Mt Pierce, Eisenhower (Pierce again) Jackson, Webster. August 25, 2018

On Saturday, Eric and I hiked Mt Pierce, Eisenhower, (back to Pierce), Jackson and Webster.
(warning. lots of pics. but everyone likes this better than lots of words!)

Our intention behind this particular hike was to do a little recon work for a potential extended traverse at some point in time.
We tapped out (according to plan, and most hikers do) at Pierce, during our traverse earlier in the season. Some people choose to extend the hike to Jackson, and occasionally (but rarely, from what we understand) to Webster. Since we plan/hope to take another crack at the traverse later this year, we decided to see what we would be getting into by adding a peak. Or two.

The weather was stunning, although warm. Clear skies, tinged with smoke from the Pacific Northwest fires made for some interesting clouds, and a stunning sunrise.

Smokey

We began our hike from the lot on Clinton Rd. It was early enough so that there was ample space both there and at the AMC Highland center.

After a quick gear/trail check we headed up Crawford Path, the same trail that we made our traverse decent upon (so nostalgic!!)

"where the hell are we going" -trail navigation *expert*

Since I am a waterfall fan, we made the very short detour (literally steps off the trail, in the first mile) to Gibbs Falls. Worth it, because it's never a mistake to walk three steps to see a little falls.

So pretty!

We met very little hiker traffic, and enjoyed the peaceful ascent. The trail was quite damp from recent rainfall and we soon found ourselves to be a bit mucky. The footing was totally fine for climbing though, and we were making good progress (especially since we only met a handful of other hikers.)

Climbing

The mid week precipitation had definitely added some green to the surroundings, and I certainly enjoyed the walk through Narnia.

Crawford path is so lush

After 95 minutes of hiking, we reached the Pierce Summit. We found several other hikers there (some of whom we passed messages to, from hikers we had met earlier in the hike. So fun!) However, it was still early enough to avoid the lunch rush. (about 9:10AM- so, LATE for us, but early for sane people)

Pierce round 1, looking at Eisenhower, Monroe, with Washington in the obvious distance

We more or less made a game time decision to scoot over and visit Eisenhower. We both felt good and had the whole day off, and the conclusion was to make the most of it.

You really can't beat the walk between the two peaks. Good footing, good views, low traffic.

Coming to get you, Ike

It was WARM, without a breath of wind. I was glad to have applied a hefty dose of sunscreen, but had a minor concern that I would run out of water before arriving at Mizpah and die a horrible, dehydrated death. #dramatic

Warm. Clear. And some *extreme* rock hopping

We summited Eisenhower at 10AM sharp and were, once again, pleasantly surprised to only see a handful of other hikers.

You can't NOT take a pic of what's between you and Washington (haze.... magic..... no humans.....!!)

The calm weather seemed to keep my favorite birds home, and I was disappointed not to see my crow friends playing in the thermals.

We took a few minutes to snack, dry our sweaty selves off, and then it was back to Pierce!

Take note of the EXTREME sweat. And Eric's heart rate monitor. #fitness

The miles back to Pierce (or, mile.... ish) were pleasant and warm. (ummm, hot) We had packed light for this excursion and my pack weighed in at 9 pounds (so basically nothing.) Since I am still TERRIBLE at carrying anything over 15 pounds (or 10, lets be honest here) I was LOVING the light weight situation.

Light packs make for happy hikers

We made it back to Pierce at 11:00 and saw the first big pack of hikers looking for the summit. Which on Pierce is basically anticlimactic... We pointed them in the direction of the pin, and we hustled off towards the Mizpah Hut.

Pierce, 2.0

The stretch of trail between Pierce and Mizpah is, in places, a bit of a shit show. We were more attentive than usual to this, since we are considering adding Jackson and possibly Webster to the next traverse event. We were trying to imagine the more challenging steps on legs that had already seen significant mileage.

We saw some cool dead tree forests. (and some steep stupid slimy rock sections.)

"Dead Tree Forest" 

We also came across a crazy stretch of little bridges suspended over certain death.

Certain death awaits

We cruised into the Mizpah Hut at 11:35 and refilled our DRY water reservoirs.

Blue sky over Mizpah

We had completely and spaztically forgotten to bring money which was a bummer. Despite having a decent number of snacks still in my pack, I would have really enjoyed a bowl of soup. I nosed around a bit in the hut, and feel that I would be able to survive a night in one of the cute bunk beds. I'm not much for camping, but I don't think that the Huts really count, as they give you beds/food/toilets (and I even had a bit of internet at that point!! Survival would be possible for me!!)

