Hancock, south peak (8/48)
Nov. 10th, 2006 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jtniehofAfter sitting far too long in the wind and cold, we set forth along the ridgeline, immediately hitting snow on the trail.
We were both bundled up in heavy coats and mitts to try and recover from the rest stop, which was a very bad idea. The trail was a mix of snow and water which made for slippery, cold going.
We passed a couple taking the trail the other way who had already pulled out the winter plastics. I was starting to doubt the wisdom of continuing into winter since I was cold and miserable, but after moving for awhile the warmup started to take effect, so we just laughed when we hit a deadfall and started crawling.
The ridgeline is mostly flat and we didn't notice when we passed over Middle Hancock (not an official 4k, but a former Trailwrights peak), although there was a bump in there somewhere. The south peak doesn't have the required 200 foot col, but has been kept for "sentimental reasons." Upshot: very little climb before we reached an outlook into Notchland
and then the summit.
We skipped the sidetrail to the other outlook as we were still a little cranky and damp from the ridgeline. So, on down we went, very steeply and taking a lot of weight on our poles.
Back at the junction in the lollipop, we turned off all the electronics and swore to never carry so much junk around again--or at least to leave it off most of the time. We had nice views back towards the north peak, now covered in fog.
Some of the crossings on the Cedar Brook trail were running a lot higher from the day's melt. I got nuzzled from behind while waiting for one of the high ones; the dog's human caught up a couple of minutes later. We appreciated being back onto the gentler trails of the old railroads.
From here on out it was a race of us against the sun, and we reached the Kanc just before we were going to stop and pull out the headlamps.
We did grab headlamps once we reached the car, since we needed to change. We stood up on the overlook and each managed to drop trou exactly as a car came up the Kanc...so we flashed all the traffic unintentionally. On the plus side, we had our own historical plaque!
And, it was back to Boston before the sun totally faded.
We were both bundled up in heavy coats and mitts to try and recover from the rest stop, which was a very bad idea. The trail was a mix of snow and water which made for slippery, cold going.
We passed a couple taking the trail the other way who had already pulled out the winter plastics. I was starting to doubt the wisdom of continuing into winter since I was cold and miserable, but after moving for awhile the warmup started to take effect, so we just laughed when we hit a deadfall and started crawling.
The ridgeline is mostly flat and we didn't notice when we passed over Middle Hancock (not an official 4k, but a former Trailwrights peak), although there was a bump in there somewhere. The south peak doesn't have the required 200 foot col, but has been kept for "sentimental reasons." Upshot: very little climb before we reached an outlook into Notchland
and then the summit.
We skipped the sidetrail to the other outlook as we were still a little cranky and damp from the ridgeline. So, on down we went, very steeply and taking a lot of weight on our poles.
Back at the junction in the lollipop, we turned off all the electronics and swore to never carry so much junk around again--or at least to leave it off most of the time. We had nice views back towards the north peak, now covered in fog.
Some of the crossings on the Cedar Brook trail were running a lot higher from the day's melt. I got nuzzled from behind while waiting for one of the high ones; the dog's human caught up a couple of minutes later. We appreciated being back onto the gentler trails of the old railroads.
From here on out it was a race of us against the sun, and we reached the Kanc just before we were going to stop and pull out the headlamps.
We did grab headlamps once we reached the car, since we needed to change. We stood up on the overlook and each managed to drop trou exactly as a car came up the Kanc...so we flashed all the traffic unintentionally. On the plus side, we had our own historical plaque!
And, it was back to Boston before the sun totally faded.