Trails Used

Hancock Notch to Loop trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Overall trail conditions are very good. Mix of damp and wet trail throughout the hike but not enough to be a problem. Any place with running water has minimal depth. Just enough to wet the sole. North peak has no snow or rail. The trail from north to south is a mix of rail and snow free sections. Probably 50/50 rail and damp trail. Most of the rail can be straddled. The closer you get to south peak the rail becomes prominent with a fairly large snow field as you near south peak. Firm enough to walk on. There's enough snow and length of rail in this section for spikes. Bare booted door to door. Broke my solo hiking today and hiked with Mark from ME. A very seasoned climber and good company. We crossed paths with Ken another very seasoned climber that Mark climbed with years ago. What a world we live in.

Parking

Not a problem.

Water Crossings

Easily crossed.

Wildlife

Didn't see any.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Trail is bare for most of first 3 miles. There are a few 10-20’ sections of what’s left of a monorail and a few muddy areas as well. Still pretty easy to keep your feet dry. All the water crossings are pretty easy. Going up north peak there is a layer of maybe 1” of snow but no monorail or ice until you are within a couple hundred feet of summit. Going up south hancock, the ice/monorail starts way lower. In between the peaks it varies from bare trail to thin monorail to a little bit of snow covering bare trail. I posted pictures of trail conditions on all trails if you wish to see pictures of current conditions.

Water Crossings

No difficult water crossings

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hancock notch trl, cedar brook trl, Hancock loop trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, Hancock Loop.

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Counter-clockwise due to the frozen luge below South. Spikes made that easy. There was lots of mono-rail everywhere but only the higher elevations were prone to post-holing or crumbling. Passed on guy coming down from South in wet sneakers. Almost felt sorry for him.

Water Crossings

Lots but all easily crossed.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hancock Notch Tr, Cedar Brook Tr, Loop Tr.

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

I’ve never written a trail report. Sorry. But I found a charm(?). That’s why I filled out this trail report. It doesn’t appear valuable, but it may be of sentimental value to someone. Send me an email and I’ll mail it to you. Monorail and ice down low was collapsing. Up high it was fine. I went up north first and got somewhat wet (car wash) coming down. The south slide required a lot of tree grabbing.

Parking

I was the only truck. Only hiker.

Water Crossings

Rock and log hops. Tomorrow may be a bit of an issue.

Wildlife

None

Trail Conditions

Notes

Spring conditions with snow, sun, and variable temperatures. Guided hike with Redline Guide Chase Hall and a returning guest. Photos mentioned but not described in detail.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hancock Notch, Cedar Brook, Hancock Loop

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Spikes door to door. The trail is still very well packed and fast. The trickiest part was the descent from south which just took some careful steps in the steep spots. A fast and cold day out.

Parking

Plenty of spots all day.

Water Crossings

All rock hops le with a little planning and adventurous spirit

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Awesome, firm, fast conditions. I wore spikes to the steeps then wore crampons around the loop. Obviously, there’s no need for crampons between the peaks, but I kept them on because I’m too lazy to change traction and they worked fine. There is definitely evidence of monorail forming between the peaks, but it’s very stable and quite wide right now. Steeps would be doable but quite tricky in spikes. I was certainly happy to have full crampons, especially going down sour where there’s a lot of butt sledding. As temps warm this week, I think snowshoes will be merited between the peaks. I don’t think they’ll be needed again down low, certainly not on the Hancock Notch Trail, as the snow is really shallow down there now. There’s still a lot up high, though, and I see posthole-a-Rama starting up without snowshoes. Definitely in good shape, great views from both lookouts, obese Gray Jays out in force.

Water Crossings

Most are open. All easy to cross.