Dog Days of Summer: North and South Hancock

Date of Hike: 7/3/13

Hancock Notch Trail: 1.8 miles	Cedar Brook Trail: 0.7 miles	Hancock Loop Trail: 4.8 miles
Cedar Brook Trail: 0.7 miles	-	Hancock Notch Trail: 1.8 miles
Total Miles: 9.8	-	2,650 elevation gain

Trip Report
- A quick afternoon hike in the steam bath that has overtaken the northeast was in order.  I figured, hey why not head to the Hancock's and head up the Arrow Slide!  But the weather was sub par for slide climbing so I stuck to the trails.
- I didn't see many people out and about so I basically just put my head down and hiked fast while taking my usual hundred or so pictures, which as you see get dwindled down to about thirty or so.  The key to being a good no-skills photographer is if you take ten pictures, three come out nice!
- The water crossings were running high so I rock hopped the submerged rocks getting my shoes wet.  It was about ninety degrees out so it felt refreshing, plus the Cedar Brook Trail is a complete eroded and muddy mess, there's no straying dry on that trail anymore.  Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Sandy Pants made sure of that!
- This just in, the trails up to North and South Hancock from the split are still extremely steep!
- The Loop trail between the two pics was in decent shape.  There are two awful mud bogs, one of which recently had lumber dumped on it so bog bridges could be built.  It's a jumbled mess right now but will help the trail out a lot once in place.
- Enjoy the pics!

 View from the Hairpin Turn Trailhead

 Start of the Hancock Notch Trail

 Hancock Notch Trail

 Water Crossing on the Hancock Notch Trail

 Hancock Notch / Cedar Brook Trail Junction

 North Fork of the Hancock Branch Crossing #1

North Fork of the Hancock Branch Crossing #2 

 North Fork of the Hancock Branch Crossing #3

  Hancock Branch Crossing on the Hancock Loop Trail

 Hancock Loop Trail

Hancock Loop Trail 

 North / South Link Junction

 Arrow Slide

 Flat (usually dry) gravel area on the North Link of the Hancock Loop Trail

Brook at the gravel area (usually sinks into the earth and disappears) 

 North Link of the Hancock Loop Trail

 North Link of the Hancock Loop Trail

 North Hancock Summit

 South Hancock

 Osceola's

 Tripyramid's

 Osceola and Scar Ridge

 Hancock Loop Trail

 Hancock Loop Trail

 Muddy bog on the Hancock Loop Trail

 Wood for Bog Bridges

 Wood for Bog Bridges

 They're everywhere!

 Mount Chocorua from South Hancock

 South Hancock Summit

Hancock Loop Trail 

 Cedar Brook Trail

Hairpin Turn on the Kancamagus Highway