Mount Jackson

Date: September 19, 2009
Trails: Webster-Jackson trail --> Jackson Branch --> Mount Jackson


Based on a suggestion from a friend, Karen and I decided to make Mount Jackson our next 4000 footer. Mount Jackson is located off of Route 302 in Crawford Notch State Park, near Elephant's Head (a cool rock formation that resembles an Elephant, shown in the picture on the left). Mount Jackson is commonly coupled with Mount Webster, as the two peaks are just over a mile apart along a ride. We had originally planned to do both peaks, but after getting a late start, we made the decision to stick to doing just Jackson.

We got into NH and got out of the car to a brisk 50 degree morning. Luckily we had packed a lot of warm clothing because it was a COLD start to the hike. As the day went on, the sun reached it's peak, and as we got ourselves moving, we warmed up a lot. We started south east along the Webster-Jackson trail towards Elephant's Head. This was one of the better maintained trails that we have hiked on so far, with good footings and for the most part a moderate grade. About a mile and a half in, the trail breaks off, with one trail going towards Webster and one towards Jackson. We followed along the Jackson trail, which turned steep fairly quickly. We had to scramble up some rock faces and navigate some tough boulders.

As we rounded the corner, the last 600 feet or so to the summit was a wide open, exposed rock face with awesome views of Mount Washington and the Presidential Range. We felt the wind as we got more and more exposed at the summit, and by the time we made it to the top, the wind caused it to feel as if they were below 50 degrees. We loaded up on the layers and spent some time enjoying the views from the summit. Being a bald summit, Jackson offers 360 degree views of the surrounding area, including Crawford Notch, Mount Webster, and the Presidential Range. We were able to enjoy the summit for a short amount of time - however, before long, the wind got to us and we started to make our way back down.

Our trip back down was quick given the moderate grade and good footing. As we got to the junction of the Webster and Jackson trails, we took a quick pit stop to see the small waterfall at the beginning of the Webster trail.

To date, this was our favorite hike. It will definitely be one that we re-visit in the future.