Mt. Hancock, South Peak (4,319 ft) & Mt. Hancock (4,420 ft) 11-22-14

Distance: 10.1 mi.
Elevation: 2,264 ft. (overall) 3,155 ft. (total)
Time: 2:48 (South Hancock) 3:41 (North Hancock) 5:51 (Total)
Trails: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail

The weather started off pretty clear today. Providing me with a great sunrise on the drive to the trail head and some good views from the trail head. This is the second time I have hiked the Hancocks, and while each time has been in the snow, I've yet to technically hike them in winter.

Once you cross the road, the trail heads out an old logging railroad bed. The incline is gentle and the footing is good. The trail is nice and wide too. Along the way you will come to one smaller brook crossing. This can easily be done using the exposed rocks. This time of year though, you need to be careful of ice on the rocks. Continuing further up the trail, eventually the main river will be just to your left. Shortly after this, you reach the intersection with the Cedar Brook Trail.

Easy section of trail

While on the Cedar Brook Trail, you will encounter the main brook crossings of the hike. The first two can be avoided by a short and easy bushwhack along the edge of the river. After that you will need to do the crossings. Today the river was frozen over. But still being early in the "winter" season, the ice wasn't super thick yet. Being a larger hiker, I took it easy on these crossings making sure the ice was safe. I had no issues though at any point today.

Frozen brook crossing

Soon you are at the junction with the Hancock Loop Trail. Heading out this way, you will quickly encounter the last brook crossing. After this, the trail stays climbing at a gentle pace, but soon starts to get a bit more rocky and narrower. There were some patches of ice along the route, so eventually I put on my microspikes shortly before the split of the loop. At the split is where I ran into my first hikers of the day. Having gone to the left the last time I was here, I headed up South Hancock to the right today.

The climb up South Hancock does seems a bit steeper than North Hancock. Being steep though, means you get the elevation gain done quickly. It doesn't seem to take that much time to get up to the summit. By the time I got to the view point, the skies had clouded up. Luckily, the clouds were high enough that there was still some views. It felt a bit cool and windy here, so I enjoyed the views a bit quicker and then headed back on the trail.

Climbing South Hancock

South Hancock View

The last time I was here I really enjoyed the ridge between the peaks. Today was no different. While you are high on the ridge, the wind doesn't seem that bad. The trail is gentle and has no difficult sections. And like last time here, there was a nice layer of snow on the ground and trees.

Along the ridge

South Hancock from North Hancock

At the view point on North Hancock, the temperature felt warmer, but it was still a bit breezy. I tried to measure the wind with my Kestral, but the trees were blocking it enough that the numbers were surely too low. I spent some time enjoying the views all by myself. No other hikers came to the summit until I was packing up and ready to head down.

North Hancock view

With snow on the ground, I took it easy going down North Hancock. Luckily there didn't seem to be any ice underneath. Once down to the low point, you have just one short climb back up to the split of the loop trail. After this it was back out the same way that I came in. After the icy spots I took off my microspikes and it was a quick hike out. Temps were comfortable down low and there were only a few other people on the trail. Next time I come back, maybe I'll wait until summer so I can see this route without snow. Or I'll at least try to do a hike in the snow during official winter.

On the way out

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Killington Peak (4,235 ft) 11-15-14

Distance: 8.14 mi.
Elevation: 2,393 ft. (overall) 2,691 ft. (total)
Time: 3:00 (Summit) 4:57 (Total)
Trails: Bucklin Trail, Long Trail, Killington Spur

For peak #57 within a year, it was time to head back to Vermont to hike Killington Peak. My plan was to climb the Bucklin Trail from the western side of the mountain. I got to the trail head early in the morning and was the first car in the parking lot. After gearing up, I headed out the trail which starts off quite wide and nearly flat. A good way to get warmed up on a cool morning. There is a nice bridge a short distance up the trail for the first crossing of Brewers Brook. After this, the trail stays on an old woods road before going uphill on the left for a while to avoid some washed out banks of the brook. Things stay easy while you eventually work back down to the woods road and then do the second crossing of the brook on another nice bridge.

Following an old woods road

After this, the trail stays gentle and on old woods roads. There are a few wet spots along the trail with some very small brooks that you can mostly just step over. Getting further up into the valley, the trail eventually turns off to the right and leaves the woods road at a hump of dirt to help indicate the turn. From here, the climb is pretty steady all the way up to the Long Trail. To start, you work along a side hill while climbing. Eventually the trail levels out some before turning to the right and going mostly straight up to the ridge. Even going straight to the ridge, the trail doesn't get too steep and keeps good footing. Being the first person up the trail this morning after some fresh snow, I was able to see all the fresh animal tracks. This included some from a small rodent the wandered through the snow making a maze of paths along the trail.

Climbing up towards the Long Trail

Once up to the Long Trail, it's a relatively short and easy hike to Cooper Lodge. There was some ice along the route, but it was easy to go over. I checked out Cooper Lodge while there. It has a few bunks and a table inside of it. Windows along the front are open, but not much snow had blown in yet.

