Between June, 2016 and June, 2018 I climbed all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000-foot mountains. This is called “peak-bagging” by local climbers. Most of my climbs were solo, but sometimes I hiked with a friend or two.
During that time, I wrote a series of blog posts in which I described, chronologically, the ascent of each of these peaks in words and images. Along with a climb, in each post I shared some reflections on my work in international development during the MDG era: what it was like in the sector as it boomed, and evolved, from the response to the Ethiopian crisis in the mid-1980’s through to the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.
After finishing climbing all of the 48, with the ascent of Mt Jefferson on June 28, 2018, I have revisited these mountains – often in different seasons and using different trails. I’m writing these climbs up separately.
I had climbed Mt Jackson (4052ft, 1235m) for the first time, at least since returning from Australia in late 2015, on 2 June, 2017. In my post about that climb, I also wrote about CCF’s new “Bright Futures” program approach, which had resulted from a great process of research and reflection.
I climbed Mt Jackson again, my second time, on 18 November 2020, after having completed all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000-footers late in 2018. A solo, late-fall hike that felt like full-on winter! And, on that same climb, I got to the summit of Mt Webster, which is on the “52-with-a-View” list; I wrote that climb up in an earlier post, which also discussed the good news that the proportion of our population that feels that our country spends too much on assistance to other countries is going down, fast. So there is a little bit of repetition here…
This time, I planned to hike up to Mt Jackson from the north end of Crawford Notch, on the Jackson Branch of the Webster-Jackson Trail, cut across to Mt Webster on the Webster Cliff Trail, and then descend on the Webster Branch of the Webster-Jackson Trail:
That was the plan, but it didn’t turn out that way! Here’s what I actually did:
So I did get to the top of both Mt Jackson and Mt Webster on this climb, but by dropping most of the way back down to the trailhead (at least, dropping down most of the elevation!)
Back in June of 2017 I went up Mt Jackson on the Webster Cliff Trail, from the south. This time up would turn out to be a very challenging climb, not so much because of the elevations involved or the length of the hike, but because of the weather – it was very cold, very windy, and very icy!
If you have the time, here is a 14-minute description of the day:
If you don’t have time to watch the full description, here are a few images! Near the trailhead, starting out at around 10:30am, it was already pretty icy!
At the fork in the Webster-Jackson Trail:
I went left there, heading for Mt Jackson. For comparison, here’s what it had looked like 3 1/2 years earlier!
But this time it was cold and windy. Very cold. Very windy.
Near the top of Mt Jackson, there is an area of ledge that was very icy:
It was not easy getting up that ledge. But I reached the top of Mt Jackson, just after noon:
Having a rushed lunch while standing up in the snow, I got very chilled…
After eating lunch, I tried to head southwest on the Webster Cliff Trail, towards Mt Webster, but there was too much snow and ice, and it was steep going down. No other footprints, so I really wasn’t sure where I was going and if I would be able to get through.
So I turned back, down the way I came, thinking that, if all went well, I could double back up the Webster Branch and get up to Mt Webster that way!
Which is what I did! I descended all the way down to the Webster-Jackson fork, and went back up again, all the way to the top of Mt Webster. I reached the summit of Webster at about 2:30pm, so it I guess it wasn’t a big challenge. But it was cold!
I turned around here, dropping back down towards the trailhead:
Here is the Silver Cascade in winter.
And comparing the Silver Cascade in spring and winter!
I walked out onto Rt 302 at around 4:30pm:
So I had climbed Mt Jackson again, this time in the late fall / early winter.
What an amazing climb!
Here are links to my New Hampshire mountain-climbing blogs, plus a description of a trek to Everest Base Camp:
- Here are links to all 48 articles in my “4000-Footer” series: each one about climbing one of New Hampshire’s 4000-footers, while also reflecting on a career in international development;
- Here you will find links to descriptions of my climbs of New Hampshire’s “52 With A View” – mountains, all of which are under 4000-feet, and that have great views. At the same time, I offer some miscellaneous thoughts on current events;
- Here I am collecting descriptions of subsequent climbs of the 4000-footers, the “52”, and other significant mountains here in New Hampshire.
- Even before finishing the 4000-footers, in 2017, I’ve been repeating some of those climbs, and even some mountains on the 52-with-a-View list. Often these repeat climbs are done on alternate routes in different seasons. Descriptions of those repeat climbs will be collected here. Generally speaking, they only describe these fantastic climbs, without any commentary or reflections…
- Four friends and I hiked from Lukla to the Everest Base Camp in November, 2019. It was incredible, spectacular, and very challenging. Here are links to my articles describing that trek.
Mark McPeak 