BIGEarl
Well-known member
January 2, 2010: Hancocks Loop - CCW
Trails: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail
Summits: Hancock – South Peak, Hancock – North Peak
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), ScenicNH (Erin), and me
The forecast for the day wasn’t good but the conditions didn’t appear as bad as the experts had predicted. There’s always a chance the meteorologists are up to their old tricks of over-hyping a storm again (I’m convinced they all take special classes in this area). Sue and I met as planned and headed north in very light flurries. For the first few miles we had a 30-mph convoy of plow trucks in front of us on the highway – but they weren’t plowing anything. Finally, at the Bedford Tolls we moved around them and picked up the pace a little. Above Manchester we were cruising at 55 mph and above Concord we were at our normal 70mph. After a quick stop at Lincoln Woods we made our way to the trailhead lot at the hairpin on the Kancamagus Highway and grabbed our things for the hike. There were a couple other vehicles in the lot but it looked like they may have been there overnight. As we were setting off another vehicle pulled in.
This was another hike where we were on snowshoes from start to finish. We were the first ones on the trail and had to work our way through the new snow from the overnight storm the meteorologists were warning everybody about. There was roughly one to two inches of new powder. As we hiked there was an occasional flurry but generally the weather was quiet.
I can’t imagine how the trail could be better. The full route was a smooth snowshoe track. The snow depth is finally above nearly all rocks on the trail and the bridges at the crossings were all solid. We were hiking along at our normal pace, which isn’t particularly fast, expecting the hiker that pulled into the lot as we were leaving to motor past at any time. Finally, a short distance after the Hancock Notch – Cedar Brook trails junction the other hiker was closing in. I looked at him, and then looked at Sue and said “he looks familiar but I can’t recall the name”. It was Erin, (ScenicNH). Just like us he was out for some fresh air on the Hancocks loop. We visited for a while and decided to hike together, at least for a while.
Instead of taking the bushwhack-bypass, we stayed with the trail and made all of the normal crossings without any problems at all. The bridges are in place. After a quick stop at the Cedar Brook – Hancock Loop junction we set off for the climb. I had read a report the trail on the South Peak had been heavily glissaded and it seemed ascending Hancock South might be better than descending. That was our plan; we would hike the Hancocks Loop counterclockwise. Roughly half way to the loop split there were more hikers approaching. First a couple guys came through. Then, a large group of perhaps eight came up from behind being led by Al Dwyer (sorry but I can’t provide the full roster of Al’s army). We visited for a few minutes and soon continued. The first two guys that went past continued from the loop split to climb the south peak, Al’s army went to the north peak first. At the split Erin headed for Arrow Slide while Sue and I continued up the south peak. Erin said if the slide didn’t look good he might u-turn and try to catch us on the loop.
The trail up Hancock South is steep, smooth from glissading, and soft enough for the snowshoe crampons to dig in, but firm enough to hold as we climbed. We had a very uneventful climb to the south peak. As we approached the summit we also hiked into a strong wind. The wind was blowing hard from the west-northwest and made standing around on the summit very unpleasant. We got the usual summit pictures and took off for some additional shelter in the dense growth the north peak. Roughly a third of the way to the north peak we met Al’s army. I wonder if we appeared as cold to them as some of them did to us. The wind was pretty strong. An odd thing happened just before we met; the wind direction made a switch from west-northwest to east. That’s a big change but suddenly the wind was coming in from the direction of Carrigain and Chocorua instead.
After another brief visit with Al we were off for the next target. In a short distance another couple came through on their clockwise hike. Then, as we started the final climb to Hancock North I stopped to look back for Sue and saw her coming along the trail with Erin right behind. Arrow Slide had very tough snow conditions and Erin decided to try and catch us. We re-grouped and hiked together to the north peak. At the north peak the sun was almost visible through the very thin cloud layer. Unless things changed quite a bit we were going to fall short of the 1 to 3 inches of new snow that were in the forecast. We stopped for a few pictures and prepared for a steep and fast descent.
The first hundred yards is relatively mild then the trail heads straight down. This is my third hike on the MSRs and I am amazed at their traction. With only a few exceptions, they held the trail all of the way down. I was able to do a little sliding but it was generally limited to a short distance each time. We all hit the gravel bed at the bottom and made the short climb back to the loop split. All of us had added layers on the ridge and stayed with them for the descent. Here we stopped to adjust for the milder conditions we would enjoy on our hike back to the trailhead.
The hike out was nothing more than a pleasant walk in the woods. With all of the traffic for the day the bridges held up and we were able to stay with the trail not needing to bushwhack around any stream crossings. At the Cedar Brook – Hancock Notch junction we met three others with a very large yellow lab. They were out for a snowshoe to Hancock Notch. We also noticed a couple on skis came through and continued on the Hancock Notch Trail. We finished off our hike out to the trailhead arriving there as a light snow started to fall.
Including the three of us, there were roughly fifteen hikers that completed the loop while we were there. Ten went clockwise and five went counterclockwise. In the end, the trail was a very smooth snowshoe track for the full distance. Fortunately for us, the meteorologists weren’t even close with their forecasts. They aren’t always wrong in the right direction - but they were this time. We brushed off the dusting of snow that partially covered the windshield, said our goodbyes, and set off for our drive south.
It was great to see and hike with Erin again. I’m glad you were able to turn around and catch us after your visit to Arrow Slide.
