btowne33

Jackson

Updated: Dec 29, 2020

Another sunrise attempt but this time up to a chilly Presendential

Winter came quick. On top of Mount Jackson

Up to the top, take two pictures and get down immediately

I thought this would be the last hike due to the seasons changing, however that mindset did not last very long.

Should I go on to Pierce or no?

I got to the trailhead (AMC Highlands Center) around 4:40 AM to try another sunrise hike. It was bitter cold when I got out of the car and immediately put all my layers on. I started to doubt my reasons for doing this early on. The trees were making noises in the cold. About 3000 feet in elevation everything started to freeze up and the trail is primarily around rivers. The trail was really nice with lots of moss and woodsy areas.

It was hard to find place on the rocks and roots that did not have frozen water on them and it was a difficult game of finding the dry spots which made the traction it needed to be. Ted the cold. And I did not have microspikes. The final ascent with hug boulders with ice on them were very challenging. I though I better get up and back down the other trial rather than go back down so in a tight spot. I changed clothes right before I got to the top in between two big rocks as I was sweating to my middle layer.

I got to the top and the wind was hallowing and it was about 20 degrees before wind chill. Everything had frost and some snow on them at the top. I spent about 30 seconds on top of the summit, took two pictures and frantically tried to find the Appalachian Trail route towards Mizpah Hut and Mount Pierce. The walk from Jackson to Pierce was really cool with it being almost all walking boards over boggy areas. After the experience of getting on top of Jackson I told myself when I got to the hut that I would reevaluate the summit to Pierce knowing it would another 2 miles of slow going and it was exposed on a ridge… well I decided to use the Mizpah Cutoff trail to the Crawford Trail back down to the car.

Gray Jay friend

I got back down to 3500 feet a Grey Jay flew pretty close to my head and startled me. I was listening to Paul Simon down the trail. I heard about this experience where you can feed the birds. I reached in my bag and got out some peanuts and as soon as I opened my hands the bird was on it. There were two of them and not timid. What a great experience that was and changed my whole mood. For the rest of the trip I was smiling.

Up until linking up with the Crawford Trail I didn’t see anybody else which was a little disconcerting considering the difficulty I had but was glad to see some faces on the way down. One older guy with dreadlocks stopped to talk to me about the weather conditions and told him I should have waited until the time he was ascending. I told him that I was disappointed that I did not hit Mount Pierce summit and his response was that at least I was out he doing it and that was what was really important. He was right and the challenges I faced that day was the not the end but was just part of it.

Glenn Waterfall

The Glenn waterfall was awesome when almost to the end of the trail and would like to be swimming in it come summer. Across the street was the Tom Dickey Welch 4000 footers that I need to put on my list. This hike made me think about if I am ready and willing to do more colder.. Dare I say winter hikes?