North Hancock (4,420 ft) & South Hancock (4,319 ft) 1-18-20

Distance: 9.84 mi.
Elevation: 2,275 ft (overall) 3,120 ft (total)
Time: 3:14 (North Hancock) 4:15 (South Hancock) 5:55 (Total)
Trails: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail

I've hiked the Hancocks twice before (first time, second time) with snow covering the trails, but today was the first time I've been able to count them as a "winter" peaks on the 4K list. I'd like to see more of what this hike looks like without snow on the ground, but I had a commitment in the evening and needed a hike I could get done in a relatively short period of time.

I brought my snowshoes with me in the truck this morning, but decided when getting my gear on not to bring them on the hike. Looking up the trail as I crossed it on the road things looked pretty packed down. About 150 feet up the trail I stopped and thought about going back for the snowshoes as the snow was just a bit soft on top. I decided against it and kept hiking up the trail since it was just a bit of soft snow on top. In the end I should have brought them with me today.

Packed Trail and gentle hiking

At the first small brook crossing I put on my microspikes just to be sure I didn't slip on the icy rocks. The extra traction wasn't going to hurt for the trail either. The hike up the trail went pretty fast as it is a long gradual climb to the Hancock Loop Trail. The section of trail that has been rerouted away from the water crossings and mud was nice and had some good character to it. The brook crossings that do still remain along the trail were solidly bridged today, but I still tried to hike over rocks or logs just in case.

Brook Crossing

Frost on the ice at a brook crossing

The Hancock Loop Trail gets a little bit steeper before it splits to head up the peaks. This was the area where I was starting to rethink not bringing the snowshoes. At the split I went left and headed up North Hancock first. I've done the loop in both directions and prefer this way a little bit more. It was going up the steep trail here that I started to really want my snowshoes. They have more traction than spikes and the televators would have been nice. I made the best of it though as spikes were still doing pretty good.

Hancock Loop Trail to North Hancock

Steep climb up North Hancock

After a nice break at the summit of North Hancock and chatting with the other hikers there, I headed across the ridge to South Hancock. I needed some more layers as the cold temps and wind on North Hancock had cooled me off. Along the ridge is where the trail was the least packed down and there was more soft snow on top of it. It would have been worth bringing the snowshoes today just for the walk along the ridge as I had to go slower with spikes and watch where I stepped more. It was still a nice hike over to South Hancock with plenty of snow on the trees and some varying conditions that kept things interesting.

View from North Hancock

A winter wonderland between the peaks

I had the summit of South Hancock to myself for a while before some well known and accomplished hikers (and her dog) showed up. It was nice to meet them in person and chat briefly before we all headed down about the same time. They came up the Arrow Slide which I thought was pretty impressive given the winter conditions. They said it went well until needing to break through the trees at the top. The hike down South Hancock went quick (about 15 minutes if I recall) as at one point near the top I kind of slipped and landed on my butt. I decided this was bound to happen more on the way down and made the best of it by just sliding on my butt where I could and walking the other parts. This was both fast and fun in sections and you had to be careful not to get going too fast. Normally I prefer not to slide down the mountain as it makes it harder for those going up after (in my opinion), but without my snowshoes I thought it would be slow and tedious trying not to fall with just spikes on since others had slide down recently as well.

View from South Hancock

Once back down to the split in the Hancock Loop Trail I did a bit of a fast walk the rest of the way out. Not having snowshoes across the ridge slowed me down more than I hoped for and I still had a time commitment to get home for after the hike. The cool temps made it so that I could do this without getting to hot on the way out. The temps also drained my batteries more in my camera so I wasn't able to take any more pictures after getting to the Hancock Notch Trail. This gave me less reason to stop and more reason to keep hiking along back to the truck.

Smooth sailing down the Cedar Brook Trail

In the end the hike went pretty smoothly and I was still home on time. I wish I had brought my snowshoes with me, but it was nice to finally count these two peaks as winter peaks even though I have only ever hiked them in the snow.

