Distance: 12.3 mi.
Elevation: 2,933 ft (overall) 3,481 ft (total)
Time: 1:26 (Nancy Cascades) 2:43 (Start of Bushwhack) 3:27 (Mt. Nancy) 3:56 (End of Bushwhack) 5:55 (Camp)
Trails: Nancy Pond Trail, Bushwhack, Nancy Pond Trail, Carrigain Notch Trail
For a while now when thinking about hiking Mt. Nancy I've wanted to do it as a loop continuing down Nancy Pond Trail past the pond and then come back through Carrigain Notch.With only a few peaks left before finishing up the NEHH, it didn't make a lot of sense to drive here twice to hike Vose Spur as well when my loop was going to have my walk past the start of the bushwhack for it. So I decided to combine the two hikes into one bigger multi-day hike instead.
I parked at the Nancy Pond trail head on Route 302, which was more full than I expected when I showed up. After getting all my gear into and on my pack I headed up the trail which starts off pretty easy and gives you a nice warm up. There is one small brook to cross an then further up you'll also cross the bigger Nancy Brook which was a quite a low level today. There are some big rocks here that you should be able to use to cross over with a more normal flow rate. After this crossing the trail turns left and starts to get steeper. Before too long the trail goes higher up the hillside and back away from the brook on a newer section of trail that keeps the trail away from where it will get the damage from really high water levels.
Gentle hiking along the Nancy Pond Trail
Crossing of Nancy Brook
There was very little water coming down over Nancy Cascades today, but I can see why many people hike up the trail just to the falls when water levels are higher. It's a pretty tall cascade with lots of places for the water to divert and make some interesting patterns in the water. After crossing the brook below the cascades, the trail quickly gets much steeper and rougher with more roots and rocks. You gain elevation quickly this way though and it doesn't take too long before things level back out again before you get to the ponds.
Nancy Cascades with low flow
As the trail levels out it stays kind of rough with plenty of roots to walk over. There will also be a number of foot bridges as there are plenty of sections of damp ground along the trail that you wouldn't want the trail going directly through. Today while I hiked through here, it was interesting to see evidence of a moose that had walked through here too. You could see where it had walked next to the foot bridges and sunk right in. Apparently moose don't like foot bridges. The trail brings you right up to Nancy Pond before then following the side and then leading you do Norcross Pond.
Norcross Pond
Just before the outlet of Norcross Pond is a small open area with signs indicating no camping there. To the right it looks like there is a trail, this is actually the start of the herd path to Mt. Nancy. Right off there appears to be another fork in the path and you will want to go left here. From this point on I found the herd path to be easy to follow. It was steeper than I thought it would be and also a bit narrower/tighter than I thought as well. This path goes pretty much straight up the mountain without much for making it an easier route. It does level back out nicely shortly before the summit. The summit of Mt. Nancy as a surprisingly good view for a wooded peak. You can see pretty clearly from north to east with parts of Crawford Notch and the Presidentials to other smaller peaks to the east.
Mt. Nancy herd path goes left here
Another left to follow the herd path
One of the easiest parts of the herd path
Panoramic view from Mt. Nancy
View from Mt. Nancy
Once back down to the pond, there was now only one other hiker here so it was a bit quieter and more remote feeling. I talked with the other hiker and his dog some before we both parted way in opposite directions. I headed down the Nancy Pond Trail which has a nice gentle grade with smooth solid footing all the way down to the bottom. There was only one wet spot along the trail while going downhill. After stopping here, I happened to notice that there was also an old metal pipe coming out of the ground with water flowing through it (not the main source of the mud though).
View from the outlet of Norcross Pond
A lower section of Nancy Pond Trail
Once the trail crosses Norcross Brook the forest immediately changes. The trees and other vegetation change and open up and the trail gets pretty flat following mostly old railroad grades from the logging days of J. E. Henry. This section makes for some smooth easy hiking while going through a nice remote section of the Whites. I only saw one pair of hikers on the trail through here until I got close to Stillwater Junction.
Norcross Brook crossing
Tree tunnel
Rather than just stop near the intersection with the Carrigain Notch Trail so I would be closer to Vose Spur in the morning, I did the extra miles to the end of the Carrigain Notch Trail until Stillwater Junction which is at the junction with the Wilderness and Shoal Pond Trails. I've hiked past here in the past and wanted to get back to this junction mostly just for redlining purposes. It's also a nice area and I was figuring I could find a good place to camp near the Carrigain Branch so I would have good access to water. So after filtering some water at Stillwater Junction, I headed back to a nice campsite I walked past on the way there. There was also one pair of hikers in the area, but it ended up being a nice quiet area to camp.
Tent setup at camp for the night
I ended up going to bed earlier than expected tonight since it gets very dark deep in the forest and I had no plan to have any sort of fire. I had a headlamp, but didn't really bring much to read/do, so I basically got bored of sitting around. In the end I ended up laying there for a while though until I did finally fall asleep since it was so much earlier than normal for me.
Google Earth representation of day 1
DAY 2
Distance: 13.6 mi.
