Feeling a little beat up from the hike yesterday, I decided to take it a little easier today. Jackson was my first hike in the famed Presidential Range so needless to say I was excited. I was in a bit of a rush as I had to check out of my AirBNB at 2 pm which meant an early start around 6:45 am on trail.
It was pretty chilly out right from the get-go; I started hiking with my puffy on and I don’t think I took it off for the remainder of the hike. The Jackson-Webster trail made no mistake in letting you know just what you were in for - you’re climbing a mountain, so you’re going straight up. After about half a mile, I encountered some (what I would call) pointless ups-and-downs. I think my body was more frustrated at that than my mind was, my legs seemingly not wanting to support the frequent changes from incline to decline and back again. The trail was rocky, littered with larger boulders, so I was continuously clambering over them the whole way up.
Short on time, I decided not to hit Webster this time. The last half mile or so came with the traditional ‘slap a strip of white paint on a rock and call it a trail’ rock scrambling, putting my remnant slab climbing skills to use. One boulder after the other, the trees grew smaller and suddenly I popped out of the forest above them all. It was a humbling moment; one second, I was in the thick of the spruce forest, the next I felt small as I peered out over the verdant Crawford Notch. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear, just grateful to be back up there. I summited at around 8:45 am.
I sat on the summit for a while, taking in the breathtaking Presidential Range, visually glazing over Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, and Washington (Agiochook) with Jefferson, Adams, and Madison trailing behind in the distance. Munching on a breakfast burrito I packed out with me, I thought about how I’d feel a few years from now looking down at all the places I’d been instead of the places I’d yet to go; I’m not sure which side is more exciting.
Heading down in the still morning light, it felt like venturing through an enchanted forest, the light filtering through the trees. There weren’t too many other hikers on the way up, but I did run into several on my way down. I was pretty quick on my feet, making it back down to the truck around 11:30 am. I made the 40 min drive back to North Woodstock, took one last shower at my AirBNB for the weekend, and packed up to head to my mom’s before going home.
NH 6/48
New England 11/67
New England 16/100 Highest
Northeast 13/115
