Hancocks 2/17/08

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

2/17/08
Mount Hancock 4420’
and South Hancock 4319’

9.8 Miles 2650’ Elevation gain

Kevin, Judy and Emma
With the recent stories of disastrous hikes in the Whites this winter, we blew off the colder temps of Saturday and held out for warmer temps on Sunday. This was also in the hopes that the trails would be tramped out to improve hiking conditions for ourselves and our little dog, Emma. Despite the well packed trail, Emma chose to spend much of the hike doing what she loves, and spent her time running along the snowbank on top of the frozen snow beside the trail. Now, I know many people believe that the White Mountains in winter is no place for "little" dogs, but if Emma could speak, I'm sure she'd tell them different. Neither Judy nor I would "make" this dog do anything it didn't "want" to do. When she runs along with her nose in the snow, then bounces up and down like a puppy looking for treats, I have a hard time believing she isn't enjoying herself. In fact, after hiking with her for the past eight years, I'd have to say that she, like my wife and I, looks forward to this. I would even go so far as to say she lives for it. That she is in her element when she is on these treks, and if a dog can feel happiness, then she is "happy" to be out on the trail with us. She has done the NH 4k list twice. Several of them more than twice, and she is now half way through her winter list. If Judy and I were stronger hikers and had been serious about the winter list when we started bagging winter 4ks, she may already be done now. There may be bigger, stronger dogs with more macho names that she is following in the footsteps of, but she is an accomplished hiker herself, and neither she nor we are out to prove anything to anybody. This is just what we do, and we enjoy it together. Every hike we marvel at the forest, the streams, the birds, the sky, the mountain vistas and the creatures, four legged and two legged we meet along the trail. We are thankful that we are healthy and are able to get out of our comfortable surroundings on occasion and make these forays into the unknown, and every hike we marvel that this little dog, this little heartbeat at our heel, is just as enthusiastic about the hike as we are. The phrase, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." rings true on every hike. When we are exhausted at the summit, she prods us to move on. We want to thank all the millions of people who have gone out before us, a hundred and fifty years ago, and yesterday. Those who laid out the trails, those who maintained them, and those who tramped the snow down so we could make the hike in relative safety and comfort. Conditions yesterday were excellent, mild temps, little wind, starting out with blue skies and then being able to watch the front move in with little fear of being caught in whiteout conditions because of the excellent work of the weather forecasters. We met a very nice couple, Dave and Amanda, on their first hike to the Hancocks. They did us a big favor and I want to thank them. Jude lost her camera butt sliding off of South Hancock, and they found and returned it. If anyone was there yesterday and lost an insulated water bottle holder complete with a nalgene water bottle on South Hancock, please contact me and I will return it.

More pictures here:

http://ghostflowers.com/white_mtns4000/hancocks21708/hancocks21708.html

KDT

 

[w7xman]

Nice report...and FANTASTIC shot of the Pine Martin. Still haven't seen one!

 

[Tom & Atticus]

Three cheers to Emma and Judy and Kevin! Congrats on getting halfway through.

Kevin, something tells me I know where the fuel for your fire and brimstone came from.

But all that aside, Emma is quite the dog and after meeting Emma, reading about Matthias, and knowing and living with another certain small dog, it's good to know that when it comes to hiking, the size of a dog doesn't necessarily matter (no matter what the self-proclaimed experts say) as long as they are well cared for. And it is clear Emma is well cared for.

Glad to know you three are out on the trails again.

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Thanks!

I'd like to thank two of my friends I never would have met except for our shared interest in these things they call the White Mountains. Thanks for your support J & T. Oh, and by the way, Tom, your photos are every bit as good as mine, and Bob's. Now when we can all shoot like w7xman, then we can brag!

KDT

 

[forestgnome]

Another beautiful slide show! Nice picture of the pine martin. How did you see him? Did motion or sound catch your attention? What was he doing?

happy trails

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Marten

Just as we came to a brook crossing I caught something out of the corner of my eye. He disappeared into the trees across the brook. At first I thought it was marten size, but then I convinced myself it must have been a red squirrel. The coat was as red as a fawns. As we crossed the brook I stopped where I thought it might have climbed a tree, and sure enough, there he was checking us out. This one seemed young. I saw one on Mount Flume a couple weeks ago which was much larger. I mistook it for a Fisher because of it's size. Having had a pretty good look at this one I'd say the one on Mount Flume was a Marten also. The markings threw me. Very red on his back and face, and very dark on legs and haunches. The one on Mount Flume was close to twice the size of this one. I didn't take too many shots as we had already disturbed him from his drink at the brook. He actually seemed more curious about us than actually stressed, but I don't like to disturb them at all. Emma was oblivious to his presence which surprised me, because his scent had to have been very fresh as he crossed the trail seconds before us. She must just be used to this scent.

KDT

 

[una_dogger]

Wow, that is an awesome picture of the pine marten!

Glad you guys had a fun day out in the snow! We have fond memories of hiking with you, Judy and Emma in the past and hope to get the pups out together again soon!