, hike towards Mt. Eisenhower.
- At trail split, follow Eisenhower Loop up and over the summit of Mt. Eisenhower.
- Summit Mt. Eisenhower, continue on Eisenhower Loop.
- At junction with Crawford Path, turn right onto Crawford Path.
- At the previous junction where the Crawford Path and Eisenhower Loop split, continue on Crawford Path and retrace steps near summit of Mt. Pierce.
- At junction of Crawford Path and Webster Cliff Trail, continue on Crawford Path all the way down to the Crawford Connector.
- Turn right onto Crawford Connector.
- Cross Mt. Clinton Road, complete Crawford Connector, arrive at car.
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