Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
North Hancock, South Hancock, NH |
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| Trails: |
Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Saturday, October 18, 2014 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lots of parking at the Kanc hairpin. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Water was running high in several places, not possible to keep feet dry without waterproof footwear. |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
No issues, a walkover blowdown or two perhaps. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
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| Bugs: |
None |
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| Lost and Found: |
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| Comments: |
On trail early in an attempt to beat the rain. Did the loop ascent to North Hancock, descended via South Hancock. Very wet day. Started out without rain, but water was still a bit high. Test of new winter boots was thorough. Waterproofing worked better than I could have hoped. I only got the waterproofing to fail by stepping into water deeper than the top of the boot. ;-)
Light rain kicked in on South Hancock, and just added to the sloshy hike. Lots of mud, water running down the trail, higher than normal stream crossings, standing puddles, ponding.
Heading to North Hancock, there was a flooded area at the stream crossing where the real ascent begins. Seemed to be a drainage problem. Could see a large downed tree at where I think the outlet was for the stream we were crossing. Summerset remembered that area as mostly dry. Would have been tough to walk around the flood zone to find the root of the problem. Thick woods.
Saw maybe a dozen people, all as we were descending. One trio was doing the oddest stream crossing we'd seen all day. They'd bushwhacked to get to the crossing point, were headed into a thick, nasty area of blowdowns and wooded sadness, and were helping a ~10yo boy in tennis shoes to get across. The normal stream crossing, which was a bit wide and wet but relatively easy, was just a little further down the trail. Hard to piece together what was going on. Trying to keep dry feet (a hopeless endeavor) was our best thought. |
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| Name: |
Ethan Banks |
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| E-Mail: |
020655@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2014-10-19 |
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| Link: |
https://nh48.wordpress.com |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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