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug

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

Mt. Waumbek (4,006 ft) 11-2-14

Distance: 7.2 mi.
Elevation: 2,466 ft. (overall) 3,173 ft. (total)
Time: 1:57 (Mt. Starr King), 2:27 (Mt. Waumbek) 4:24 (Total)
Trails: Starr King Trail

For the 55th peak this year is Mt. Waumbek in Jefferson, NH. With it's two limited view points along the hike, it's a good hike for a day that was predicted to be overcast and a bit cloudy. This was my first hike of this fall/winter season to have snow on the ground, although there wasn't much of it.

When I got to the trail head, I was the only vehicle there. Maybe I would luck out and have the mountain to myself today. Once I got my gear ready, I headed out. The trail goes into the woods briefly before coming back out onto an old road. It follows the old road up a gentle grade with good footing. Early along the trail you pass on old spring house. The stone wall is all that remains along with some of the old pipes down in the bottom. The actual spring is just behind it.

Spring house

The trail continues up the old road gradually getting narrower and wetter. Things were a bit frozen today though, so mud wasn't an issue. Eventually the trail goes to your right off of the old road. It works into the trees a bit before heading back uphill. Footing is still good, but it does get just a bit steeper. The wet ground and cold temperature did make for a couple patches of ice. In this section is where the snow was starting to cover the ground more evenly.

Snow on the ground

The trail on this route comes to a very well defined transition from open hardwoods to the spruce softwoods. It's like you all of a sudden hit a wall of more dense trees. It's one of the features I enjoy about this hike. As you continue to climb through the softwoods, the trail gets a bit more difficult with exposed roots and rocks, but it still isn't bad. After climbing for a while, you will pass a spring that is just to the left of the trail with a small sign. After this, it gets a bit steeper before coming up to the summit of Mt. Starr King. The summit is actually in the trees next to the trail, but just past it is an opening where a cabin once stood, and the chimney still remains. There is also a limited view from here towards the Presidential Range.

Opening at the old cabin site

Limited view

The trail leaves the opening next to the chimney going downhill gradually. The hike along the ridge to Mt. Waumbek is a nice section of woods with no difficult terrain. It's a quick and enjoyable hike to the summit. The actual summit of Mt. Waumbek is in the trees and has a very small opening. There is a sign with info about the trail, and a cairn made of small rocks. But if you go just a bit past it, you will come to a small opening on the right side of the trail that has nice views to the east and south. While I was here, the clouds covered the Presidential Range, but it was still interesting as they were just above me and I was almost even with them.

Along the ridge

View from just past the summit

As I hiked back to Mt. Starr King, the clouds got a little lower and eventually I was in them. This meant there was no view when I got back to the old cabin site. I took a quick picture to show this, and headed back down the trail. The hike back down went smoothly and eventually I ran into one other hiker. She got a late start and wasn't expecting to make it all the way to Mt. Waumbek before her turn around time. Back down below the snowline, I also met a man that was deer hunting the area. Don't forget something red or hunter orange on your pack this time of year.

BAck on Mt. Starr King, the view is now clouded over

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Carter Dome (4,832 ft), South Carter Mtn (4,430 ft) & Middle Carter Mtn (4,610 ft) 10-28-14

Distance: 13.3 mi.
Elevation: 3,386 ft. (overall) 4,634 ft. (total)
Time: 3:14 (Carter Dome) 4:34 (Sout Carter) 5:22 (Middle Carter) 7:46 (Total)
Trails: 19 Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter trail, Imp Trail, Dodge Cutoff, Rt 16

To hike the Carters, I decided I would repeat the same loop I did the last time here. Starting up the Nineteen Mile Brook(19MB) Trail to Zeta Pass, then to all the peak along the ridge. Today I would skip Mt. Hight though due to the cloud cover of the day and due to information about icy conditions from other hikers on the trail today.

The hike up 19MB Trail goes quickly. The gain is gradual and footing is pretty good. The trail is easy to follow and stays near the brook. There is one brook crossing where the bridge washed out/away during Tropical Storm Irene. This was the only crossing I was concerned about today, but some rock work has been done here so a couple planks could be placed across it.

