North And South Hancock, July 28th 2019

When you have a weekend off, and the weather is spectacular (although hot) you hike as much as possible.

Eric, Casey, Ellie and I had climbed Eisenhower the previous day, but that is such a great hike that all of us (minus Casey) were ready for more. Evan was available for some adventures, and we were thrilled to have him along. (read about Casey's bit adventure on her first 4K footer Here.

We parked at the almost empty Hancock Scenic Overlook around 8:00 or so, and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the early morning Kanc.
It's a bit of a trick getting to the trail, you go through a little gate, down a hill, and then you cross the road on the hairpin turn. Not the most confidence inspiring crossing. #death

At the gate (and a side: hasn't the Thoreau Bridge been out since 2011?)

Anyway- we made it, and immediately were plunged into quiet, on the very flat/gradual and scenic trail.

How it begins, flat flat

It is a LONG way on this trail before you get to anything intense, but that's the kind of hike that I enjoy. Tons of walking in the woods, pretty things to see, then BOOM, mountain.

And honestly, that is exactly how this trail behaves.
You go along for a bit, and it is bone flat.
Then, maybe it gets a little greener and *perhaps* the trail goes up a bit.
(FYI: there is a standard route. Hancock Notch Trail, to Cedar Brook Trail, to Hancock Loop, to either peak.)

Ever so slight uphill

So you wander along, walking and talking and loving life and then *mayyyyybe* you hit the beginning of a little something...

The beginning of a little something.....

And then, on command, the trail splits. The fork in the road takes you right, for the final half mile to South Hancock.
AND IT GOES UP, LIKE A BEAST.

Their feet are at my head, and I am standing right next to Evan. 

Fortunately, this intensity only lasts half a mile. Totally manageable, and in a non scary way. We had to use hands in places, but I would not call it a scramble.
But dudes? If you weren't in great shape this could really suck. Just FYI.

And then, POP, you reach the end of the fierce incline and are rewarded with a terrific view at a tiny scenic overlook.

Hazy

The walk between peaks is lovely, and straightforward. It's about 1.4 miles, and is really a terrific stretch of trail. I forgot to take any pics....

From North Hancock, you get a different view.

A view of us!!! Haha.

Another hiker wandered by, and expressed his pretty severe disappointment in the quality/quantity of views in relation to the miles put in. I must disagree, but it certainly is a subjective situation. Really, only a mile total was hard (0.5 up, and down) and the rest was just an easy woods walk. And I enjoyed the views- you can see a lot!

Happy Hikers

Based on my research we did the loop counter clockwise, hitting the South peak first.

I would certainly recommend doing it this way. Both directions have their fiddly issues- it is rocky and climbey getting to South peak, and the trail is all small rocks and slidey crap coming down from North. We all agreed, we would prefer to climb up big stones and come down pebbles.

Heading down on little death pebbles

We did manage fine. Nobody fell. Evan was glad that there was no snow....

Yes, Steep. 

Of course, once one returns to "flat" land, it is still a pretty long walk to get back. (about 3.5 miles)
That was ok. We chatted. Talked about the big fish that Evan catches. We snacked. Ran out of water for the first time ever. Ellie almost got beat up by a dog the size of a guinea pig.
And the kids took a moment to relax and recharge in one of the pretty streams.

Evan went for it

And so did Elle

By the time we returned to the car, the Kanc was full blown weekend chaos.
We tried to block out the noise and enjoy some cold pizza, but (honestly) it was almost too loud to talk over! Typical.... #getoffmylawn

We made it!!!

So another couple peaks checked off (this makes #22 and #23 for Eric and me) and another really fun, rewarding hike on a gorgeous day. Just can't beat the weather we are getting this year!!!!
And again, so happy have Evan join us. He got up at 3AM to make it for this adventure, and we were so glad to have him join!

But I think they were a little tired!!!

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,792
-miles covered: 9.5
-elapsed time: 5:35 (we never shut off our watches- so this includes all down time)

Difficulty: Difficult. Why? Because it is a long day. And you really need to be reasonably fit to handle the climb up- no matter which peak you choose to climb first (I suggest South) 
BUT: The trail at ANY point until the final half mile is easy. Plenty of people just walk the trail, see the river, head home. 

Views: Small outlooks on both peaks with lovely views. 

Bugs: Horse flies, horse flies... But maybe slightly fewer today?

