The Hancocks Trip Report

PUDs – pointless ups and downs. Hancock Notch and Cedar Brook Trails were flat and gentile. There were lots of stream crossings, lots and lots of mosquitoes. They killed. Also muddy. It rained very hard the day before and overnight. The view of the arrow slide on North Peak was striking and the thought of climbing up a steep slope was spooky. The trail up North Peak rises 100 ft. every tenth of a mile but the footway is decent and large boulders are absent, which is unusual for a slope like this in the Whites like last year’s Wildcat. This trail is far less tiring and technical than climbs up similar grades. The upper portions on both North and South Peaks are gravelly with poor footing, and both trails are eroded their whole lengths.  The description in the guide exaggerates the difficulty.

The clouds were low, so the outlook at the North Peak was hazy, but not terrible. The ridge link was easy to moderate, but annoyingly long and full of mud. Both peaks were buggy. I blew off the South Peak outlook and descended. The trip back was uneventful and long.

Of note

• Mostly cloudy, upper 60s/low 70s and humid. The trail and vegetation was wet from overnight rain.
• Meat a couple of groups, a guy and two dogs, some others also
• Purple orchids were in bloom and beautiful