Randy, Joe, Jodie, and I climbed up Mt. Jackson today via the Webster-Jackson Trail. It was a great day. We had our first snowstorm of the season yesterday. In southern NH, we got over ten inches., but the northern part of the state got significantly less. At the trailhead in Crawford Notch, there was about three inches of fresh snow. The surprising thing was that there wasn’t any snow other than those three inches. I had expected to find a small snow base with a fresh layer on top, but apparently there hasn’t been much snow up in the mountains so far. Or at least nothing that has stayed on the ground. Hiking in fresh snow is always fun, and often the clear calm day after the storm offers incredible views. The day started out a little cloudy with breaks of sun, so I wasn’t sure we’d have the joy of seeing the sparkling sun on the fresh snow from the summit. By the time we reached the summit it had cleared considerably, and we got to see the great view towards Mt. Washington and of other surrounding peaks.The weather was seasonably cold with very little wind on top. The trail is pretty moderate, alternating a few short steep sections with level and occasional descending sections. Right below the summit there is a short tricky section where the trail scrambles over some open ledges that were a little icy. There were some icy and tricky sections along the entire trail because the snow pack wasn’t there yet to smooth over the rocks. Overall it was a very fun day. It was nice to hike and group of 4. It is a good size.
Distance: 5.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2200 ft
Time: 5.5 hours
