Hancock Loop

It is still deep in the snow in April in New England.

First 2 miles is not steep

Some snow is melting

Last weekend Mr.N and I went hiking in Hancock. We got up at 5 a.m. and arrived at a trailhead at 8 a.m. I was surprised that there were already eight cars in the parking lot. We got a spot second to the last.

We hiked a Hancock Loop that connects Hancok north and south peak in White Mountain National Forest. It is near the town of Lincoln, New Hampshire, 9.1 mile, 2575 feet elevation gain. 

    First 2 miles are very gentle climb and not really felt the uphill. As you can see in the picture, there is still a lot of snow. We started with micospikes, but in case we brought snowshoes. Snow might be soft in the late winter and it might melt in the afternoon. 

begenning of Hancock Loop

After relatively gentle uphill part, there is a junction. This portion is a loop to connects North peak and South peak. We decided to start with North peak, because it is steeper. It is better to do on uphill for the steeper part.

I thought that it was not difficult, but the last 0.5 mile was brutal. The slope was 50-70%. It was so steep, especially with snow. It reminded me of the scree when I climbed Mt.Shasta via Clear Creek route. Well, it was only 0.5 mile here, so not as crazy as Mt.Shasta, but there is a common feature. 

North Peak

First, we reached the north peak. It was a nice view.  I was a little hungry, so I ate a half of sandwich. While we were eating, a jay flew over and landed on a branch. He was staring at us. 

I said, "Ummm? Maybe he wants food."

So Mr.N held a piece of bread and saw if he would come get it. As you can see in the picture, he got it. He grabbed and few away very quickly. Looked like he knows this peak is the place to get food from human.  

tamed bird?

After he ate a piece of bread, he came back to the branch and again he looked at us. We again gave a piece of bread. He ate and again came back. Now we got excited and started having fun. Mr.N held a M&M chocolate. The jay flew to the hand and saw chocolate, but didn't take it. Because the chocolate was artificial blue, Mr.N held a brown M&M. Brown is not as artificial color as blue, but still the bird didn't take it. He must know what is good for him. 

Although Hancock is still deeply covered with snow, five more hikers came up to the north peak. It was surprising. They were excited about having so much snow in April and each of them took pictures of snow-buried trail sign. 

Then we headed for South peak. South peak is not as good view as north, but it was more quiet, in fact nobody was there.  Maybe some people go to only north peak. After south peak, super steep downhill was waiting. First I tried sliding down, but it was too steep to keep control. I lost control, so I decided to walk. After 0.4 mile of steepness, I tried sliding down for 0.1 mile. Mr.N was concerned and said later he was worried that that was my last seen. 

Then we came back to the trailhead. Good workout!

４月と言えどもニューイングランドはまだ雪の中。

 先週末、ニューハンプシャー州のハンコックへハイキングへ出かけた。５時起床。早っ。８時にトレイルヘッドに到着。すでに８台ほど車が止まっており、かろうじてパーキングをゲット。みんな気合い入ってるなぁー。

このハンコックループはノースピークトサウスピークを結ぶループ。ただ、ループは最後だけであとはアウトアンドバック。全部で約１５キロ、９００メートルの登り。最初の３キロはほぼ平ら。雪の森の中を歩いて行く（写真１枚目）。ところどころに雪解けの川が流れていた（写真２枚目）。徐々に登りの傾斜が上がっていくがそれほどきつい登りではない。そしてハンコックループの始まりの地点に到着。まず左のトレイルからノースピークを目指す。このジャンクションを過ぎるといきなり上りの傾斜がきつくなる。とういうかきつすぎだ。雪なのでそれが追い打ちをかける。傾斜は５０−６０％程度。マウントシャスタの登りを思い起こさせるほどの傾斜だ。ただ距離的にはそこまで長くなく程なくしてノースピークへ到着。

連なるや山々が綺麗だ。景色を楽しみながらサンドイッチを食べていると、鳥が近くの枝から我々を凝視している。食べ物狙いか？MrNがパンを持って手を挙げると飛んで来てパンをかっさらっていった。そして食べ終わるとまた近くの枝から凝視。またパンをあげた。

そしてまた戻って来たので、M＆Mのチョコレートを差し出した、すると飛んで来たがかっさらっていかなかった。どうやらチョコは好きでないらしい。チョコが青だったので、自然色のものしか食べないのかと思い、茶色のチョコをあげようしたが、それもスルー。何が欲しいか知っているらしい。

雪の中とはいえ、ノースピークには５人ものハイカーが後からやって来た。人気の場所だ。そして我々はサウスピークへと向かった。サウスピークはノースピークほど景色が良いわけではなかったが、人がまったくいなくて静かで良い空間だった。

そしてここからの下りが。。。傾斜がきつい！最初スライドして滑って降りようとしたが、下りの傾斜がきつすぎてコントロールを 失い危険だったので、歩いて降りることにした。

そして無事にトレイルヘッドに帰還。良いデイハイクだった。そして筋肉がついた気がする＾＾