11 October 2014: Mount Jackson, Mount Webster

Next up was a trip up Mount Jackson and Mount Webster, which are on two different lists but are taken together as a loop on the southern tier of the presidential range. I did this one as a solo job.

History:

Peak Elevation: Jackson - 4052 ft Webster – 3911 ft.
Elevation Gain: ~2100 ft
Trail: Webster-Jackson Trail (loop), Webster Cliff Trail
Length: 6.5 mi.
Time on Trail : 0830
Time off Trail: 1400

As my first solo job I took on the Jackson-Webster loop, short mileage, decent elevation gain. Still not yet in shape I took my time getting up there and had a nice break on the peak of Webster. Book time for this is just about 5 hours. The trail, part of the AT, starts alongside US-302 just past highland center. The signage is right at the edge of the treeline but isn’t too hard to find if you know that detail. The trail has steep sections but nothing I couldn’t manage with a little planning. About half a mile up there is a spur to Bugle Cliff – I didn’t spend much time here.
The Summit of Webster offered nice views into Crawford notch, with the willey range being what I could see most clearly, but some squinting I could see some other peaks which I could not yet name. I learned about the Grey Jays here but did not feed them. I took the trek to Jackson to bag #3 for my journey. Jackson wasn’t too bad, only a bit higher than Webster but has a nice drop between the two. My descent went alright, I think I took only 2 diggers and rolled an ankle once.

After finishing I took a quick trip back up the trail to check out Elephant head. From WMG online: “Elephant Head is an interesting ledge that forms the east side of the Gate of the Notch, a mass of gray rock striped with veins of white quartz providing a remarkable likeness to an elephant’s head and trunk.” Short trip would be great for younger kids with parents to get them outside and to check things out. After I descended I looked up and can see where the name came from for this. Otherwise I would have missed this, had I not seen the signage for the short trail to go see it.

Photos:

Mt Jackson, Mt. Webster 11OCT14

Note: This is a backdated post made in 2017