^MtnMike^
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I’ll preface this trip report by saying that I’ve always been a bit apprehensive about nightfall in the mountains. This probably stems from the fact that one of my first hikes was a poorly planned spring dayhike of Falling Waters that almost ended with my wife and I stuck on the trail overnight without headlamps or warm gear.
Since that hike I’ve always had a headlamp (and a spare!) in my pack, but this still didn’t help with that sinking feeling in my gut whenever I noticed the sun hanging low in the sky while I was hiking. Realizing that my apprehension was killing a lot of the fun of hiking for me I decided to plan some night hikes.
My first night hike was with my wife in the summer of 2008. We took a short hike up to Bugle Cliff in Crawford Notch to watch the sunset and enjoy the Bretton Woods Independence Day fireworks display. Between the two of us I think we had 5 or six light sources and probably enough food and water to survive for a week – irrational fears will do that to you. The descent back to 302 in the dark was short and uneventful but it helped me gain confidence hiking at night.
My second night hike was on Mt. Pierce with my wife last summer. We began the hike at 2am and summited about an hour before sunrise. Being a longer hike, this trip really helped to quell any remaining fears I had of hiking at night – and the sunrise was spectacular.
The natural next step seemed to be a solo hike at night. I accomplished this a few nights ago on Mt. Jackson.
I arrived at the trail parking lot at around 1:45am but decided to park at Crawford Depot because a large semi was parked lengthwise at the trailhead for the Webster-Jackson trial. I gathered my gear and made the short road walk to the trailhead getting circled by either a bat or a small owl a couple of times along the way. I was surprised at how cool (though still humid) the air was – cool enough for me to see my breath.
The Webster-Jackson trail was fairly wet, with lots of mud patches and damp rocks that required careful negotiation, but I managed a decent pace even in the dark. I lost count of the number of spider webs I walked through (all conveniently strung across the trail at face height), but I imagine quite a few spiders got a free ride up the mountain courtesy of me. Hiking alone at night I expected to be nervous and jumpy, instead I felt quite calm (I was more nervous on the midnight ride to the trailhead - paranoid that a deer would dart out in front of my car.)
I reached the summit at about 4:10am, just over an hour short of sunrise. The sky to the northeast over the low ridges of Mt. Washington had already begun turning a dull shade of red. The short scramble to the summit was easier than I had expected in the dark on wet rocks. I was thankful for this. At the summit I set up my camera tripod, sent a text to my wife, and had quick snack while I waited for twilight.
The sunrise over Mt. Washington was beautiful, with the summits of the southern Presidentials poking out of the clouds every now and then. Thankfully the summit of Jackson was completely clear of clouds and remained so the entire time I was there. I spent about 2 hours at the summit, snapping numerous pictures of the surrounding mountains as the sun crept up over the ridge. At around 6am I packed up and started the hike back to the car.
Scrambling down off the wet summit of Mt. Jackson in daylight proved harder than scrambling up by headlamp in the dark. I took my time and made it down without any bumps or bruises. The hike back to the trailhead went by quickly, with a short detour to take some pictures from Bugle Cliff. I made it back to 302 shortly before 8am, realizing that my solo hike had been truly solo – I did not see a single person on either my ascent or descent. This was another first as on every other solo hike I have done I’ve seen at least one other person on the trail.
After a short road walk back to the car I headed into North Conway for breakfast.
A few pictures from the hike:
The full picture album is here:
http://www.mcschell.com/gallery/jackson10
^MtnMike^
Since that hike I’ve always had a headlamp (and a spare!) in my pack, but this still didn’t help with that sinking feeling in my gut whenever I noticed the sun hanging low in the sky while I was hiking. Realizing that my apprehension was killing a lot of the fun of hiking for me I decided to plan some night hikes.
My first night hike was with my wife in the summer of 2008. We took a short hike up to Bugle Cliff in Crawford Notch to watch the sunset and enjoy the Bretton Woods Independence Day fireworks display. Between the two of us I think we had 5 or six light sources and probably enough food and water to survive for a week – irrational fears will do that to you. The descent back to 302 in the dark was short and uneventful but it helped me gain confidence hiking at night.
My second night hike was on Mt. Pierce with my wife last summer. We began the hike at 2am and summited about an hour before sunrise. Being a longer hike, this trip really helped to quell any remaining fears I had of hiking at night – and the sunrise was spectacular.
The natural next step seemed to be a solo hike at night. I accomplished this a few nights ago on Mt. Jackson.
I arrived at the trail parking lot at around 1:45am but decided to park at Crawford Depot because a large semi was parked lengthwise at the trailhead for the Webster-Jackson trial. I gathered my gear and made the short road walk to the trailhead getting circled by either a bat or a small owl a couple of times along the way. I was surprised at how cool (though still humid) the air was – cool enough for me to see my breath.
The Webster-Jackson trail was fairly wet, with lots of mud patches and damp rocks that required careful negotiation, but I managed a decent pace even in the dark. I lost count of the number of spider webs I walked through (all conveniently strung across the trail at face height), but I imagine quite a few spiders got a free ride up the mountain courtesy of me. Hiking alone at night I expected to be nervous and jumpy, instead I felt quite calm (I was more nervous on the midnight ride to the trailhead - paranoid that a deer would dart out in front of my car.)
I reached the summit at about 4:10am, just over an hour short of sunrise. The sky to the northeast over the low ridges of Mt. Washington had already begun turning a dull shade of red. The short scramble to the summit was easier than I had expected in the dark on wet rocks. I was thankful for this. At the summit I set up my camera tripod, sent a text to my wife, and had quick snack while I waited for twilight.
The sunrise over Mt. Washington was beautiful, with the summits of the southern Presidentials poking out of the clouds every now and then. Thankfully the summit of Jackson was completely clear of clouds and remained so the entire time I was there. I spent about 2 hours at the summit, snapping numerous pictures of the surrounding mountains as the sun crept up over the ridge. At around 6am I packed up and started the hike back to the car.
Scrambling down off the wet summit of Mt. Jackson in daylight proved harder than scrambling up by headlamp in the dark. I took my time and made it down without any bumps or bruises. The hike back to the trailhead went by quickly, with a short detour to take some pictures from Bugle Cliff. I made it back to 302 shortly before 8am, realizing that my solo hike had been truly solo – I did not see a single person on either my ascent or descent. This was another first as on every other solo hike I have done I’ve seen at least one other person on the trail.
After a short road walk back to the car I headed into North Conway for breakfast.
A few pictures from the hike:
The full picture album is here:
http://www.mcschell.com/gallery/jackson10
^MtnMike^
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