Dog friendly trail? Yes, as long as your dog can handle hours on the trail. 

Mt Willey and Mt Field: 4k footers #8 & (repeat) 9 of 2019

Summer arrived.

The three of us headed off last Sunday to FINALLY conquer Willey after being thwarted by snow, and trail conditions several weeks ago.

It was a toasty day, well into the upper 70's and just as sunny as you could ask for. RARE.

We left the Willey House (a fascinating historical landmark) exactly at 12:00 and headed up the Kedron Flume trail.

Warm day, no snow

We have discovered that Ellie has developed a real obsession with running water, and she happily played in the flume, much to our amusement.

Vizsla Butt

(it's about a .80 mile hike to the flume- great for kids or people who love a pretty falls.)

The day was beautiful, and the views were good right from the get go.

Always nice to see a view!

After the falls, the trail (Ethan Pond to Willey Range Trail) was in super condition. No snow, very little mud, easy stream crossings. The trail might have been low on blazes in a couple places, but it was extremely obvious that you were on the trail.

It is only 2.5-ish miles to the top of Willey, so you gain some serious elevation. Lots of it is pretty low key and non technical, but definitely UP.

Like up the helpful stairs

The steep sections were broken up by some easy places, which made the hike very manageable. I would say that this should not be someones first 4k footer, but it's a good one (and a pretty short one) to work towards.
We had heard/read a lot about the ladder/stair section and had some concerns that Ellie would have issues. It was a little intense, but dry so we all managed well. If you had a timid dog, they could certainly be an issue.

The first of about 8 or so stair/ladders

After the ladders, there was more UP, and some rocky stretches.

Nothing major, but definitely not a dirt trail

Right at mile 2.5 we summited. The actual summit was ANOTHER low fanfare cairn, but there were a number of scenic vistas that were very impressive. Definitely a good reward for the elevation gain!

Really lovely

A perfect day

We spent a moment in contemplation at the summit. Retrace our steps, or continue to Field, finish at Crawford Depot, and try to find a ride back to Willey House.
The good weather, and the first good trail conditions of the year pushed us towards Field. Knowing we were only adding a mile or so to our plan, we headed off.
And quickly found snow (which was totally minor, but funny to see!)

Evan would have postholed!!

Clearly, the trail between Willey and Field has dried up, and been cleaned up considerably since our last attempt. Lots of evidence of recent blowdowns being cleared, which left the trail in great shape.

I'm such a super fan of beautiful trails like this

We came across a spot where it appears some awful weather happened at some point in the past. It's not easy being trees in the Whites.

Sorry trees

It really was a great walk between the two mountains, and one that we enjoyed all the more without the snow! Before long we were on Mt Field, and appreciated how pleasant it was without 4 feet of snow upon it!

About 40 degrees warmer than last time

Very Pretty

The hike down Avalon was uneventful an quiet. We saw a grand total of maybe 3 people. We agreed, that in conditions as good as we found on this day the trifecta of Tom, Field, and Willey would be completely manageable. My suggestion, if you plan to traverse and not do an out and back, start at the Willey side. (I'm a fan of taking the hard path up and easy path down- and between the ladders and the steep rocks, Willey is the harder ascent in my belief.)

Anywhoo. We made it down!!! YAY!! Ellie enjoyed playing in all the streams on Avalon, and was basically a big goofball every time she heard water.

Why the long face, Elle?

We got super lucky and immediately scored a ride back to the Willey House with a super nice woman from Mass, who was enjoying a camping weekend. Really good timing, and much appreciated on our part!! It was a big enough/fast enough/hot enough hike to have all 3 of us feeling a little tired, so we were glad not to have to walk 2.5 miles on 302 back to the car.

We got back and had a parking lot party. Basically everyone driving past us gave us a honk, because we are awesome.

Or because we have a very cute pupkins

So final thoughts. Willey is another 4k footer off "the list" for us, and it was vigorous but manageable. Short and steep. Great views, fun water crossings, a few unique challenges like the ladders. It was another 99.9% below treeline hike, but that makes it a decent choice for a foggy day when you don't want to die on Mt. Madison.

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 3,494
-miles covered: 6.5
-elapsed time: 4:20- plenty of water play time for the kid. 

Difficulty: Moderate due to steep sections, ladders, some rocks. Safe because below treeline and not too terribly long. 

Views: Quite good, several chances to enjoy the scenery. 