Brook crossing with planks

When I got to the first intersection, I headed up the Carter Dome Trail towards Zeta Pass. As soon as I did this, it started to rain lightly and I needed to stop to put my pack cover on. It wasn't hard enough to require a rain coat yet. The Carter Dome Trail crosses a small brook a couple times, but all the crossings are easy and can be done with dry feet. Eventually the trail starts to make a couple switchbacks as it nears Zeta Pass. At the pass, I headed south bypassing Mt. Hight on the way to Carter Dome. Getting higher up the trail, I started to see some ice on the ground. Two days ago there was a rain storm that appears to have been icing conditions higher up. The ice was now falling off the trees as the temperature was above freezing again.

Ice on the ground as I head up the trail

View from Carter Dome

Ice on the trees at the summit

After spending some time on Carter Dome, I headed back down to Zeta Pass. I met some hikers in this section on my way up that said conditions were icy just below Mt. Hight. This combined with with cloudy skies convinced me to skip Mt. Hight. Normally the best views of the hike are here and it's worth the side trip.

The climb out of Zeta Pass to South Carter is pretty quick with only a few short steep sections. It didn't take too long to get to the next summit. Just across the trail from the summit is a short path to a small view point. I didn't notice this my first time here, but it was cloudy and rainy that day as well. With limited views and continued clouds and light rain, I didn't spend much time here. I headed off up the trail to Middle Carter. The section through here is quick and has a few nice views along the way to make it better. To me, it doesn't feel like you lose as much elevation as to do through here, so that is nice too. There is only one tricky spot (when wet, like today) where you have to go down a steep rock face that doesn't have many good places for footing.

View from South Carter Mtn

View on the trail between South Carter and Middle Carter

The summit of Middle Carter is similar to South Carter in that there isn't much there. The trees on the eastern side of the trail are thin enough you can get some views in that direction though. There is no sign for the summit, and if you miss the small cairn, you could walk right over it. After a short time here as well, I was back to hiking and starting the trek down.

View from Middle Carter Mtn

The trail has a few ups and downs as it works its way over Mt. Lethe. The North Carter Trail junction seems to be a bit further up the trail than you would think my looking at the map. Having been here a few times now though, I don't start thinking "did I miss it?" As it has been in the past, the North Carter Trail was quite wet with water flowing down it in places. There are some sections with small loose rocks as well. At the junction with the Imp Trail, I took a left and keep going down the mountain. Once getting down into the open hardwoods, the trail levels out some. After this, you want to look for a small logged area on your right. Then there is small woods road on your left with tall grass that brings you into Camp Dodge. If you go down their driveway, you come out to Route 16 just down the road from the trail head. When I came through, they were doing construction to replace a bridge on the driveway and I needed to find another way across the brook. That didn't prove too hard though.

This hike doesn't really have any real hard sections on it. It is however a fair amount of elevation gain over the course of it. That makes it take a bit longer than you would think. And makes it a bit harder/more tiring than you might believe ahead of time.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Carter Dome (4,832 ft), South Carter Mtn (4,430 ft), & Middle Carter Mtn (4,610 ft) 11-18-12

Distance: 11.5 mi. (Mtn) 0.4 mi. (Road) 11.9 mi. (Total)
Elevation: 3,396 ft. (Overall) 4,665 ft. (Total)
Time: 3:39 (Carter Dome) 4:44 (South Carter) 5:31 (Middle Carter) 7:52 (Total)
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter Trail, Imp Trail, Camp Dodge Cutoff, Route 16

The trail is gentle and easy to start. It follows the brook and shows signs of erosion from Tropical Storm Irene, but work has been done to make it easy to walk up. There was one patch of ice on some bare rock early on, then nothing for a while longer. The bridge that was half washed away in the storm didn't have the planks over the remainder of the brook that it did in June, but the crossing was still pretty easy. We took a few different routes all with no problems.

