North & South Hancock (White Mountain National Forest)

North & South Hancock (White Mountain National Forest)

Distance: 9.37 miles
Elevation: 2,671 feet

Time: 6 hours, 0 minutes (5 minutes, 11 minutes moving)
Hike Type: Lollipop Loop
Hiking Challenges: New Hampshire 4000 Footers, 52 Hike Challenge 2024

The Hike

It's been two weeks since my last hike and I was READY to be back in the mountains! Yesterday was a dozzy of a day - I saw Cascada at Royale in Boston (she went on 1:00 am), slept for some amount of time, had a WILD day spent on the toilet (apparenty it was a "full system flush" kind of a day), and was very asleep right at 6:00pm - very intereted to see how this day was going to go! I had a good drive to Hooksett (minus a young couple erratically driving on the I-93 on ramp from Storrow Drive... they appeared to be... in love?), taking just over an hour, and saw a shooting star! I didn't have to use the bathroom at Hooksett, which made sense based on the full system flush yesterday (plus all I had to eat last night was a massive bowl of pasta). I DID get breakfast sandwiches, though! This was right after 4:00am - I was delighted!

The second half of my drive featured a lovely sunrise and almost murdering a deer who was slowly walking across I-93... I drove through a quiet Lincoln and up to the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway to see a STUNNING view of the Osceolas in the early morning illumination! There were two other cars at the trailhead plus one photographer. I took some photos but I quickly jumped back in the car - 39 degrees felt cold! I slowly suited up, really not wanting to be bold nor start cold, but eventually got the party started at 5:30am in shorts and a windbreaker.

The hike starts on the Hancock Notch Trail off of the parking area, through a small bit of woods, across the highway, and then into the woods for good. The beginnig trail is well manicured with a wide footbed and easy grades through really lovely woods. It was still a bit dark outside but slowly getting brighter. I also spent some time reminding myself that it is okay to be a little cold becuase the bugs would stay asleep! I caught some spiderwebs, listened to the river down below, and continued to gaslight myself into being warm.

The easy grades continued past the "leaving a forest protection area" sign 0.3 miles in, over some mostly dry stream crossings, through a Yankee Candle-scented area, and eventually arrive at a high bank of the Hancock Branch, North Fork, with partial, but lovely view of Mt. Hitchcock (which, on the return, I fully forgot about, which was fun!).

The Hancock Notch Trail continued on, still at the lovely easy grades. It reminded me of Lincoln Woods, but less flat, wide, and straight, and shorter. I picked a good day to do this hike, as the trail hinted that it is usually much more wet than it was on this day. There were a few larger crossings near the junction with the Cedar Brook Trail, but none were even close to an issue. I took a short break at the junction and finally took my windbreaker layer off. I was still chilly, but slowly getting warmer!

The Cedar Brook Trail initially climbed a bit steeper and more rugged, but soon leveled out. I also saw the first of MANY lady slippers! I'm really hoping to someday find artificial ones that I can keep in my house because they're truly just the perfect plant. There were also some white wildflowers and remnants of trillium from earlier in the spring. 

The Cedar Brook Trail has been rerouted at some point in the past through some of the most delightful woods I've had the pleasure of meandering through. Open, expansive, mossy, quiet, and just lovely. It even smelled amazing!

The trail descended down some new-looking rock stairs and later had a small but muddy creek crossing that led to a leap of faith (unnecessary but I did it anyway) - the former footbridge was washed down ~10 feet.

The crossing of the North Fork of the Hancock Branch was no problem at all and led to a really lovely brushy area. The trail then continued a bit further to the Hancock Loop Trail junction, where I took a quick sit to mentally prepare (or avoid what's next) for the steep climb that coming up!

Now on the Hancock Loop Trail, I recrossed the North Fork of the Hancock Branch and began to climb more rugged and steeply (there were small, nice cascades, though!). Around the 3 mile mark I made it to a very wet and rooty area, but nothing that was much of a problem, thankfully. I really lucked out with these trail conditions!