Bugs: Black flies were out, but we mostly avoided them

Dog friendly trail? Yes, but you do have several stream crossings, a few steep and rocky stretches and the series of stair/ladders. While Ellie had no issue, there is NO way that out Lab could have managed this trail. So proceed with caution. 

Mt. Hale, 4k footer #7 2019. May 19, 2019

We saved Mt. Hale for a rainy day. (actually, we really saved Mt. Hale until Zealand Rd opened, which it did last week!)

Mt. Hale, by general opinion, seems to be very unpopular. My Dad (and many others) referred to it as "a very disappointing hike." Hence, we saved it for a crapy day, AND had zero expectation. Basically I was like "Hey Evan, Mt Field was a shit hole and you hated it, NOW we are going to go hike Hale!"

The first thing that went right: The staff at Dunkin was friendly to us. Randomly, we have concluded that how the pre-hike Dunks experience is directly relates to how our hiking experience is. (ok!)

The second thing: The weather (contrary to the forecast) was somewhere between decent, and spectacular.

The third thing: It was just a REALLY terrific hike. Go figure.

We arrived! The little lot at Hale Brook trail was almost full, but because luck was on our side, we snagged the last spot. The sun was (almost) shining, the birds were singing, it was warm (62!) and we could tell the sun wanted to break free.

And WE WERE OFF

The trail was in great shape, extremely easy to follow, and well marked. And it was warm!!!

Sun's out, guns out

There were a couple little water crossings to hippty hop over, but very low key. All of us enjoyed the stream that could be seen many times, lots of nice little falls and flumes. It was quite lovely.

At a crossing, so pretty!

We were literally .2 miles into the hike, and all of us were like "this trail is the BEST! We love it here! We need to make sure to tell NOBODY or EVERYONE will be here!" It actually is a really great trail, but stay away, haha.

Hiking puppy

There was no snow for ages. We saw a dab here and there, but we were completely through the switchbacks before we considered traction. And Evan bare booted it.

First switchback, first dab of snow

So there's a decent bit of climbing (like 1k feet in the first mile) but it's a short hike, with actual switchbacks, so it is not demanding or relentless. It's a mountain, and mountains go up. But this is not a hike that is a bitch and a half. Even in the snow (and yes, there was some snow.) but it was also warm, and it got warmer throughout our hike.

Some snow, but not a ton

And after a bit of snow, there was plenty of bare trail. It was a gift from the hiking gods after the miles of snow the previous day/week. I think mayyyybe there was one posthole made all day!

Ellie loves the bare ground

And just like that (after meeting a pretty ornery trail dog, which is rare) We made it to the summit.

And there is a huge pile of stones!

It was super nice out. Warm. We sat around for over 20 minutes and had lunch. We had the place to ourselves, and it was really pleasant.

Summit photo!! Crazy hair, don't care

On the descent, we even saw a view. See? Hale totally has views!

That is totally a view

It was a pleasant, and warm hike down. When we reached the base, it was a staggering 75 degrees, blazing sun, and just gorgeous!!

WE MADE IT! WE LOVED IT!!!

We enjoyed quite a bit of picnic table/parking lot time, soaked in the sun, made some new friends and had the obligatory post hike brew.

As always. 

Ellie also enjoyed some R&R and a snack.

So comfy.

This was a shockingly good way to wrap up binge hiking week. We did Hale just to "get it out of the way" but found it to be truly enjoyable. Definitely a solid choice for a first 4k climb, to escape the bigger crowds at the more popular mountains, or to simply enjoy a great trail.
We had a great day, and the kids were wiped out.

Exhausted!!!!

So that's it from hiking insanity week 2019. It was a GREAT time and really fun to see so many new trails!

Stats 

Total elevation: 4054 (back to squeakers!) 

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,303
-miles covered: 4.1 (book is 4.4)
-elapsed time: 2:54 (included 20 minute break on summit. many leisurely stops. basically a casual day enjoying nature.) (Book is 2:15, I believe. I plan to doublecheck this though, as I'm surprised it's that little time.) 

Difficulty: Easy for a 4k footer. But you still must go up, and cross several small streams. 

Views: Decent if limited 

Bugs: There were a few, mostly in the lot

Dog friendly trail? Yes, unless your dog hates streams (or other dogs. then seriously people....)

Mt. Field, 4k footer #6 of 2019. May 18, 2019.

