ChileMass
Active member
Trip: Webster/Jackson/Mizpah Loop
Date: 8/21/04
Trails: Webster-Jackson; Webster Cliff; Mizpah Cutoff; Crawford Path
Distance/Elevation: 8.5 mi/approx 3000'
Conditions: Fine - just muddy in spots. No problems with creek crossings.
Difficulty: moderate with a few tricky rock scrambles
Special Equipment Needed: Raingear early and then sunblock! Thinking about using poles in future......
The boys were back at it during our second weekend up in Glen, NH. The Webster Cliffs area above Crawford Notch is one I have been wanting to explore for a while, and ole buddy Rob, son Nick, and Fireman Dan joined me for the trip. The idea was to see what we could see from the top of Mt. Webster, then head up the ridge to Jackson, Mizpah, and possibly Pierce or even Eisenhower depending on how we felt after each segment. Always heard the views from Pierce and Ike are great, and we had a good view the other day from Jefferson looking over that way, so I wanted to have a view back if possible.
Friday was supposed to be the nicest of the 3 full days we were up in the WMNF area. Got there Thursday - on/off rain. Friday - so so. Saturday - rained all day. And of course Sunday was absolutely, perfectly spectacular. 75* and about zero humidity. You could see every needle on every pine tree from 10 miles away, and it was time to pack up and go home. Oh, well.....there's always next year.
Drove to the trailhead and parked amidst lots of cars at the train station. The weather had pretty much clouded over as we drove higher, and it was definitely threatening as we headed up Webster/Jackson. Had a nice look out over the upper Notch at Bugle Cliff. Kids could do that part of the trip easily. Started to rain a bit, but not hard, amd we pressed on, opting to head on to the top of Webster rather than turn for Jackson. Saw a handmade note for "Betsey" on the sign at the cutoff (more later).
The Webster spur headed straight down a very rough section for a couple hundred feet, and we were wet and bumming, saying, "Geez, we're just gonna hafta climb back up outa here - what's the deal?". But - our reward for the extra work was a gorgeous double waterfall on the upper part of the creek that feeds Silver Cascade. About 6-7' of crystal clear water at the bottom of the lower, 15' drop. Just beautiful and if the sun was out, I would have been in that pool in a second.
Climbed back up out of there, and then the real rain started. Got pretty wet going up Webster, which made it seem much longer. But our plan was to get the majority of the elevation gain behind us early and then stay up high for the rest and walk as far as we could. Went up 2100' in the first 2.5 miles to Webster. Have to admit that even in the rain, the woods on Webster were just beautiful. Very green and open. Lots of ferns and mossy areas. Incredible green!! Just below Webster summit (rain had finally stopped) we met up with Bestey's crew, a bunch of 40-somethings headed for an overnight at Mizpah. Couldn't have been a nicer group, they wished us well, we told them we had seen their note but no sign of Betsey. They told us to look for the woman out hiking with her poodle (!). OK......
Top of Webster (3910') was open, blustery, and STRAIGHT DOWN about 500' to the Notch and the rocks above 302. Wow-ee. Had a bite, took in the changing views and bundled up cuz we were wet. Stayed about 20 minutes, and then noticed, the clouds were lifting!! Got to see some of the view, and Sunday that would have been a great place to be. I'll get back there again soon.
Turned back to head off for Jackson and the sun came out! This was a wonderful walk in the woods. Stayed mostly along the ridge, great views, with only a couple of pitches to go up to get to the top of Jackson (4050'). Surprised at the number of people up there (probably 30). Ran into Betsey's group again who were still looking for her. Great views, especially south over the Dry River area.
Backside of Jackson was tricky with a couple forced "glissades" on the seat of our pants to get down the rock faces. But - almost at the bottom a 40-ish woman came literally running up the trail with the muddiest, gnarliest-looking poodle ever - "Hi Betsey! Your group is just up at the top of Jackson!". Betsey had gone the Jackson route to Mizpah instead Webster, had already set up her tent and was looping around the area looking for her team. From the look of Bestey's legs, she could go all day - she put us to shame. The dog, however, looked like he had had it. If this was once a show poodle, he wasn't anymore after this hike, for sure.
Jackson to Mizpah was the continuation of our nice walk in the woods - more meadows, mossy/ferny areas that we dubbed "Ireland" for all the shamrocks, and the clouds just faded away. Mizpah was awesome - Denise at the front desk got us hot soup, and our feet took a needed break. What a great lodge! The minestrone soup was delicious and the "Mizpah Croo" were fun to talk to. The bunkrooms looked pretty well-used (gear/clothes everywhere), and Denise said they had a full house that night. Pierce and Ike would have to wait for another day as we settled into our seats. Took a few pics and headed on down Mizpah Cutoff to the Crawford Path.
Man is Crawford Path rough! Being the "oldest continuously-used footpath in America" I guess I expected it to be a bit more smoothed out from all the traffic. No way - it was much rougher than the Webster trails, and I was glad we chose to do the loop counter-clockwise. Saw a couple of groups carrying VERY large packs up to Mizpah and they looked miz-erable as the temps went up in the sun. Stopped at Gibbs Falls at the bottom - nice.
A nice loop - wish we could have gone on to Pierce but we ran out of time and energy. 8.5 miles is pretty good for us Weekend Warriors. Gotta get back up there again before the snow flies......
