April 26, 2008 Hike #1
This was my first solo hike in several months. Well, I wasn't completely solo, Madison was with me. She was very excited and couldn't wait to get her four paws moving.
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Our first stop was Bugle Cliff where we could see down to Saco Lake.
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At this trail intersection we took a left.
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There was still a couple of feet of snow but I wasn't post-holing so I didn't bother with my snowshoes.
It looks like I have a beautiful day ahead.
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Madison puts it into 4-paw drive on this steep section.
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A few minutes later we were on the 4,052' summit of Mount Jackson
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This was Maddie's first 4 thousand footer since last year. She was quite proud.
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Here's a 360° view from the summit.
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Next we were off to Mount Pierce. We were now on the Webster Cliff Trail which is also the Appalachian Trail. Whichever A.T. thru hiker is leading the pack this year may want to slow down a little. There's still 2-3 feet of snow up here. I was starting to sink a little, so I put my snowshoes on.
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This set of bog bridging managed to break free from the snow.
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Mizpah Hut was still boarded up. It should open in a few more weeks.
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Looking back to Mount Jackson
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Madison on the 4310' summit of Mount Pierce.
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Here's a 180° view from just below the summit.
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The ridge up to Eisenhower looked mostly free from ice and snow,
so at the Crawford Path I ditched my snowshoes and crampons.
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Looking back to Mount Pierce
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The valley below
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Next we reached the 4780' summit of Eisenhower. This was 4000 footer #20 for Madison.
Below, looking north to Mount Washington.
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Here's a 360° view from the summit.
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Maddie and I retraced our steps to just below Mount Pierce where I had ditched my snowshoes and crampons. We took a break and continued down the Crawford Path. Near the bottom, we stopped to check out Gibbs Falls.
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We came out at a different trailhead than we started. We had a short quarter mile road walk. It brought us past Saco Lake. That's Mount Webster in the background.
I still had a few hours of daylight left,
so I decided to drive over to Franconia Notch and climb Cannon Mountain.
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