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Peak(s):  Mt. Jackson  -  13,675 feet
Unnamed 13443  -  13,443 feet
Date Posted:  08/22/2019
Date Climbed:   08/20/2019
Author:  bergsteigen
 Beauty and the Beasties   

Mt Jackson, 13,433

  • mileage: 23.41 (pack in/out 7.97, peak from camp 7.47)
  • elevation gain: 7098' (pack out -2145 +774, peak from camp 4179')
  • trailhead: Cross Creek
  • partner: solo

With another monsoon lull in the beginning of the week, I had to come up with a 13er plan. Last week I worked on breaking in my new-old boots on some 14er grid slots. New-old, because I bought them back in 2013, when I knew my old Vasques were going to die soon. But with the broken leg(s), I didn't want to put my swollen/cranky ankle into these stiff boots, so I started using other lighter boots with my tender ankle. Now it was time to get back to these boots. With my 13er list dwindling, I figured it was time to tackle a near by backpack and get into that mode of travel. Sure, some have been day tripping Jackson from Beaver Creek, but I didn't think my feet in new boots would even make it. So an overnight was called for. So I decided that with similar mileage and elevation gains, the Cross Creek approach would at least allow for a sheltered camp below the ridge.

I got to the trailhead at the ripe ol time of 10am, and started up the trail an hour later in the heat of the day. A few groups started off before me, but I soon caught and passed them, and after the 1.5mi overlook, I never saw another person again, except briefly on the summit of Jackson. The trail for that first section is really great, but soon as the easy hikers stop, the trail becomes a lot more over grown and trickier to follow. Thankfully there are some cairns when the trail becomes really sparse. Overall I made great time on the trail, but there were a lot of ups and downs. Those downs would turn into ups on the pack out, and hurt quite a bit!

19707_01
Entering the wilderness
19707_02
Nice bridge a mile in


19707_03
Last time I saw other people on Cross Creek trail
19707_04
Field of fall flowers


19707_05
My 2 hour break time, half way in. I packed much better on way out!


19707_06
Don't think I've ever seen these wild flowers in perfect bloom before!
19707_07
Pretty


19707_08
Extra life
19707_09
Big shroom!

The farther out on the trail I got, the smaller and fainter it got. 14ers worry about LNT. On these type of forgotten trails, if we don't leave a trace, it seems like the forrest and meadows will reclaim the trails completely!

19707_10
The actual trail is clover.
19707_11
Lots of these around
19707_12
Dilapidated bridge over Cross Creek

I went as far on the trail as the second bridge crossing of Cross Creek. I touched the railing of the bridge and it was barely still attached. I didn't want to tempt fate by trying to cross on one log, when the other had snapped in half previously. So I made camp back where the "climbers trail" for Jackson started up the steep slope. The mosquito's were pretty bad still, so after eating my dinner under head net, I finished the evening reading some Dumas in my bivy tent.

I started my trek up the steep slope by the mini stream as soon as it was light enough to navigate. The first 1K pitch is steep but doable. Farther to the left is more cliffy and even though there is a tempting grassy slope you can see from afar, the base of that looks horrific. Thankfully there is a game/climber trail that contours into the basin below the peaks. I was quite happy to find that trail after that steep morning workout! Made for some faster travel after the slow ascent.

Once into the upper basin, it was mostly navigating by GPS, since you are still in a dense forrest. I didn't want to gain too much too fast, only to loose that elevation. Sometimes contouring next to the stream worked well, other times it's full of deadfall. So it was back to a slower pace, as the navigation is less obvious, despite a cairn or two along the way. I was following game trails where applicable, but typically it was just a forrest bushwack. Sounds of the stream that drains the peaks are always with you and sometimes reach a cacophony that require a bit of an inspection and diversion from the uphill trek.

19707_13
Morning shroom
19707_14
Diversion to the slab waterfall

It was really nice to finally break out of the trees and see the peaks for the day, after all that slow moving travel! I ended up hugging the right side of the valley, for better or worse, instead of crossing the stream where I did on the way out. This lead to some class 3/4 giant boulders to navigate. McMansion sized boulders.

19707_15
First views of 13,433 and Jackson with the moon
19707_16
13,433 from the boulder garden
19707_17
Looking back on the class 3/4 boulder to avoid the swamp below

Beyond the boulder garden, I then had to stay hard right to get up next to the slab waterfalls that dominate the access to Jackson's north slopes.

19707_18
More slab waterfalls

Once above the latest section of waterfalls, the valley turned into a talus fest. Low angle and stable, so travel went back up in speed again.

19707_19
Route up to Jackson's north slope on left

There's still some snow on the north side, but it was all easily avoidable. Went within a short distance of the summit too. Would be tough to carry the skis in all that way though!

19707_20
Route up to the north ridge on Jackson
19707_21
I'd ski that!