There were a few step-over blowdowns and then a partial view of North Hancock which looked RIDICULOUSLY high up... Just before the junction where the Hancock Loop Trail splits there was a neat, obstructed view of the Arrow Slide, too. The view from the slight descent from the trail split was daunting as hell. I was grateful for how well-segmented this hike was (i.e., 1.8 miles on Hancock Notch Trial, 0.7 on Cedar Brook, 1.1 on Hancock Loop, then the North, Ridge, and South segements - there were lots of little benchmarks). 

There is a dried brook bed and open area at the bottom of the descent from the split, and the guidebook reads "the overgrown track of the Arrow Slide is visible about 50 yd. to the left," but I wasn't able to identify the start (there was a small rock pile at the far end of the open area, so maybe there?

It was now 48 degrees and I started the STEEP climb through a comical amount of spider webs. The trail climbed steeply and quickly with medium-decent footing at first, and there were quickly very obstructed tree views toward the Osceolas. I took many breaks in frutration at my watch reading my heart rate much lower than it was actually at (there is NO WAY my HR was at 100bpm on this climb)... I also took many breaks because this trail was ridiculous. 

The trail begins to repidly deteriorate, going from stable rocks and dirt to loose sand, gravel, and piles of pancake-to softball sized rocks that will scatter if you look at them the wrong way. At times, it almost felt like I was hiking up a hard, sharp sand dune. I also realized I forgot to put on deodorant this morning in this section.

Thankfully the pain didn't live forever, and soon enough the trail begins to level out at a blowdown section, which offered some obstructed views. There was hope when I could see the sky ahead, and soon enough I was at the summit (marked by a trail sign). Thank GOODNESS. To the left was an outlook with excellent standing views primarily of the Osceolas, but also to South Hancock and the Sandwich Range. 

I took a nice sit break here. It was 51 degrees and I devoured two of my peanut-butter-slathered-on-a-tortilla-s. There were some black flies coming out, but they weren't biting. I did spray bug spray for good measure and I never saw them again! The loud flies were out in increasing force, though. I wonder what species they are?

My break was truly lovely, but sadly it had to end. The sun did an excellent job evaporating the sweat off my back. The cool air did an excellent job making my shirt nice a cool. My pack did an excellent job at making me want to crawl out of my own skin when I put it back on and felt the cold shirt press against my skin. ANYWAY. When reading the book about the 4000 footers, there were two things that piqued my interest: 1) firetower remnants on North West Hancock - I did not plan to fully investigate this as I don't bushwhack, but it wasn't a 0% chance there'd be a herd path all the way (there was not and I'd later read it's a true bushwahck) and 2) a large rock that trailbuilders named "Plymouth Rock" and painted "1620" on it (now overgrown according to the book - I also completely forgot to look until I was already on South Hancock). 

The woods descending from North Hancock were absolutely lovely, in both visuals and scent. I was a little chilly from my break, but the car-wash style trail, bordered with Christmas trees, warmed me right back up! There are some obstructed blowdown/tree views towards Carrigain from this initial area, which were cool.

From the blowdown-y area, there was a steep descent where, at the bottom, I disturbed some red squirrels engaging in springtime activities... The beautiful trail rose on a narrow ridge to a bump and then continued to meander. I ran into my first person in this area, who nearly scared the life out of me (4.95 miles in and 3 hours/41 minutes. 

 There were a few more tree views, notably of North Hancock, on the way up Middle Hancock, and also some bog bridges over DEEP mud (I did the classic pole check, it was at least 2 feet deep). The summit of Middle Hancock was insignificant, but the bog bridges following on the descent were lovely!

The peek-a-views increase near the summit of South Hancock - I was super excited to see the back side of the Franconia Ridge, Lincoln Slide, and Owl's Head! This hike is basically made up of a ton of almost-views.

The summit of South Hancock came sooner than I thought it would which was a DELIGHTFUL surprise! I dropped my pack to check out the view from the spur which was beautiful. It was really fun to see Mt. Tremont, the last peak I hiked! I planned to take another snack break up at the summit, as there were fewer bugs, but another human appeared (I scared the life out of him, oops!). It was now a BALMY 52 degrees.

Deciding to continue on, I enjoyed the views on the initial, STEEP descent toward Franconia Ridge. The trail was back to being a ridiculous, steep, eroded mess. It was absolutely brutal on the knees and ankles, as every step resulted in a sudden shift. I almost fell MANY times, but thankfully always caught myself. 