The Webster Cliff trail between the hut and Jackson was BASICALLY SPECTACULAR AND WE LOVED IT.

OH MY LORD, MAGICAL TRAIL PERFECTION

Lots of mud, and TONS of the little hot dog highways (long story about those cut in half-log bridges... it's a thing, don't question it.) Easy hiking, and nothing technical for quite a long stretch. I could hike on a trail like that for 100 miles and never, ever complain (as long as I had plenty of snacks.)

Eric scampering across a hot dog highway

There was also an amazing mountain top swamp type thing. Very unexpected.

Gorgeous mountain swamp. Random? I don't know. 

In the last push to the Jackson peak there was a bit of a rock scramble. Nothing major for this particular day, but something to take into consideration when traversing.

Majestic scrambling. 

We encountered a ridiculous number of people (this is clearly a popular lunch spot, as we arrived promptly at 12:27.)

Earlier, we were wayyyyyy over theeeeeereeeee

The initial decent (Webster Cliff trail) was pretty technical (read: deathly) for a short stretch. Apparently, what goes up must come down, and the trail indeed did. Aggressively. So much so, that I neglected to take a picture. I sort of butt scooted down, clinging to trees and roots and saying the F work quite a bit.

Post death descent, the remainder of the path to Webster was quite enjoyable. All below treeline, so nice and shady. (muddy) A few little scrambles, that we both enjoyed.

Very typical, and enjoyable stretch of trail as we moved towards Webster

Getting to the Webster Summit required a short out and back, and then we got some pretty impressive cliff views as payback.

Wowza

It was getting a bit overcast, but the clouds helped with the heat at that point. We appreciated the slight breath of air that we felt at the summit. Definitely different from the traverse with the 35MPH winds!

Gotta get the summit shot

After enjoying a little time on the peak (we arrived at 1:10) we took the Webster Jackson trail (Webster Branch) back down towards Rt 302.
We did not enjoy this trail. Like, at all.


It was a tricky and fiddly trail with steep descent.

Like, really steep

Lots of the usual slimy rocks and roots. A couple river crossings (which I enjoy when the water is low, as it was on this day.) It was good to have a nice waterfall moment, because this trail is just a pain.

Cute waterfall and pool

I'm not at all sure if this is a trail that I would be extremely excited about traveling down at the end of a traverse. We were both a little bit *over it* by the time the footing became more reasonable (exactly one half mile from when we began our trip down. It was a sucky half mile.)

The footing does improve. Eventually....

While the remainder of the trip was more or less uneventful, it was not the worlds easiest path.
The moral of the story is go ahead, do it at the end of a short (or 12+ miler) but seriously consider taking Crawford from Pierce at the end of a longer day. Or don't, and kind of hate your life.

We stopped at one of the scenic vistas (Bugle Cliff) to enjoy the scenery. Or. The traffic and endless parked cars at the AMC Highland center (glad we got there fairly early!)

Bugle Cliff, looking toward the Highland Center, with the Crawford Depot in view

And then we were done! Yay! It was a million degrees out. Oh, and it was almost 3PM.

We hike a half mile back to our car, and saw a hiking dog run into Rt 302 and LEGIT ALMOST GET HIT. We totally ran out, stopped traffic, and had heart attacks until the dogs Dad came and saved him. Scary.

We both took a water bottle/parking lot bath because it had been a muddy day! So classy.

Some dirt

We forgot to bring beer. We were sad.....

So. Another super good hike. A big one too! We loved the low traffic start (and with so little summer left, the lunch time crowds are to be expected.) It was definitely the warmest hiking day of our season (we have never run out of water before.) We really enjoyed exploring new trails, even if they were a touch deadly on occasion.

We made it! 

We are very much hoping to return in the next few weeks for another traverse WITH EVAN this time, so this was a great recon mission. Who knows what we will end up doing in the end- but my vote is to skip Webster for sure.

Stats:
-12.8 miles

-4,424 ft

-7 hours 21 minutes total time (safe to say we had about 45 minutes stopped time)

-Challenge level: Difficult, but mostly due to the total mileage, and the technical moments, especially in the later half of the hike. Any one of the peaks could easily be managed as a much more reasonable outing (but we are always looking for a challenge, apparently.)