Cooper Lodge

The Killington Spur to the summit is just past the lodge and goes to the left from the trail. The spur gets steep pretty quickly and is easily the rockiest part of this hike. The rocks all provided good footing and it wasn't that hard to climb up. This is probably helped by how short it is. The hardest part today was the last push as I came out of the trees. There was more snow that had accumulated here, which made finding your footing more important.

Killington Spur

The summit has a small open area on some exposed rocks. Just beyond that is also some radio towers and small buildings. I went towards these and found a place out of the wind that allowed me to get dry layers on. Around the towers is a small open area which provides nice views to the east that are blocked by the trees on the actual summit. On the summit you get nice views in almost all directions. It was a bit windy today, but with good gear it was still quite nice. The wind was averaging 11 mph and gusting to 17 mph. This made the 11 degree summit temperature actually feel like -4 degrees. I was surprised at how many people were using the ski area today as trails had just opened and not all of them were in use yet. But I guess the skiers were just anxious to start off another season.

Summit View of Mendon Peak

Summit View of Pico Peak

Summit View to the east

One of the towers at the summit

I hiked down the same route that I came up. Just after leaving the summit I saw my first hiker of the day. I will admit, it's always nice having the summit to yourself. As I continued down, I ran into more hikers. Probably around 15-20 for the day total. One group also had a few dogs that were quite friendly. The hike down and back to the car went quick and easy. Once back down onto the old woods roads I took off my microspikes as the footing wasn't slippery any more. I was back to the car and changed early enough that I could take a longer drive home using a more scenic route also with a stop in Rutland.

Brewers Brook crossing

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Carrigain (4,700 ft) 11-8-14

Distance: 10.5 mi.
Elevation: 3,392 ft. (overall) 3,572 ft. (total)
Time: 4:04 (Summit) 6:36 (Total)
Trails: Signal Ridge Trail

With WMNF roads expected to start closing for winter soon, I made sure to hike Mt. Carrigain while Sawyer River Road was still open. The road isn't a hard "hike" in or out, it's just unneeded extra time and distance when it can easily be avoided.

The trail from the start had just a dusting of snow on it. The rerouted start of the Signal Ridge Trail was still a bit soft in places, but now nicely avoids the river crossing. The trail stays gradual along an old rail bed for quite some time with only short ascents thrown in. It's actually a pretty nice walk in the woods to get you warmed up.

The last time I hiked here, the intersection with the Carrigain Notch Trail hadn't been relocated yet. It didn't seem to take long for me to get here. There is now a tree down across what was the Signal Ridge Trail to help discourage hikers from using it. Wanting to see the new reroute, I headed past the old section of trail. There is one brook crossing, but it was easily managed on exposed rocks. Soon I was at the new intersection.

Start of the trail reroute

The new section of trail feels like it wanders a bit through the woods before meeting up with the old trail. The GPS didn't really show this, but it certainly felt like it wasn't as direct as it could be. The route was easy to follow though and not difficult.

Heading up the trail further, you soon start the real climb of the day. The trail isn't steep by White Mountain standards, but the climb is steady and goes on for quite a while. There are a few switchbacks on the way up that help out the hikers. For a short distance before the limited viewpoint, the trail does level out some while following the side hill. But then it starts the climb again before getting into some smaller switchbacks shortly before coming up onto Signal Ridge. While there was snow on the ground today for the hike, microspikes were all that were needed to keep you from slipping.

The climb before Signal Ridge

Once you pop up onto the ridge, the summit is in sight and you can see how close you are now. I've only been here when there was snow on the ground, but Signal Ridge is a pretty cool place. There are great views, the summit is just ahead, and the terrain is quite interesting with the steep and open drop on your right. Even with that drop though, the trail is just far enough away that you can stay safe.

The summit from Signal Ridge

The final push to the summit went well. A few other hikers were now catching up to me, including some hiking with dogs. There was now about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, but footing was still good with my microspikes on. By the time I made it to the summit, there were now a few others there.

Knowing the wind was blowing pretty well, I changed out my wet layers for dry before climbing up the tower to take in the views and grab some pictures. While I was on the summit, the wind was averaging 16 mph and gusting to 19 mph. It was 19 degrees out and the windchill made it feel like 2 degrees. I made sure to have on a good pair of gloves and my balaclava. While I was on the summit, the clouds cleared up some, which made the views even better. Since we were just starting into winter weather for the season, you could see a snowline on the other peaks which showed where temperatures became cold enough for snow to gather. There was also quite a bit of rim ice that had formed along the tower and summit trees.

Rime Ice

The snowline visible on other summits

Summit view

Summit View

I went down the same route that I came up. There were more hikers headed up now than while I was ascending. This included a family with young kids that were definitely under prepared with poor footwear and gloves for all, plus a general lack of layers and gear for a hike at this time of year. Back down on the rerouted section of trail, I headed out the old section so that I could compare the two routes on the GPS later. The old route is definitely more direct, but the terrain has been washed out pretty bad in places. I can see the being a popular "shortcut" in winter though. The final walk out was easy and quick as I chatted with a fellow hiker about some of the various hikes we had each done.

Signal Ridge on the descent

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE