My first snow of the season

High winds, low temperatures and potentially treacherous open ledges of ice on the way to Mt. Jackson's summit compelled our group of 7 to change plans this morning and hike up the pleasantly graded Crawford Path to Mt. Pierce instead. At 0.6 miles, a side path leads to Gibbs Falls, worth the 5-minute diversion.


If we thought we'd avoid snow and ice, we were mistaken. It flurried on and off as we were ascending, and then, at about 2,700 feet of elevation, the snow covered the ground and tree limbs in a beautiful blanket of white.

It got increasingly colder as we ascended, and near the top there was ice--though quite manageable both going up and coming down. Near the top, to the north, we saw the glorious autumn-colored landscape leading up to Mt. Eisenhower through a thick patch of cloud. One small spot of sunshine broke through in what Mike called a "sucker hole", which he explained appears out of the blue when flying through storm clouds.

Four gray (Canada) jays kept us company on the way up, greedily snatching nuts from the palms of our hands. We discovered that they would not come to anyone wearing gloves--a bare palm was necessary to attract them.

Thanks to Wanda, Joleen and Mike Rice for their leadership.

~5.4 miles; ~2,400 ft. elevation gain
Summit: Mt. Pierce = 4,312 feet
Route: Crawford Path from Mt. Clinton Road