After what felt like a long time, I finally reached the summit of Jackson. I found a pair of gloves on the summit cairn, and a few minutes later, their owner showed up! I asked if they were the owner of a blue truck with Missouri plates that was parked at the CC TH, but he said he came from Holy Cross... dang, that's a rugged way to get to Jackson!

19707_22
Summit Pano


19707_23
13,433 with the other western HCW peaks


19707_24
I spy a ski line on a peak I need!

I had originally planned to descend from the saddle between the 2 peaks, but that steep snow and no ice ax gave me pause. There was a spot without a cornice, but it was steep and the runout was short. A slip could easily end with more broken bones!

19707_25
13,433 and the snowy saddle
19707_26
Looking back up at Jackson

It was a short trek over to 13,433 where the other hikers had already left.

19707_27
A rugged view to the north


19707_28
13,433 summit pano

Since I didn't feel safe descending the saddle with the snow and no ax, I dropped down the east ridge for a bit, until I saw a slope to contour back to the left again. It appears to cliff out to the right, or at least gets too steep on loose talus for my taste. Going back to the center of the circe worked well, and I even got in some boot skiing on the snow.


19707_29
Shoulda brought the ax!
19707_30
Looking down the talus to the drainage below


19707_31
Looking back up at 13,433 and the rougher terrain I avoided along the east ridge

As I dropped lower through the drainage, I encountered a few more snow patches, and got a nice butt ski glissade in. Just the perfect angle to control speed with the feet on. Other patches were too low angle to slide, but made for easy travel still.

19707_32
Glissading patch
19707_33
Cool rocks


19707_34
More snow to cross
19707_35
Looking back at 13,433 from the grassy boulder section

After the snow crossings, I started to contour my way back to my uphill track. Interesting terrain that requires some unique navigation. Lots of boulder cliffs. Wouldn't want to do this in the dark!

19707_36
Boulder problem: tunnel under or scramble over! I went over.
19707_37
Like a Zen garden

I was able to contour on the far side of the swampy stream to get to an easy crossing to regain my game trail from the way up. Probably would have the best way to go on the way up too, since it looked like there was an easy way to get to Jackson's north side on the far left side of the slabs.

19707_38
A look back at my ascent route up the other drainage
19707_39
Parting view of Jackson form the swampy section

Once back into the forrest, I had to revert to GPS tracking to navigate around all the glacial knobs and features to get back to the traverse trail.

19707_40
19707_41
Why Cross Creek is infested with lots of mosquitoes... plentiful swampy standing water! Oh meandering stream valleys.


19707_42
A look further up Cross Creek drainage.

Back at camp, I really didn't want to pack up and trek out, but I knew I wouldn't sleep well and the bugs were still a nightmare. So 8 mile trek here we come. I did let my feet out of my boots while I packed up. So necessary, yet not enough time for them to recover

19707_43
Much better packing job!
19707_44
Back to the easy clover trail

Made quick work of the first part of the pack out, while I still had light left. Then I got slower as it got darker. My feet were not liking me at all!

19707_45
Plentiful water along the trail
19707_46

I took a couple of nice breaks on the way out to let my feet rest. This was my longest day on my feet mileage wise for the season so far. Glad I didn't day trip!

19707_47
Last light on Holy Cross

Soon enough the sun set fully, and I was in the dark for the last couple miles. Instead of using a headlamp, I put a little lantern on the bottom of my camera case, so it would illuminate the trail and keep all the moths out of my face. Worked quite well! The closer I got to the trailhead, the slower I got. All those uphills were killer! Once I got to the truck, and could take off my boots, it was glorious. Though my feet threw a temper tantrum for the next hour, made driving a stick a wee bit more painful than normal!


My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):




Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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Comments or Questions
Jon Frohlich
User
A bit different
8/22/2019 5:35pm
This looks rather different than our Beaver Creek adventure last year. I shudder to think how many bugs were in there given the amount of water in the photos.


mtngoatwithstyle
Fantastic trip!
8/23/2019 10:16am
What an adventure you had!. The mushrooms described in the pic as "morning shrooms and lots of these around" are hawkwings and edible, so that you know. You can look them up!.
I did go up that way this summer but mosquitoes were eating me and had to turn around... I also had a bear encounter a little bit after the 1st bridge!.


bergsteigen
User
Thanks!
8/27/2019 12:12pm
Jon - Also a different route. I was second guessing my route choice with all those bugs!

mtngoatwithstyle - Good to know those aren't poisonous! I should get a kindle book on edible plants so I can look these things up in the field. Maybe next summer you can continue the trek, without the bear encounter!


jasayrevt
User
Congratulations, Otina
9/2/2019 9:55pm
Thank You kindly for posting trip reports on your selected 13er routes. It helps me and a lot of other summit-inclined folks



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