Bobby
Active member
Not the greatest of weeks for me. Problems at work and home, getting pulled in all different directions, and feeling like the wheels were just spinning. The only thing keeping me going was that I knew I was hiking the Hancock's on Thursday.
At 4:00 AM Thursday, the alarm goes off and I jump out of bed. On the road by 4:50, headed north. No hiking partners today, and I realized that today I wanted to be alone. It was the first time all summer that I solo'd. I hit the trail about 7:30. My first time in the area and it was nice. Hancock Notch trail was covered in downed leaves, and the foliage starting to turn. There was also mud, lots of mud. A few blowdowns too, but nothing that couldn't be climbed over easily. A little after 9 I was at the North/South Hancock loop junction, and my first decision of the day. North or South? Looking around, I saw that North had steep downhill, while South was just up. Figured that if I came down North, I'd have the steep up hill later in the day, North it was. At the bottom of the downhill, crossing what appeared to be a dry river bed, I saw the remains of a campsite. Great looking site, but if it rained you'd be in big trouble, I think.
I saw great views of Arrow Slide, and considered going up it. Then I figured I'd save that for a day when I had a partner. Up the North branch, which is steep. It took about an hour to reach the summit (#17), then off to the outlook for lunch. I brought along my stove and had some soup and hot chocolate. The wind was pretty strong, temps in the low 50's. Over to South Hancock, and the Ridge link was pretty muddy too. I almost lost a pole in one spot, it was so deep. I missed the outlook on South Hancock (#18), and all of a sudden I was on a steep, loose rock downhill. It wasn't bad, but had to be very careful not to slide on the loose rocks. I didn't see anyone all day, until I was just about back to the parking lot. I got back to the car about 1:15, and, amazingly enough, there was a cooler full of beer in the trunk! I had a few beers, and learned that work can get to you and your family tree can be full of nuts, but nothing can set you straight again like doing something you really like.
A few pictures
At 4:00 AM Thursday, the alarm goes off and I jump out of bed. On the road by 4:50, headed north. No hiking partners today, and I realized that today I wanted to be alone. It was the first time all summer that I solo'd. I hit the trail about 7:30. My first time in the area and it was nice. Hancock Notch trail was covered in downed leaves, and the foliage starting to turn. There was also mud, lots of mud. A few blowdowns too, but nothing that couldn't be climbed over easily. A little after 9 I was at the North/South Hancock loop junction, and my first decision of the day. North or South? Looking around, I saw that North had steep downhill, while South was just up. Figured that if I came down North, I'd have the steep up hill later in the day, North it was. At the bottom of the downhill, crossing what appeared to be a dry river bed, I saw the remains of a campsite. Great looking site, but if it rained you'd be in big trouble, I think.
I saw great views of Arrow Slide, and considered going up it. Then I figured I'd save that for a day when I had a partner. Up the North branch, which is steep. It took about an hour to reach the summit (#17), then off to the outlook for lunch. I brought along my stove and had some soup and hot chocolate. The wind was pretty strong, temps in the low 50's. Over to South Hancock, and the Ridge link was pretty muddy too. I almost lost a pole in one spot, it was so deep. I missed the outlook on South Hancock (#18), and all of a sudden I was on a steep, loose rock downhill. It wasn't bad, but had to be very careful not to slide on the loose rocks. I didn't see anyone all day, until I was just about back to the parking lot. I got back to the car about 1:15, and, amazingly enough, there was a cooler full of beer in the trunk! I had a few beers, and learned that work can get to you and your family tree can be full of nuts, but nothing can set you straight again like doing something you really like.
A few pictures
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