Partial bridge crossing

We turned left up the Carter Dome Trail. This trail certainly shows signs of wash out as well. But again, work has been done to fix it back up. After a while of gradual climbing, the trail starts into some switchbacks and gets a bit steeper. There were a few small brook crossings in here, but nothing bad. We just had to look first for ice before choosing a route across. Before long, we were at Zeta Pass and took a break.

Carter Dome Trail

Group break

With the patches of ice this morning, we decided we should go up the steep trail to Mt. Hight first, rather than come down it. Being the slower hiker today, I led up this section so we wouldn't get spread out at different paces. Taking a few short breathers on the way up, we were soon to Mt. Hight without any issues. There really wasn't any ice in this section. We took in the great views in all directions and had time for a snack and gear adjustment.

Presidential Range from Mt. Hight

South and Middle Carters from Mt. Hight

To keep on schedule, we soon headed out to Carter Dome. The easy trek to the first 4K peak of the day took only 30 minutes more. We discussed the fire tower remains some and all enjoyed the view from the look out at the top. Soon we were off and headed back to Zeta Pass. The trail was a bit rocky and places and had some small patches of ice. It went by quick though as we were carrying a good pace. Once into the pass, we headed up towards South Carter keeping a decent pace. We took a few short breaks on the way up. Again, before long, we were at the summit of South Carter.

Carter Dome view point

North up the range from Carter Dome

Zeta Pass

The last time I was here it was raining at this point and I was in the clouds. I didn't even notice the small view point right off the trail. Today I went out to it and took in the views into Maine. Another short break later, and we were off again. We gradually worked down into the col between the peaks (which still doesn't look like 200 feet from a distance).

View from South Carter

Working up towards Middle Carter, the trail is a series of nearly flats stretches with quick steeper climbs between. In here my thighs were starting to get a bit tight, so I took a couple quick breaks before we all took one within sight of the summit. Even with the breaks, my legs started to cramp up pretty bad just before the summit. I pushed through it and eventually caught back up to the group at the summit. After a break there, I was good to go the rest of the way.

View up to Middle Carter

View from Middle Carter

We headed out quickly as we expected to be getting back to our cars, or maybe the road, about the time we were going to want headlamps. On our way to the North Carter Trail and going down it, we came across more patches of ice. Most were small, but a couple took some planning to get down on the North Carter Trail. This trail was a stream this summer when I was here, so I honestly expected more ice. The Imp Trail was mostly clear of ice with more running water. We cleared one blow down on this trail that would be a problem come winter. As it neared dark, we finally got to the cutoff to Joe Dodge Camp and cut through. We walked up the road the distance to our cars and were back where we started without seeing any hikers outside of our group.

This hike was different for me as it was with another group of hikers. Normally I hike alone and go at my own pace. This hike was a little faster pace than I normally would have gone and we didn't take as much time for pictures as I normally do. But it was also good pushing faster and doing this hike almost an hour quicker than this summer. I would certainly hike with any of this group again.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Waumbek (4,006 ft) 8-23-12

Distance: 6.59 mi.
Elevation: 2,428 ft (overall) 2,756 ft (total)
Time: 5:28
Trails: Starr King Trail

For the first peak on my second round the 48, I choose to hike Mt. Waumbek with my wife. We were headed up north for the weekend anyways, so it seemed like a good idea to take one more day off and hike this mountain on the way up. I choose Mt. Waumbek since it isn't that far out of the way for our planned route and because it would be an easier peak for my wife's first 4K.

The hike went well with no real difficulties. The trail is never very steep or difficult. It was however quite humid today and this made the hike a bit slower and made us sweat more. It also caused the views to bit more hazy than the last time I was here.

All in all it was a good hike. With the hazy views it was a good day to notice some of the smaller things on the trail, as you can see in some of the photos I took. Hopefully it was fun enough that my wife is willing to follow me up more 4Ks after this.

Indian Pipe found along the trail

Chimney on Mt. Starr King

Trail leading over to Mt. Waumbek

View from Waumbek

Melissa's First 4,000 footer

Coming back down the mountain

Remains of the old spring house

For pictures of the entire hike, click HERE