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North Hancock, South Hancock - page 5 of 5

It was slow going making my way down the steep trail in my crampons. Hoping to make better time, I decided to take them off, strap my poles to my pack, and try a sitting glissade using my ice axe to control my speed. Bad idea!  In my crampons, I hadn't realized just how hard and slick the surface of the snow really was. I simply couldn't dig the pick of the ice axe in deep enough to gain purchase. I almost slid out of control a couple of times, grabbing wildly at nearby tree trunks to keep from hurtling down the mountain.

Carefully, I worked my way off the trail and onto the slightly softer snow in the woods. There I managed to put my crampons back on. Starting back down again, more carefully this time, I was much more attentive to the dangers of a steep slippery descent. Of course, during all of this, Muffin just stayed off the trail completely, picking her way down among the thick spruce woods.

Finally, we reached the loop junction, the trail leveled off, and the going got much easier. We traced our way back over the Hancock Loop, Cedar Brook, and Hancock Notch Trails. Our tracks had melted somewhat in the warmth of the afternoon, but we had no trouble finding our way. At last, we crossed a small snow bridge over a brook, and we were home free.

It was good to sit back down in the car after nine hours, almost ten miles, and some 2700 feet of elevation gain. I stopped at the Seven Seas restaurant in Lincoln to pick up fish and chips for supper (with extra fries for Muffin), then headed back south down I-93, tired, but with a feeling of accomplishment.

Looking back at North Hancock from an open area on South Hancock. The north branch of the Hancock Loop ascends to the summit just to the right of the large slide visible in this photo.

N Hancock from S Hancock.jpg (65926 bytes)

The last snow bridge. After crossing this narrow snow bridge over a small brook, I knew we were almost back to the trailhead.

snow bridge.jpg (40672 bytes)

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