BIGEarl
Well-known member
July 6, 2008: North Hancock and South Hancock
Trails: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail (CCW)
Summits: South Hancock and North Hancock
Hikers: MadRiver (Rick) and me
I decided to get out for a short hike to check on the lingering problems from my fall on the North Tripyramid Slide a couple days earlier. The Hancocks were still on my ’08 hike list and became the target. I posted the hike on Views from the Top - VFTT and Rocks on Top - RoT and Rick (aka MadRiver) responded. He needed to plan on an early start because of afternoon commitments. I had the same constraint so we agreed on a 7:00am start.
We had great overall conditions for the hike; cool, light breeze, and a clear sky. We met at the trailhead lot at the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway, pulled out our gear, and headed out at 7:00am as planned.
First we hiked the Hancock Notch Trail to the junction with the Cedar Brook Trail. This is a mild 1.8 miles with only 400 feet of elevation. Rick is a fast hiker and managed to drag me along at a brisk pace. We reached the trails junction ~30 minutes ahead of book time. Not bad! After a brief stop for a quick drink and pictures we were off on the Cedar Brook Trail. Here is another mild section of .7 miles and 200 feet. Along the way we decided to follow the bushwhack that avoids a few stream crossings. We reached a point where the herd path seemed to vanish and we simply crossed the stream, stepped through a thin line of spruce, and were back on the trail headed for the Hancock Loop Trail junction.
We reached the trails junction, stopped again for quick refreshment and some pictures and set off for the hard part of the hike. In 1.1 miles and 600 feet we were standing at the split where the loop trail takes off toward each summit. At this point we have managed to pickup a little more time against book time and were moving well. Along the way we met a couple that were hiking out, perhaps after camping the night before. Since I feel descending from the north summit is a little easier on the knees than descending from the south summit we set off on a counterclockwise hike of the loop, South Hancock first. The trail seems to go straight up to South Hancock. It’s only .5 miles but the elevation gain is 1000 feet. That’s a good climb for a fat guy. A little over half-way to the summit a solo hiker passed evidently on the same hike. I expected to give up much of the gained time to the climb but reached the summit in the same condition as we were at the loop split. Not bad!
I made a quick visit to the outlook for some views and pictures; we had a snack, and were on our way to North Hancock. To this point the trails were in great shape, and generally clear and dry. Along the hike to North Hancock we found some great mud pits. I was thinking Trail Trotter would enjoy these. Some were outfitted with bridges and others were open. We managed to cross all with clean and dry boots. In no time we were at the short spur path to the outlook on North Hancock. We stopped at the outlook for quick refreshment and to enjoy the views to the west and south. The day had become quite hazy but there were still pretty great views to enjoy.
We decided it was time to finish the hike and headed back down to the loop split, and beyond. Along the way we passed ten others and one friendly dog on the trail, all but two appeared to be hikers. Just before reaching the Hancock Loop and Cedar Brook trails junction I noticed a group setting up camp. They were a short distance along the Hancock Loop Trail at the first stream crossing and roughly fifty yards upstream from the crossing, next to the stream. It looked like a great place to camp. I think there were four or possibly five tents in the final stages of being setup.
On the way out we stayed on the trail and made all stream crossings. The water is low and there are no crossing problems. At a little past midday we found ourselves back at the trailhead lot. I was tempted to head for Tecumseh, which is another that remains on my ’08 hike list but decided against it in favor of my afternoon commitments. Soon we were changed into comfortable footwear, packed, and ready to leave.
From this hike I learned that keeping my hiking poles adjusted shorter than usual allows my elbows to stay close to my side and I avoid raising my arms (my right arm is the main problem). If I can generally limit the motion to my forearm everything works out fine. So, I’ll make the change and keep hiking.
Thanks to Rick, he managed to set a pace that I could generally stay with and we got through this hike much quicker than I expected. It was a fun hike.
Pictures to follow...
Trails: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail (CCW)
Summits: South Hancock and North Hancock
Hikers: MadRiver (Rick) and me
I decided to get out for a short hike to check on the lingering problems from my fall on the North Tripyramid Slide a couple days earlier. The Hancocks were still on my ’08 hike list and became the target. I posted the hike on Views from the Top - VFTT and Rocks on Top - RoT and Rick (aka MadRiver) responded. He needed to plan on an early start because of afternoon commitments. I had the same constraint so we agreed on a 7:00am start.
We had great overall conditions for the hike; cool, light breeze, and a clear sky. We met at the trailhead lot at the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway, pulled out our gear, and headed out at 7:00am as planned.
First we hiked the Hancock Notch Trail to the junction with the Cedar Brook Trail. This is a mild 1.8 miles with only 400 feet of elevation. Rick is a fast hiker and managed to drag me along at a brisk pace. We reached the trails junction ~30 minutes ahead of book time. Not bad! After a brief stop for a quick drink and pictures we were off on the Cedar Brook Trail. Here is another mild section of .7 miles and 200 feet. Along the way we decided to follow the bushwhack that avoids a few stream crossings. We reached a point where the herd path seemed to vanish and we simply crossed the stream, stepped through a thin line of spruce, and were back on the trail headed for the Hancock Loop Trail junction.
We reached the trails junction, stopped again for quick refreshment and some pictures and set off for the hard part of the hike. In 1.1 miles and 600 feet we were standing at the split where the loop trail takes off toward each summit. At this point we have managed to pickup a little more time against book time and were moving well. Along the way we met a couple that were hiking out, perhaps after camping the night before. Since I feel descending from the north summit is a little easier on the knees than descending from the south summit we set off on a counterclockwise hike of the loop, South Hancock first. The trail seems to go straight up to South Hancock. It’s only .5 miles but the elevation gain is 1000 feet. That’s a good climb for a fat guy. A little over half-way to the summit a solo hiker passed evidently on the same hike. I expected to give up much of the gained time to the climb but reached the summit in the same condition as we were at the loop split. Not bad!
I made a quick visit to the outlook for some views and pictures; we had a snack, and were on our way to North Hancock. To this point the trails were in great shape, and generally clear and dry. Along the hike to North Hancock we found some great mud pits. I was thinking Trail Trotter would enjoy these. Some were outfitted with bridges and others were open. We managed to cross all with clean and dry boots. In no time we were at the short spur path to the outlook on North Hancock. We stopped at the outlook for quick refreshment and to enjoy the views to the west and south. The day had become quite hazy but there were still pretty great views to enjoy.
We decided it was time to finish the hike and headed back down to the loop split, and beyond. Along the way we passed ten others and one friendly dog on the trail, all but two appeared to be hikers. Just before reaching the Hancock Loop and Cedar Brook trails junction I noticed a group setting up camp. They were a short distance along the Hancock Loop Trail at the first stream crossing and roughly fifty yards upstream from the crossing, next to the stream. It looked like a great place to camp. I think there were four or possibly five tents in the final stages of being setup.
On the way out we stayed on the trail and made all stream crossings. The water is low and there are no crossing problems. At a little past midday we found ourselves back at the trailhead lot. I was tempted to head for Tecumseh, which is another that remains on my ’08 hike list but decided against it in favor of my afternoon commitments. Soon we were changed into comfortable footwear, packed, and ready to leave.
From this hike I learned that keeping my hiking poles adjusted shorter than usual allows my elbows to stay close to my side and I avoid raising my arms (my right arm is the main problem). If I can generally limit the motion to my forearm everything works out fine. So, I’ll make the change and keep hiking.
Thanks to Rick, he managed to set a pace that I could generally stay with and we got through this hike much quicker than I expected. It was a fun hike.
Pictures to follow...
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