September 13, 2008 Hike #1
I have two hikes planned for today: the Hancocks in the morning and Osceolas in the afternoon. At the Hancock trailhead I had a nice view of the Osceolas. I reached for my camera and realized I had forgotten it. Last night I put the memory card back in, installed new batteries, and forgot to put it in my pack. Bummer. Well, at least I have already photographed this hike, so I will recycle some old photos. Here's today's track.
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View from Hancock Overlook
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There was a group getting ready as I arrived at the trailhead.
"Are you part of the 'flag' group?" one of them asked.
"No," I replied.
A tradition was started back in 2001 shortly after the 9-11 attacks. Each year, on a Saturday at or near September 11th, flags and flagpoles are carried to the top of each of the 48 four thousand footers in the Whites. The flags wave from noon to two in the afternoon. For more information on this visit www.flagsonthe48.org.
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The trail started off easy enough.
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I turned onto the Cedar Brook Trail.
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Bog Bridging
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I crossed the brook many times.
I saw a dog running toward me. I expected a person to follow but no one came. I patted the young black lab who then proceeded down the trail. I hoped she wasn't lost. About 20 minutes later the dog came back. She looked slightly upset. I was sure she was lost. She had a collar with a telephone number. I tried to keep her with me, so I could call from the summit where I hoped to get a signal. The dog wouldn't stay, and she ran back up the trail.
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Next I turned onto the Hancock Loop Trail.
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About a mile in, the trail splits. This is where the loop starts. I've done this loop before and recommend doing it clockwise. This way I'll go up the steeper trail and down the trail that is not quite as steep.
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Most of the elevation gain for this hike is in the last half mile.
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Sign on the 4420' summit.
I then walked down to the outlook which was just a few yards away.
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The weather provided a good but not great view today.
(Remember this is a recycled photo from a nicer day)
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Time to head over to South Hancock
I then came across the lab again. This time she was with another dog and a bunch of people.
"Is this black lab yours?" I asked.
"Yes, she is"
"I'm glad she found you," and further explained how I had seen her frantically running up and down on the trail.
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I reached the 4319' summit of South Hancock and began the descent. I came across the 'flag group' about 5 minutes from the summit. "You are almost there," I said encouraging them. I finished the loop too quickly to see the flags waving from either peak. I finished the hike by early afternoon. Before I started hike #2, I decided to drive over to the Mountain Wanderer store in Lincoln to use a give certificate that I had.
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