The Hancocks (Mount Hancock and South Hancock)

We knew it was going to be rainy for our hike this past weekend, so I struggled to find a good hike for this situation; you don't want to climb something with a wide open rocky peak in the rain, since it will be A) slippery and dangerous, and B) a waste of good views, since clouds would limit visibility.  Tim suggested a longer hike to peaks with views that were not reportedly amazing, and we went with his first choice, the Hancocks.  Luckily, it wasn't as rainy or cloudy as we expected, since hurricane Earl had much less of an impact on NH than we had expected.

Overview:
Tim, Amy, Leela, and I climbed Mount Hancock (4420') and South Hancock (4319') via the Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, and the Hancock Loop Trail:

• TIME: 7 hours, 25 minutes (with breaks)
• DISTANCE: 9.8 miles (round trip)
• ELEVATION GAIN: 2,650 feet

Here's an interactive Google Map I made of the trails you can use for these two peaks.  We took the path in blue; the red options were shown on a topo map I used in my research, but I can't vouch for them in any regard.  The map is fun to view in Earth mode (will require plugin).


View The Hancocks from The Kancamagus Highway via Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook and Hancock Loop Trails in a larger map.

I'm not going to do elevation profiles this time, since I was naive and did the above Google map in several legs, which would be too tedious for me to do elevation profiles for, since they can only be done for each leg, and I really don't want to redo any of the trails.  But here's something new that I haven't been doing for these writeups:

Trail Conditions:

It was wet and occasionally showered.  Trail was often VERY wet, with many mud puddles requiring patience and consideration to pass.  On the way from Hancock to South Hancock, there were so many puddles that were so large that bushwhacking was the preferred option, a lesson I learned when I stubbornly tried to make it along the trail and slipped into mud, soaking my sneakered feet thoroughly.  Which reminds me, backpacking boot suggestions, anyone?  Aside from the wet conditions, the trail was also very eroded once it started gaining altitude; for long stretches we were walking on small stones and gravel, which was not very fun to go down later on.

Writeup

The route is long, but not boring.  Even though it was a long trek, my only real complaint about the hike is that I had wet feet for the second half of it, but that's mostly my fault.  I enjoyed the level of difficulty and variety in the terrain.

Nice sign at the Hancock Notch Trail head (at the hairpin on the Kanc) about peak bagging and 4000 footers!  See text from sign below

Text from the sign for those curious:

Peakbagging
Some hikers, called "peak baggers," keep a tally of the mountains over 4,000 feet high that they have scaled. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine, a perfect score is 48. The Appalachian Mountain Club's Four Thousand Footer Club recognizes those who have climbed all 48 peaks.

"This week of tramping has been such a pleasure and benefit to me that I feel like telling others, and especially women, what they miss. After a good stiff climb, we spend an hour and a half on the summit, but it was all too short, and we found it very hard to turn and go back to the world below us." - Unidentified lady trekker, after climbing Mount Lafayette in 1888.

Hikers have a history of service

More than 20 different mountaineering and outdoor clubs, college and university outing clubs, and local organizations assist the Forest Service in trail construction and maintenance. They also conduct clean-up campaigns, low impact wilderness education, hiking demonstrations, and advocacy.

Some hikers adopt their favorite trail and become responsible for its ongoing maintenance. To find out more about the Adopt-A-Trail Program and how you can help, inquire at Forest Service offices.

Peak bagging is for the young - at heart
To add a little leverage to their peak bagging, Miriam Underhill and her husband Robert became the first to scale all 48 of the 4,000 footers of New Hampshire during winter. When they completed their feet in 1961 Miriam was 63 and Robert was 70 years old.

"Mountain tramping has become quite a fad among ladies and they are encouraged in it by their brothers, their cousins, and their uncles." - The White Mountain Echo, 1889

Had to cross the Kancamagus Highway at the hairpin, which was easy early in the morning, but required expert look-both-ways skills when we got back

Trail was often very wet, with lots of puddles and brook crossings.

After over 3 miles of hiking, the Hancock Loop Trail starts really gaining altitude on the way up to the north peak.

I lost my camera at one point on the way up the trail, but luckily Tim and Amy let me go back to look for it and it was only a short distance to where it slipped out of my bag. Probably lost 15 minutes to this, but at least there was no damage and I don't have to buy a new camera!

Sign at the summit of Mount Hancock

Amy, Tim, and I at the lookout of Mount Hancock

View of Osceolas was not bad, even with the overcast day.  Though at times the view disappeared completely when a cloud passed through.

Leela was soaked all day, but she had a great time

The hike over to South Hancock wasn't too bad, except that I, as mentioned above, stepped into a large, nearly impassable mud puddle and soaked my feet. The lookout at South Hancock isn't nearly as nice as the one at Hancock's north peak, but it was good enough for lunch.

View from South Hancock

Mount Hancock's north peak finally gets some sun as we descend from South Hancock

As you can see, not too many pictures from this hike, since I was being overprotective of my camera after the scare of almost losing it.

Final thoughts
The Hancocks make for a varied climb, but it did not feel that difficult.  Perhaps we're just getting better at these big hikes!  The only things to really watch out for are the loose rocks on the eroded paths and the puddles.  And now to spend the rest of the day deciding on whether or not I'm going to purchase those Asolos I've been eyeing.

BRIAN OUT.