Thanks to Sue for a terrific day on the trail, and your great company (more today than usual). I enjoyed the hike and really hope you had a good day too.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail
Summits: Hancock – South Peak, Hancock – North Peak
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), ScenicNH (Erin), and me
The forecast for the day wasn’t good but the conditions didn’t appear as bad as the experts had predicted. There’s always a chance the meteorologists are up to their old tricks of over-hyping a storm again (I’m convinced they all take special classes in this area). Sue and I met as planned and headed north in very light flurries. For the first few miles we had a 30-mph convoy of plow trucks in front of us on the highway – but they weren’t plowing anything. Finally, at the Bedford Tolls we moved around them and picked up the pace a little. Above Manchester we were cruising at 55 mph and above Concord we were at our normal 70mph. After a quick stop at Lincoln Woods we made our way to the trailhead lot at the hairpin on the Kancamagus Highway and grabbed our things for the hike. There were a couple other vehicles in the lot but it looked like they may have been there overnight. As we were setting off another vehicle pulled in.
This was another hike where we were on snowshoes from start to finish. We were the first ones on the trail and had to work our way through the new snow from the overnight storm the meteorologists were warning everybody about. There was roughly one to two inches of new powder. As we hiked there was an occasional flurry but generally the weather was quiet.
I can’t imagine how the trail could be better. The full route was a smooth snowshoe track. The snow depth is finally above nearly all rocks on the trail and the bridges at the crossings were all solid. We were hiking along at our normal pace, which isn’t particularly fast, expecting the hiker that pulled into the lot as we were leaving to motor past at any time. Finally, a short distance after the Hancock Notch – Cedar Brook trails junction the other hiker was closing in. I looked at him, and then looked at Sue and said “he looks familiar but I can’t recall the name”. It was Erin, (ScenicNH). Just like us he was out for some fresh air on the Hancocks loop. We visited for a while and decided to hike together, at least for a while.
Instead of taking the bushwhack-bypass, we stayed with the trail and made all of the normal crossings without any problems at all. The bridges are in place. After a quick stop at the Cedar Brook – Hancock Loop junction we set off for the climb. I had read a report the trail on the South Peak had been heavily glissaded and it seemed ascending Hancock South might be better than descending. That was our plan; we would hike the Hancocks Loop counterclockwise. Roughly half way to the loop split there were more hikers approaching. First a couple guys came through. Then, a large group of perhaps eight came up from behind being led by Al Dwyer (sorry but I can’t provide the full roster of Al’s army). We visited for a few minutes and soon continued. The first two guys that went past continued from the loop split to climb the south peak, Al’s army went to the north peak first. At the split Erin headed for Arrow Slide while Sue and I continued up the south peak. Erin said if the slide didn’t look good he might u-turn and try to catch us on the loop.
The trail up Hancock South is steep, smooth from glissading, and soft enough for the snowshoe crampons to dig in, but firm enough to hold as we climbed. We had a very uneventful climb to the south peak. As we approached the summit we also hiked into a strong wind. The wind was blowing hard from the west-northwest and made standing around on the summit very unpleasant. We got the usual summit pictures and took off for some additional shelter in the dense growth the north peak. Roughly a third of the way to the north peak we met Al’s army. I wonder if we appeared as cold to them as some of them did to us. The wind was pretty strong. An odd thing happened just before we met; the wind direction made a switch from west-northwest to east. That’s a big change but suddenly the wind was coming in from the direction of Carrigain and Chocorua instead.
After another brief visit with Al we were off for the next target. In a short distance another couple came through on their clockwise hike. Then, as we started the final climb to Hancock North I stopped to look back for Sue and saw her coming along the trail with Erin right behind. Arrow Slide had very tough snow conditions and Erin decided to try and catch us. We re-grouped and hiked together to the north peak. At the north peak the sun was almost visible through the very thin cloud layer. Unless things changed quite a bit we were going to fall short of the 1 to 3 inches of new snow that were in the forecast. We stopped for a few pictures and prepared for a steep and fast descent.
The first hundred yards is relatively mild then the trail heads straight down. This is my third hike on the MSRs and I am amazed at their traction. With only a few exceptions, they held the trail all of the way down. I was able to do a little sliding but it was generally limited to a short distance each time. We all hit the gravel bed at the bottom and made the short climb back to the loop split. All of us had added layers on the ridge and stayed with them for the descent. Here we stopped to adjust for the milder conditions we would enjoy on our hike back to the trailhead.
The hike out was nothing more than a pleasant walk in the woods. With all of the traffic for the day the bridges held up and we were able to stay with the trail not needing to bushwhack around any stream crossings. At the Cedar Brook – Hancock Notch junction we met three others with a very large yellow lab. They were out for a snowshoe to Hancock Notch. We also noticed a couple on skis came through and continued on the Hancock Notch Trail. We finished off our hike out to the trailhead arriving there as a light snow started to fall.
Including the three of us, there were roughly fifteen hikers that completed the loop while we were there. Ten went clockwise and five went counterclockwise. In the end, the trail was a very smooth snowshoe track for the full distance. Fortunately for us, the meteorologists weren’t even close with their forecasts. They aren’t always wrong in the right direction - but they were this time. We brushed off the dusting of snow that partially covered the windshield, said our goodbyes, and set off for our drive south.
It was great to see and hike with Erin again. I’m glad you were able to turn around and catch us after your visit to Arrow Slide.
Thanks to Sue for a terrific day on the trail, and your great company (more today than usual). I enjoyed the hike and really hope you had a good day too.
Pictures will follow.
