6/10/07
Mount Hancock 4420’ and South Hancock 4319’

9.8 Miles 2650’ Elevation gain

Kevin, Judy and Emma

We made our third trip to the Hancocks, (Emma's second) on what turned out to be a beautiful June day. When we started out from Kingston we had blue skies and clear weather. As we approached the mountains travelling north on Rte.93, the clouds were still hanging around the mountain tops and the forecast for scattered sshowers and thunderstorms was looking as though it it was all going to happen right where we were headed. Rain was still fresh on the road, but by the time we got to the parking area at the hairpin turn on the Kancamagus Highway, the skies were clearing. There were still some white, puffy clouds hanging around the summits, but things were looking good. The recent rain had apparently beaten down the blackflies and we hiked through the forest without a single bug being a problem. The forest on this trip was littered with wildflowers, as it had been on each trip we made in the previous weeks. The cool air and fresh, rainwashed forest made it a pleasant 3.6 mile hike to the Hancock Loop Trail. Unfortunately, the trip was marred at this point by a grim reminder of why it is so important to have proper equipment along the trail, specifically, ankle high hiking boots as opposed to sneakers or Tevo's. Jude slipped on a wet root and went down with a twisted ankle. Not really a sprain, but enough to cause a few minutes of severe pain. She was soon able to stand and declared herself fine. With a half mile of steep climbing to reach the summit of South Hancock, she beat me to the summit. If not for the boot this could have been a much worse injury and whereas we were 3 1/2 miles in the woods, this would have ruined a great hike in the mountains. But wait, there's more. Jude made it to South Hancock, then across the ridge and up to Mount Hancock's summit where we had lunch with one of the most beautiful, bug free views we have ever had in all the hikes we have done. Eventually, as we ate lunch, a few flies did drop in to bother us, but the surrounding beauty outweighed the very minor annoyance of a few flies. Seriously, we usually stay out of the woods in June because of the blackflies, but this day they were no problem. Anyway, we eventually had to leave our lofty perch and make our way down. Things were a little iffy climbing down the steep trail to Mount Hancock. There are sections that are not unlike climbing on a rockslide where loose rocks bounce down the trail and the footing is never sure, but we made it down without disaster. We made the hike out, still enjoying the beautiful, bug-free day, then disaster struck again. About 300 yards from being out of the woods and back to the car, Jude slipped on another root. This time she went down hard, scraping her knee and hand and turning her ankle much worse than before. Luckily, this happened near the end of the trail and not on the summit or between mountains, but this was no consolation for the pain she had to endure. I was sick that she was hurt so bad, but that was nothing compared to the pain she was in. Eventually she was able to stand and made it back to the car on her own. We went straight down to Lincoln and bought a bag of ice, filled the cooler and stuck her foot in. She was OK. One tough girl, I'll tell you. She went to work on Monday. I am totally convinced that had she not had a hiking boot instead of the sneakers I see so many people in on the mountain trails, we'd have spent most of the day in the hospital, not the woods.