Pics are here - http://forums.alpinezone.com/module...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
Date: 8/21/04
Trails: Webster-Jackson; Webster Cliff; Mizpah Cutoff; Crawford Path
Distance/Elevation: 8.5 mi/approx 3000'
Conditions: Fine - just muddy in spots. No problems with creek crossings.
Difficulty: moderate with a few tricky rock scrambles
Special Equipment Needed: Raingear early and then sunblock! Thinking about using poles in future......
The boys were back at it during our second weekend up in Glen, NH. The Webster Cliffs area above Crawford Notch is one I have been wanting to explore for a while, and ole buddy Rob, son Nick, and Fireman Dan joined me for the trip. The idea was to see what we could see from the top of Mt. Webster, then head up the ridge to Jackson, Mizpah, and possibly Pierce or even Eisenhower depending on how we felt after each segment. Always heard the views from Pierce and Ike are great, and we had a good view the other day from Jefferson looking over that way, so I wanted to have a view back if possible.
Friday was supposed to be the nicest of the 3 full days we were up in the WMNF area. Got there Thursday - on/off rain. Friday - so so. Saturday - rained all day. And of course Sunday was absolutely, perfectly spectacular. 75* and about zero humidity. You could see every needle on every pine tree from 10 miles away, and it was time to pack up and go home. Oh, well.....there's always next year.
Drove to the trailhead and parked amidst lots of cars at the train station. The weather had pretty much clouded over as we drove higher, and it was definitely threatening as we headed up Webster/Jackson. Had a nice look out over the upper Notch at Bugle Cliff. Kids could do that part of the trip easily. Started to rain a bit, but not hard, amd we pressed on, opting to head on to the top of Webster rather than turn for Jackson. Saw a handmade note for "Betsey" on the sign at the cutoff (more later).
The Webster spur headed straight down a very rough section for a couple hundred feet, and we were wet and bumming, saying, "Geez, we're just gonna hafta climb back up outa here - what's the deal?". But - our reward for the extra work was a gorgeous double waterfall on the upper part of the creek that feeds Silver Cascade. About 6-7' of crystal clear water at the bottom of the lower, 15' drop. Just beautiful and if the sun was out, I would have been in that pool in a second.
Climbed back up out of there, and then the real rain started. Got pretty wet going up Webster, which made it seem much longer. But our plan was to get the majority of the elevation gain behind us early and then stay up high for the rest and walk as far as we could. Went up 2100' in the first 2.5 miles to Webster. Have to admit that even in the rain, the woods on Webster were just beautiful. Very green and open. Lots of ferns and mossy areas. Incredible green!! Just below Webster summit (rain had finally stopped) we met up with Bestey's crew, a bunch of 40-somethings headed for an overnight at Mizpah. Couldn't have been a nicer group, they wished us well, we told them we had seen their note but no sign of Betsey. They told us to look for the woman out hiking with her poodle (!). OK......
Top of Webster (3910') was open, blustery, and STRAIGHT DOWN about 500' to the Notch and the rocks above 302. Wow-ee. Had a bite, took in the changing views and bundled up cuz we were wet. Stayed about 20 minutes, and then noticed, the clouds were lifting!! Got to see some of the view, and Sunday that would have been a great place to be. I'll get back there again soon.
Turned back to head off for Jackson and the sun came out! This was a wonderful walk in the woods. Stayed mostly along the ridge, great views, with only a couple of pitches to go up to get to the top of Jackson (4050'). Surprised at the number of people up there (probably 30). Ran into Betsey's group again who were still looking for her. Great views, especially south over the Dry River area.
Backside of Jackson was tricky with a couple forced "glissades" on the seat of our pants to get down the rock faces. But - almost at the bottom a 40-ish woman came literally running up the trail with the muddiest, gnarliest-looking poodle ever - "Hi Betsey! Your group is just up at the top of Jackson!". Betsey had gone the Jackson route to Mizpah instead Webster, had already set up her tent and was looping around the area looking for her team. From the look of Bestey's legs, she could go all day - she put us to shame. The dog, however, looked like he had had it. If this was once a show poodle, he wasn't anymore after this hike, for sure.
Jackson to Mizpah was the continuation of our nice walk in the woods - more meadows, mossy/ferny areas that we dubbed "Ireland" for all the shamrocks, and the clouds just faded away. Mizpah was awesome - Denise at the front desk got us hot soup, and our feet took a needed break. What a great lodge! The minestrone soup was delicious and the "Mizpah Croo" were fun to talk to. The bunkrooms looked pretty well-used (gear/clothes everywhere), and Denise said they had a full house that night. Pierce and Ike would have to wait for another day as we settled into our seats. Took a few pics and headed on down Mizpah Cutoff to the Crawford Path.
Man is Crawford Path rough! Being the "oldest continuously-used footpath in America" I guess I expected it to be a bit more smoothed out from all the traffic. No way - it was much rougher than the Webster trails, and I was glad we chose to do the loop counter-clockwise. Saw a couple of groups carrying VERY large packs up to Mizpah and they looked miz-erable as the temps went up in the sun. Stopped at Gibbs Falls at the bottom - nice.
A nice loop - wish we could have gone on to Pierce but we ran out of time and energy. 8.5 miles is pretty good for us Weekend Warriors. Gotta get back up there again before the snow flies......
Pics are here - http://forums.alpinezone.com/module...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
