Mts Eisenhower, Pierce, and Jackson are three 4000-footers within the Southern Presidential Vary simply south of Mt Washington. Eisenhower and Pierce are sometimes hiked collectively, however including Jackson makes for a for much longer loop, just below 13 miles in size with 4,000 ft of elevation achieve. Add in a few ft of snow and rising spring temperatures and also you’ve acquired your self a problem you’ll be able to sink your boots into!
April is a difficult month to hike the White Mountain 4000-footers since you’re prone to expertise a number of seasons on the identical hike and you want to costume and carry gear to deal with all of them. For example, the present snowline within the White Mountains is between 2000 and 2500′ ft. Under that, it’s mud season. Above that, it’s nonetheless winter, with a number of ft of snow and ice remaining.
Worse but, is the specter of an early spring snowfall, which is why I selected to knock off this above treeline route once I had an opportunity. As much as a foot of heavy snow was forecast for the next day and I wished to seize these peaks whereas I may do that hike in first rate climate and with out snowshoes. Temperatures have warmed in latest weeks and snowshoes haven’t been crucial on most of my 4000-footer hikes, though I’ve had to make use of Hillsound Path Crampons and my actually sharp CAMP XLC 490 Common Aluminum Crampons to take care of the ice that continues to be.
I began mountain climbing up the Crawford Path at about 9:00 am carrying Hillsound Path Crampons and hiked as much as the Webster Cliff Path Junction, slightly below the summit of Mt Pierce, the place there’s a postcard view of Mts Eisenhower, Monroe, and Large George – Mt Washington I by no means get bored with that one.
I continued previous Pierce towards Mt Eisenhower, taking off my Path Crampons which had began to ball up on the path junction, which is simply above treeline in full daylight. It was nonetheless early sufficient within the day that the snow was agency, and naked booting wasn’t an issue as I hiked alongside the ridgeline that separates Pierce from Eisenhower.
Ike is a giant blad dome and a good likeness of the final. After I reached the underside of the dome I used to be stunned to search out that I may climb to the summit in naked boots nonetheless, with out having to placed on crampons for the ascent. The snowpack had melted since I used to be final right here in February and the small picket ladders that climb up a few of the trickier scrambles in summer season have been seen.
I acquired as much as the summit which has an unlimited rock cairn and drank within the view of Monroe, Washington, and Jefferson. It was a bluebird day, with an excellent azure sky and surprisingly little wind. I silently celebrated my four-hundredth ascent of a 4000-footer for my White Mountain 4000-footer grid. I’m simply shy of 70% performed with simply 174 summits left to complete. It’s a high quality insanity that I’ve come to savor.
I retraced my steps again to Pierce and whereas the snow was nonetheless agency, it was beginning to get a bit slushy on prime. I climbed as much as the Pierce summit cairn from the Webster Cliff Path Junction signal and had lunch within the solar. It was simply midday, so I used to be making nice time.
From Pierce, I headed south in the direction of Jackson however the path situations began to deteriorate. This part of the hike is slightly below treeline and sees far much less hiker site visitors, so the snow was deeper and fewer packed out. The snow within the bushes had additionally begun to soften (referred to as tree-pee), dripping on me as I handed. This path will get steep earlier than the AMC Mizpah Hut and really icy, so I switched to full crampons for extra traction.
I handed the Hut, which is closed in winter, noting that the entrance door was nonetheless half-buried in snow and all of the home windows have been boarded up. One in all my common readers, Christopher Marshburn can be working on the AMC Nauman Campsite subsequent to the hut because the summer season caretaker and I hope to go to him.
I continued south by means of woods till I handed an alpine lavatory, certainly one of my favourite spots on this path, simply north of Mt Jackson. Jackson is rocky plug of a peak and simply summitted, though my crampons undoubtedly helped rise up the ice alongside its flanks.
I choose climbing Jackson from the north which is far simpler than climbing it from the south since you’re already up on “the ridge.” I knew I’d should hike down its very steep and ice south facet, which is the rationale why I’d introduced full CAMP XLC 490 crampons on this hike, along with my Hillsounds.
The preliminary descent of Jackson was a difficult downclimb carrying full crampons, however I actually didn’t really feel like taking them off, simply to place them again on 25 ft decrease down. I’m pretty well-practiced strolling with them, even on naked rock, so I simply took it sluggish. As soon as I acquired again down onto snow and ice, I relied on the crampons to present me the chew I wanted to remain upright as I dropped the following 1000′ of elevation, strolling down steeply angled slush layered on prime of laborious ice.
After I’d made it “down” to the underside of the Webster Cliff Path, I stored the crampons on till I hit heavy mud and took them off. By then, I used to be near the trailhead in Crawford Notch and will choose my approach across the ice to the Rt 302.
Whereas the views have been fabulous for this hike, the factor I favored greatest about it was the strolling. Whereas it has some elevation, mountain climbing the next mileage day actually appealed to me. Wanting again to Eisenhower and Pierce from Jackson and the circulate of the ridge from there to right here was immensely satisfying. It’s laborious to clarify the sensation of contentment one feels after a journey like that has completed.
Map
Eisenhower Pierce Jackson Loop
Advisable Guidebooks and Maps:
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