Elevation: 1,827 ft (overall) 2,394 ft (total)
Time: 1:38 (Start of Bushwhack) 3:11 (Vose Spur) 4:06 (End of Bushwhack) 5:33 (Sawyer River Road) 6:08 (Route 302) 6:29 (Total)
Trails: Carrigain Notch Trail, Bushwhack, Carrigain Notch Trail, Signal Ridge Trail, Road
Between having two kids and getting up early for work everyday long enough, I didn't need an alarm to make sure I would be up early today. After waking up and just laying there for a bit, I got up, got dressed and started to get some of my gear ready to pack up already. While heating things up for breakfast I did more packing. After eating my breakfast I took down my tent and put it into its stuff sack. Even with taking my time at camp, I was still on the trail easily by 8am.
The hike back along the Carrigain Notch Trail was a great warm up for the day. Nice smooth trail with mostly level grades. After passing the junction with the Nancy Pond Trail the grade of the trail increases some, but still stays relatively easy. The trail progressively gets away from the old RR grades and gets narrower and a bit more rocky.
Starting the morning on the Carrigain Notch Trail
The high point of Carrigain Notch is also the boundary of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. I took a short little break here as the morning was a bit more humid than I expected it to be. From here, the start of the Vose Spur bushwhack isn't that far of a hike. I found what I believed to be the start of the whack when there was a small cairn next to the trail. The path leading from it wasn't super defined so I did a short walk without my pack to see if just around the corner was the boulder that most people reference as being near the start. Sure enough, it was nearby. That is one downside of coming in the direction I was instead of hiking in from Sawyer River Road like most others do.
Bushwhack boulder
The start of the Vose Spur bushwhack
Before starting the bushwhack I picked a tree off the trail a bit that I could hang my tent and sleeping bag/pad up in. I would be coming back to this spot and it made no sense to carry it all up with me. This was probably the smartest thing I did today as this made my pack much lighter and smaller. I would have caught on so many more branches on this route if I hadn't done this.
The bushwhack for me was pretty easy to follow, but I did find a few places lower down where you had to look ahead a bit to see if the path you were taking was the proper one or if it looked like it might peter out soon. At times there was some old flagging around, but it wasn't everywhere so I wouldn't rely on that alone to keep you headed in the right direction.
A more open section of the bushwhack
Most people reference the end of this bushwhack to be very steep, but the rest of it was steeper than I expected. Pretty much from the start, the path is steep. There really aren't any breaks from this either until just before the actual summit. Above the talus field the path does really get the steepest. It is steep enough that it wouldn't be a normal trail anywhere else in the whites. It also gets pretty narrow as it works along the side of some steep sections as well. You wouldn't want to take a spill here.
When I got to the talus field there was a piece of flagging where the trail entered it. I looked up the field to find some flagging or a cairn as others have mentioned for where to enter back into the woods. I could see both of these above me and just to the right as well as some other flagging off to the left. I picked the route to the left as it looked a bit easier to get to. On the way down I picked the route to the right. It turns out that once back into the trees both routes connect back up and the one on the right when headed up is a bit shorter and easy, so I would go that way when climbing.
Looking up the talus field
Steep section of bushwhack near the top
The summit was as viewless as expected and I didn't see the old folding chair I've seen pictures of. So after a little break, a snack, and some pictures I headed back down until I got to the talus field where I took a longer break and enjoyed the only views of the day.
The summit and canister
View from the talus field
After getting back to the trail and grabbing my tent and sleeping gear, it was time to head to Sawyer River Road and back to the truck. The trail through here is easy to follow with no steep sections. There were some spots where it was impressive to see what mother nature has done through here (mostly with water). What looks like entire streams of just rocks crossing the trail.
A river of stone that crosses the trail
10 foot deep hole next to the trail
With it being a bit humid today and the bushwhack being steep the entire length of it, I was running low on water. Luckily I made it to a section of Carrigain Brook that had water near the intersection with the Signal Ridge Trail. Up to this point the nearby brook had been dry. I filtered enough to get me back to the truck and keep on hiking out. Around now is when I started seeing other hikers which I hadn't seen any of so far. It seemed a number of them were hiking Mt. Carrigain today.
Foot bridges along the Signal Ridge Trail
Time to filter water again at Carrigain Brook
Once down to Sawyer River Road I took a quick break and prepared for the about 3 miles walk back to my truck. I didn't try to hitch a ride with anyone driving down the road, but there ended up only being maybe 4 vehicles that passed by me before I got to Route 302. There was plenty of traffic on 302, but again I didn't try to hitch a ride and I was on the wrong side of the road anyways. In the end the road walk was a bit long and boring, but you can do it relatively quickly. The biggest downside is the hard surface of the road on tired feet. The dirt next to it might be softer, but it quickly slants away from the road which would make you walk lopsided.
Time for the road walk back to the truck
Google Earth representation of day 2
TOTALS
Distance: 25.9 mi.
Elevation Gain: 5,875 ft (total)
Time: 12:24
Google Earth representation of the hike
For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE
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