bintrepidhiker
New member
Hadn't been out in over a month so i thought i'd pick something a little short in distance but also a little tough in difficulty. Hancocks proved to be a good choice for the hot day.
Got up around 4 and started my drive up. After a brief stop in Manchester for breakfast i was at the trailhead at 7:30 and off i went. Was comfortable weather to start off being in the 60's with mostly cloudy skies. Only downside was the bugs. They swarmed all around me for the entire day. Bug spray had no effect on them unfortunatly but it wasn't bad enough to make me turn around. Got started on the Hancock Notch Trail and found it surprisingly easy and flat. Not a bad way to get warmed up for what i knew would be a hard climb later. That trend continued on the Ceder Brook Trail with a little more incline but still very easy going. The many stream crossings weren't that difficult either but still required care beacuse one misstep and you were in the stream. By now it was starting to get humid out and that only enticed my companions of bugs even more, grrrrrrr. Oh well, what can you do right? By 9, i was starting to climb up the North Peak. Was a hard climb with no flat spots to be seen, just up and up and more up. Got about 3/4 of the way up before i found my first fellow hikers out on the trail who were resting at the time. After a quick breather i continued up and reached the summit, #21 for me by 9:45. Views from the outlook were alright but could have been better without the haze. Got some good shots of Passaconaway and with the bugs flying all around i didn't stay long and began going to South Peak.
The trip here was interesting in places where there was a lot of mud and i do mean a lot! One wrong step and you were knee deep in it. Took a lot of balance and tree log hopping to get across some of these places. Only had 2 misteps so i say i did good. 5 mins from the summit there is one viewspot thru the trees where you can see Carrigain then you're at the top. Was 10:30 by now and decided to stop for lunch. Took a few pics and got about halfway thru my sandwich when i said forget it and just started heading down, eating on the run. On the way down i met a few more people heading up. Once i reached the streams again i cooled off some wiping water all over that did help for a little while but it was starting to get so hot i would be completely dry within 10-15 mins. For a little while the bugs seemed to not be around when i hit the Ceder Brook Trail again but came roaring back at the Hancock Notch Trail and stayed thru the end which came at 1 o'clock.
Totals: 9.8 Miles in 5.5 hours
Pictures
Got up around 4 and started my drive up. After a brief stop in Manchester for breakfast i was at the trailhead at 7:30 and off i went. Was comfortable weather to start off being in the 60's with mostly cloudy skies. Only downside was the bugs. They swarmed all around me for the entire day. Bug spray had no effect on them unfortunatly but it wasn't bad enough to make me turn around. Got started on the Hancock Notch Trail and found it surprisingly easy and flat. Not a bad way to get warmed up for what i knew would be a hard climb later. That trend continued on the Ceder Brook Trail with a little more incline but still very easy going. The many stream crossings weren't that difficult either but still required care beacuse one misstep and you were in the stream. By now it was starting to get humid out and that only enticed my companions of bugs even more, grrrrrrr. Oh well, what can you do right? By 9, i was starting to climb up the North Peak. Was a hard climb with no flat spots to be seen, just up and up and more up. Got about 3/4 of the way up before i found my first fellow hikers out on the trail who were resting at the time. After a quick breather i continued up and reached the summit, #21 for me by 9:45. Views from the outlook were alright but could have been better without the haze. Got some good shots of Passaconaway and with the bugs flying all around i didn't stay long and began going to South Peak.
The trip here was interesting in places where there was a lot of mud and i do mean a lot! One wrong step and you were knee deep in it. Took a lot of balance and tree log hopping to get across some of these places. Only had 2 misteps so i say i did good. 5 mins from the summit there is one viewspot thru the trees where you can see Carrigain then you're at the top. Was 10:30 by now and decided to stop for lunch. Took a few pics and got about halfway thru my sandwich when i said forget it and just started heading down, eating on the run. On the way down i met a few more people heading up. Once i reached the streams again i cooled off some wiping water all over that did help for a little while but it was starting to get so hot i would be completely dry within 10-15 mins. For a little while the bugs seemed to not be around when i hit the Ceder Brook Trail again but came roaring back at the Hancock Notch Trail and stayed thru the end which came at 1 o'clock.
Totals: 9.8 Miles in 5.5 hours
Pictures