Further down, the grade slightly eases and footing improves. Naturally, I stepped on a rotted root and had my closest moment to a big fall, after the actually dangerous stuff. I passed a third person at the base of the steep area and saw person #1 again having a snack at the loop split.

From here on out, my return trip was quick and easy. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I was loving this hike, even while being a bit tired. I played leap frog with person #1 one more time, passed a man who I'm pretty sure I saw a Boston Pride last weekend fighting for his life to keep his composure while ascending, and a women who I simply cannot believe could be as happy as she was presenting. There were many more people that I continued to pass, but nothing as intense as some other 4000-footers that I've hiked.

Back at the North Fork of the Hancock Branch, I splashed some water on my face which truly added years to my life. There were a lot of gnat pockets in sunny areas, but bugs were still well behaved. I enjoyed the view of Mt. Hitchcock again, and soon enough could hear the sounds of trucks driving on the Kanc!

Finally back at the trailhead, I lamented at the dozens of people in every which direction, but reflected on how much I actually loved this hike. I think it has a bad reputation because of it's distance, steepness, and lack of insane views, but the water views, easy meandering trail, beautiful woods of the Cedar Brook Trail, and feeling of remoteness made this truly a lovely hike. 

My drive back wasn't too bad besides hitting a few traffic pockets due to accidents. The two big chores I have regarding gear are: 1) put tums in my pack and 2) figure out why my pack is making my back hurt. It feels like I can either have a sore lower back or sore upper back... I will figure this out. 

#28 and #29 are done!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Hancock Trailhead on the Kancamagus Highway.

- Start hike along Hancock Notch Trail.

- At junction, turn left onto Cedar Brook Trail.

- At junction, turn right onto Hancock Loop Trail.

- At junction, turn left to ascend North Hancock.

- At summit, continue along to South Hancock and back to Hancock Loop Trail split.

- Retrace steps back to car.

"Hancock Notch Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

WMNF This yellow-blazed trail begins at the Kancamagus Highway at the hairpin turn, 5.6 mi. east of the Lincoln Woods parking area and 2.6 mi. west of Kancamagus Pass. It passes through Hancock Notch between Mt. Hancock and Mt. Huntington and then descends along Sawyer River to Sawyer River Trail. At the Kancamagus Highway terminus, parking is available at the Hancock Overlook (sign: “Hancock Trailhead”; plowed in winter) just above the trailhead; parking is prohibited at the hairpin turn. Combined with Cedar Brook and Hancock Loop trails, this trail provides the easiest and most popular route to Mt. Hancock. From the Kancamagus Highway Cedar Brook Trail, Hancock Notch Trail is heavily used, wide, and easily followed; from the Cedar Brook Trail to Sawyer River Trail, Hancock Notch Trail is wild and rough, lightly used, and in places requires care to follow, especially in areas damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The rough, wet section through and east of the notch has at times been overgrown and subject to blowdowns but has seen more maintenance in recent years.

        To reach Hancock Notch Trail, descend a path for 60 yd. from a sign and gate at the northwest end of the Hancock Overlook parking area and carefully cross the Kancamagus Highway at the hairpin turn. From the hairpin, the trail drops down a bank and follows an old logging railroad bed with good footing. It leaves the grade and descends to cross a brook at 0.6 mi. Then it climbs back to the grade and gradually approaches the North Fork of the Hancock Branch, passing a view of Mt. Hitchcock across the stream at 1.3 mi. The trail stays on the same side of the North Fork, swinging right and slightly uphill at 1.5 mi. to enter an old logging road at the point where the railroad grade (overgrown beyond this point) crossed the river. Hancock Notch Trail follows the logging road at an easy grade and descends slightly, crosses three brooks in less than 0.1 mi., swings right, and soon reaches the jct. with Cedar Brook Trail at 1.8 mi. (For Mt. Hancock, turn left onto Cedar Brook Trail across a small brook.) 

        [...].

