I had talked to a couple of people about the trails. The trail from the hut to Jackson was supposed to be really nice, and the trail from the hut down was nice. But, the trail from Jackson down is hard and steep. So, I decided I would hike over the Jackson with just my day pack, then go back to the hut and down. It didn't make sense in terms of miles, but it sounded like the easier route. And, I was excited with the idea of hiking with just a day pack! I had eaten some of the weight from my backpack, but still it was heavy.
So, only Jackson (elevation 4052) was on the agenda for the day. I was thinking I might regret doing it later, but I came to do six peaks that I hadn't done, and so I wanted to get the last one. I was so glad I did, I think Jackson was my favorite one! It was 1.6 miles from Mizpah to Jackson, most of it through mossy pine forest. Several places in the trail had logs to walk on, and were so easy to walk! There was more down hill to get to Jackson than up, I think! There was only one point I wasn't really happy - I came to a clearing in the woods and saw what I knew must be Jackson. It looked so tall and far away, I was questioning my decision. But then it turned out not to be that much further or that hard to get to the top.
The view from the top was amazing! You could see most of the Presidential range. I was so psyched because I was looking at what I had hiked, and I was really happy that I had done it all when it had been so hard. I sat on top for a long time, eating the last of the gummy bears and jelly beans, and feeling satisfied and hard core.
One thing that's funny about hiking is that you can see almost no one while hiking, but on the top of a mountain you are almost never alone. When I got to the summit of Jackson there was a thru hiker there who was asking me what the weather was supposed to be like, and how was the trail? He was headed towards Washington that day, and he didn't really seem that psyched about it. Washington was under clouds, and he was really sad when I said you can always tell Washington because of the antenna on top. - he had thought Monroe was Washington. There was also this couple that came up - very nice people. But the guy was telling me how he met some "really old" dude hiking. I mean, really old, "like maybe 47!" Sigh. I just laughed, but I wanted to say "and he doesn't need a walker?"
When I had my fill of the awesome view, and the awesome feeling of having made it the whole way, I headed back to the hut. The trip back seemed even shorter. I got back at 11:30 ish. Packed everything up, refilled my water, had a last bowl of soup and piece of bread, and headed out for the last 2.6 miles. The first part of the hike was more mossy pine forest. Really pretty! It got steep for a little bit, and the rocks were slippery. I also realized that Jackson may have been my favorite because I was just carrying my day pack, it was hard putting on the big pack (which at some point I named Brutus) again! By the time I got about half way down I could tell I had blisters on my feet. At the end, they were killing me! I was still glad that I had done Jackson, but I was so excited to see the parking lot and my car. I had a huge blister on the ball and big toe of my right foot, and on the big toe of the left foot. Also on the little toe. I don't know what was up with that - it's not like they were new boots. First thing I did was change to flip flops.
I drove over to a vending area and got ice cream and two beverage for the drive home. I really smelled, and I was not sure this was the best decision, as I would need to stop then, but I did it anyhow. It was a pretty amazing feeling sitting outside eating my ice cream - that was a tough hike, but I did it!!
It took me about 2.5 hours to drive home. I unpacked, showered and ate. Then I went to bed at 9. I woke up this morning and this coughing and wheezing that I'd been having during the hike was much worse - so bad that I went to the Minute Clinic and the nurse practitioner gave me a prescription cough med and an inhaler. So, it seems I either was sick or made myself sick - or made myself sicker??
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