Evan came to visit, and to join in the fun of hiking binge week.

After some pondering, we decided to head back to the snowy Crawford Notch woods to try to peak bag Field and Willey (and Avalon, a non 4k footer just for good measure.)

We knew what to expect at the start, as we had just been up Avalon a few days earlier. Of course, since it was a Saturday there were far more people and lots more cars (still, not summer level by any means.)

Typical first half mile!!

The weather was forecast to be pretty decent (it was supposed to be the better weekend day, by FAR!!) It was decent. A few peeks of sun, not too cold, but not fabulous by any stretch. We met quite a few young hikers (part of a youth group of some sort) all of whom looked chilly, and who warned us about "lots of snow." (which we knew about, because of all the hiking during the week!)

At mile 1 we saw the first signs of the monorail, and at mile 1.28 we spiked up. (and went UP!)

Just a tiny bit of snow. 

We headed left to continue towards Avalon, and headed into uncharted waters (last time, A-Z trail took us to Tom.) The trail, as it continued towards Avalon, was most certainly steep in sections! We were especially cautious as we had just donned traction and were annoyed at the prospect of removing it) While the below photo doesn't show it- there was plenty of mud/snow to step in to avoid the nasty spike/rock combination. Also, it really was steep AF for a minute or two.

Hello, incline

The non snowy section did NOT last. As we got to the Avalon Spur, there were a good number of people descending. Knowing that trying to meet them would result in some major sinking, we saved that peak for the return trip. Too much snow to deal with trying to get around people, thanks.

There was a lot of snow. Pretty unstable at times! Evan, in particular, wasn't getting along too well with the conditions. "God Forsaken Monorail" he would cry, as he tumbled into the snowy abyss up to his ears.

We had to wait for a nice stretch to get a pic!

While we would never laugh AT Evan, we laughed WITH him quite a bit. To the point that we were all crying. The snow was just NOT on his side!!

Ellie didn't mind. She weights 31 pounds though....

This was a day where the experiences definitely varied from hiker to hiker. We all agreed that it was tough going. But (because I'm small?) I mostly stayed afloat. Evan is hardly huge, but he spent a lot of time icing his legs mid hike!

You said you needed to ice your shins, EVAN

54 postholes later, we made it to the summit of Field. There is a scenic overlook, and it was alternating between being completely socked in with fog, or humans. We did manage to snag a photo for proof though.

Another 4K for Ellie

 Heading towards Willey, the sun actually came out and the day turned a bit nicer.

Maybe you can't tell- but the sun is out!

The weather became better, but the trail did NOT. The challenges stopped being fun and began to get annoying (super narrow trail with bushwacking through the pines, limited time to make to to the next peak, the continuations of unstable snow, etc.) So, we called it a day and headed back towards Crawford Notch. While it was annoying to leave Willey for another day, it was the best option.

Heading back

We did make the little trip to the top of Avalon, and what a pleasant little summit it was! It was at least 10 degrees warmer than in the woods, with great views of the notch.

Pretty at the Avalon Summit

The trip down was basically what one would expect. More postholes, wet feet, Evan swearing like a sailor, and all of us laughing hysterically. Normal!!!

Ellie was eager for the stream crossings, and proved that she has become an expert.

Smart pupkins

 While it was not a complete shit day, we were still just as happy to be done with this one.

Field, DONE

We were pretty soaked and Evan was bleeding from the knees.

GROSS FEET

We had a beer to cheer up. Talked about how we do strange things on a Saturday afternoon. Evan quit hiking, and promptly tried to talk us into a Presi or Franconia loop the next day (nope!)

Good times!

In good conditions, and with an older dog, Tom/Field/Willey can definitely be done in one fell swoop. But not for us. Not on this day!

Stats 

Total elevation: 4340 (Ellie's highest climb to date!)

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,819
-miles covered: 6.25
-elapsed time: 4:41 (there's no book time on this, because we were here and there and everywhere.)

Difficulty: Ohhhh this is a tough one! I would say, hard side of moderate. A couple stream crossings, a few totally legit steep sections, some rocks and mess. Nothing too technical that we could notice. Plenty of good bail out options (just go to Avalon and call it a day with a view!) Not a fabulous choice for your first hike ever. 

Views: Decent 

Bugs: Not a one, but it was brisk and windy

Dog friendly trail? Yep