"Cedar Brook Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

WMNF This trail runs from Hancock Notch Trail, 1.8 mi. from the Kancamagus Highway, to a jct. with the east end of Pemi East Side Trail and west end of Wilderness Trail. It is blazed in yellow south of the Pemigewasset Wilderness boundary. (Note: Cedar Brook Trail formerly extended another 0.6 mi. at its north end; meeting Wilderness Trail by a suspension footbridge over the East Branch of the Pemigewasset; the bridge was removed in 2009, and a river crossing is no longer available at that location. This section of trail is now part of Wilderness Trail.) In combination with Hancock Notch and Hancock Loop trails, the southern portion of this trail affords the most direct route to Mt. Hancock. The trail formerly made five potentially difficult crossings of the North Fork of the Hancock Branch between Hancock Notch Trail and Hancock Loop Trail, but four of these are now bypassed, and the fifth can be avoided if necessary by bushwhacking about 250 yd. Along the densely wooded east bank to Hancock Loop Trail (beyond the point where that trail makes an additional crossing, soon after its divergence from Cedar Brook Trail).

        Leaving Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail immediately crosses a small brook and climbs moderately on a rocky old logging road for 0.2 mi. to the former first crossing of the North Fork. Here, the trail turns right and follows the start of a long-established bypass, and in 35 yd. it continues ahead (right) on a newer relocation, which winds upward through spruce woods, descends to cross a small brook, traverses a muddy flat section, and turns right onto the original route at 0.5 mi. In another 0.1 mi. the trail makes its only crossing of the North Fork, and at 0.7 mi. it reaches the beginning of Hancock Loop Trail on the right. Beyond here, Cedar brook Trail receives much less use. 

        [...].

"Hancock Loop Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

AMC This yellow-blazed trail makes a loop over both major summits of Mt. Hancock. Hancock Loop Trail is steep and rough ascending to the peaks but well-trodden and easy to follow, although the section on the ridge between the peaks is subject to blowdowns. The trail is most easily reached from the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway by following Hancock Notch and Cedar Brook trails for 2.5 mi. Cedar Brook Trail has one brook crossing that may be difficult in high water.

        Leaving Cedar Brook Trail on the right (east), 150 yd. north of that trail’s only crossing of the North Fork of the Hancock Branch, Hancock Loop Trail follows an old logging road and in 125 yd. recrosses the North Fork before passing over a steep, rocky brook bed and a wet area. It ascends at a gradual to moderate grade to the south of the North Fork, coming beside it at 0.4 mi. and then moving some distance away from it and considerably higher, and reaches the loop jct. at 1.1 mi. From this point, the circuit over the two main summits of Mt. Hancock can be made in either direction, so for convenience of description, the trail is divided into three segments: North Link, South Link, and Ridge Link.

        North Link diverges left from the logging road at the loop jct. and descends moderately at an angle, offering a glimpse of the Arrow Slide. Soon the trail crosses a flat gravel area, usually dry but often with water flowing into it from the brook bed above and disappearing into the sand, where the overgrown track of the Arrow Slide is visible about 50 yd. to the left. The trail then climbs roughly parallel to the slide, first at a moderate grade angling across the hillside and then straight up - very steep and rough - with one badly eroded section. Near the top, the trail veers left and becomes less steep, passing through a blowdown area with partial views. At the wooded summit of North Hancock, a side path leads left 40 yd. to a ledge with a view south to the Sandwich Range and Mt. Osceola, and Ridge Link turns right.

        South Link continues along the logging road from the loop jct. For another 0.1 mi. and then swings right up the mountainside. The climb to South Hancock is relentlessly steep, crossing several old logging roads. (These are some of the roads that are prominent as light green lines across the dark slope when seen from other peaks.) The upper part of the climb is badly eroded, with loose rock and poor footing. At the summit, Ridge Link enters on the left (north), and a short path descends straight ahead (east) to a viewpoint overlooking the Sawyer River valley.

        Ridge Link connects the summits of North and South Hancock. From the summit of North Hancock, Ridge Link starts almost due north and curves to the right (east then south), descending to a col and traversing the generally broad, bumpy ridge with several minor ups and downs. From a minor summit, the trail swings right (southwest), descends to a final col, and then climbs the last narrow section of ridge to South Hancock at 1.4 mi., where South Link enters on the right (northwest).

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