| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Hancock Notch, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Hancock Notch Trail, Sawyer River Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, June 13, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We took two cars. The hairpin lot (Hancocks) was full. Sawyer River lot has room for 3-4 cars, but was not full. Just 2 of us. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Water levels were low, so even the biggest crossings were with mostly dry feet. High water levels would make this hike at least wet, and possibly dangerous at 2 or 3 crossings. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Hancock Notch Trail has lots of blowdowns past the loop junction. Pemi Trail Crew is already working on it. What they've gotten to so far is completely clear. Fantastic work. What's left is nothing too difficult to manage, but it's a mix of walk overs, duck unders, route arounds, and one minor jungle gym. Not sure how many blowdowns. A couple dozen, maybe more. Most small or mid-sized, but a couple of big ones. Didn't slow us down much though. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
This is a mellow ramble. No tricky terrain. Lots of water. Doggos will get muddy...but then can clean off in the endless number of streams. |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitoes attacked at the HNT/SRT junction when we stopped for lunch. Once we got moving again, they faded away. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Someone "lost" an empty beer can. 🙄 |
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 | Comments: |
A little bit of route-finding required along Hancock Notch Trail. There are many stream crossings, places where the trail is in the stream bed, and spots where Irene ate the trail, so it's not always obvious where the footpath is, especially where there are also blowdowns. A few more blazes would help, but we didn't have too much trouble finding the corridor again a couple of times where we lost it. Usually there were worn rocks, roots, or saw work. The most confusing turn was at a spot where you cross a stream and pop up the other side into a camping area. The corridor does not go through the campsite we finally discovered. Instead, it goes down the stream bed, so we shouldn't have crossed up into the campsite. Oops. No big deal.
Awe-inspiring damage from Hurricane Irene along Hancock Notch Trail as you get towards the eastern terminus. Some of the biggest, tallest, and widest washouts we've seen in the Whites. Astonishing power of nature on display.
Sawyer River Trail was mostly a super highway. I don't remember any big issues. Much of that is shared with snowmobiles and skiers in the winter. We saw lots of bicycle tracks today along SRT today.
Many wildflowers blooming, and joyful songbirds providing a soundtrack as we walked. |
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 | Name: |
ecbanks |
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 | E-Mail: |
020655@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-06-13 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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