Also on this trip
Trails Used
Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Loop Trail
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
Quiet day on the Hancocks, one other person ahead of me who I never saw. Bare booted for the first 1/2 mile, was able to avoid the ice patches but then the ice became more consistent so I switched to Kahtoola Ghost micros...my first time trying them. Ultra light but gripped very well on the ice. The spikes are fairly short so the only place they weren't great was in deeper slushy snow spots, but they were surprisingly good in most spots even up the very steep climb up to N. Hancock, which is mostly hard packed snow with only a few solid ice spots. At S. Hancock I switched to the much more aggressive Hillsound Trail Crampon Pros which are "crampony" with longer and more aggressive spikes than microspikes. I was very glad to have them for the descent from S. Hancock, which is consistently steep and icy, with enough new snow on top of the ice to make it interesting. There are enough trees that you could carefully navigate it with microspikes, but a slip on this section would be not great. Crossings were all very low today and easily rock hopped, but they will likely vary considerably in the next few weeks as there is still a lot of snow up high. Round 11 on these guys for me (and the last time doing it on snow), and every time I forget just how steep the climb is!
Parking
Free parking, best parking lot view of the 48. Only 1 other car today.
Water Crossings
Easy hops