Hancock Loop Trail

Yesterday we had eight people lined up to do the Hancock Loop Trail today, which was pretty much a "just short of miraculous" feat. Unfortunately this morning our eight dwindled to four -- the same four as last week! So, Brian H, Kathy, Ally, my dog Rachel and I packed into the 4Runner this morning and hit the road for the White Mountains at about 7:15. Ally quickly went to sleep for the 2-hour drive. We were pretty concerned with the weather yesterday, but a quick look at the forecast this morning made it look pretty good -- no rain until the early evening.

The route we did is right off the Kancamagus Highway (NH Rt 112) just to the west of Kancamagus Pass. The trailhead is right at what's called the Hancock Lookout. The route we took was actually comprised of three trails: out on the Hancock Notch Trail for 1.8 miles, then split off to the left onto Cedar Brook Trail for 0.7 mi, then to the right onto the Hancock Loop trail, which goes NE for 1.1 miles, at which point there's a loop that summits Mt Hancock and South Hancock Mtn which comes right back to the same spot. We took the clockwise direction, which took us up to Mt Hancock in 0.7 miles, then traversed 1.4 mi to South Hancock, then descended 0.5 mi back to the start of the loop portion. We then took the same trails back to the trailhead. Total distance 9.8 miles.

Boy, we did have an awesome one! After a non-prosperous start where we basically only made it across the parking lot before my right sole promptly separated itself from the upper of my boot, we continued (after a fix) by climbing gradually on Hancock Notch then Cedar Brook trails, right along the "North Fork" (the North Fork of the Hancock Branch of the East Branch Pemigewasset River...ugh!) much of which was frozen over and snow-covered, we then started climbing in earnest along the out portion of the Hancock Loop Trail. After working up quite a sweat making pretty good time, we took off on the loop portion up to Mt Hancock. Yikes! Talk about steep and unrelenting! We climbed 920 feet (from ~3500' elevation to the peak, at 4420') over the longest 0.5 mile I think any of us have ever done! My topo software says this portion of the climb averaged a 35% grade with a max of 69%! It took Brian and I nearly a full hour, and Ally and Kathy nearly another hour to make the climb. A half mile! It was just a non-stop toe kick into the snow, taking short step after short step, to keep from slipping back down the slope (which, of course, Kathy apparently still managed to do!) I have to give a shout out to my pooch , Rachel, who was an absolute trooper the whoe route, climbing the very steep grades in snow, then descending like grades, all while on 4 little compact labrador paws and packing water and 3 days of her food, my water, and my spare shoes and socks.

While Brian and I camped out on top of Hancock, being in communication with the women periodically over 2-way radio, we snapped about 20,000 pictures of what looked to me to be a gray, white and black blue jay (do they turn those colors in the winter) that flew up and perched about 5 feet from us for a good 20 minutes. The girls joined us, we snapped some pics at the Hancock Overlook, then continued across the traverse, this time with Ally and I taking off ahead of the Heuthers. That traverse was definitely one of the easier parts of the hike, and pretty uneventful.

After regrouping again at the South Hancock summit, Brian, Rachel and I bounded-off down the steep descent of the mountain, with Ally and Kathy being a little more careful behind us. We all made it down without tumbling, which was good, then hiked the rest of the way back to the trailhead together, somehow magically covering the last 1.8 miles in the second-longest 0.5 miles any of us have ever done (private joke).

We finished the evening off with a great dinner at the Lincoln Common Man, where Brian DID NOT buy me a beer, as promised! Ally and Rachel slept all the way home while Brian, Kathy and I rocked out to some 80's hairband music, taking the scenic route through Londonderry!

-Brian

More Welch & Dickey Mtn trails pics

Last Sunday Sabine and I loaded our dogs up and drove out to Miller State Park for a hike up and over Pack Monadnock and North Pack Monadnock mountains and back, along the Wapack Trail. After a good breakfast and coffee at J Beaner's in Nashua, we headed west on Rt 101 to the park, which is accessible right off of 101, about 40 min west of Nashua, half-way between Nashua and Keene.

After unloading and getting everything ready to go we hit the trail. The previous couple days had been quite warm, so a lot of the snow we had received recently was melting away, and this proved to be one of our biggest challenges for the day. After completing the first mile or so of the trail, which involves a lot of somewhat steep scrambling, we then were faced with quite a bit of icy trail. Seems the runoff goes straight down the trail in a lot of sections, and when the temps fell back below freezing the night before everything froze. It was like mild ice climbing in some parts!

We made it up to the top of Pack Monadnock a couple miles in and took our first break. There's a radio tower and a parking lot (for a road that's closed in the winter) at the top and the view was great:

View from Pack Monadnock

We continued-on down the north face of Pack Monadnock, with the goal of going through the valley between the two hills and then on up to the peak of North Pack Monadnock and our turnaround point, however we quickly found out that between the fact that the north side was much colder and icier and we were, well, going down, the going was very, very slow and nerve-wracking. Between the slow pace and the diminishing daylight, we decided we better turn around, so we did. On the way back up to Pack Monadnock we decided to take a coffee and biscotti break (life is rough) at Joanne Bass Bross overlook, which was really beautiful.

I got to do some decent outdooring last week...I had to go TDY to Tucson, and my best friend and his family just moved there, so I decided to take a couple days of leave and hang out with them a bit. The weather was awesome -- mid 70's the whole time and not a bit of rain. The terrain out there is very conducive to getting "off road" via just about any means you want, be it on foot, bicycle or 4WD auto. I'm still waiting for some snow here so that I can do some good snowshoeing, but here's what I got in last week in Tucson:

Mon: 18 hour travel out to Tucson (cancelled flight, layovers, don't ask...) so no workout

Tue: 6 mile trail run in Paradise Island mountainbike park

Wed: Worked -- no workout

Thu: Short (20 mi) bicycle ride

Fri: 4.5 mile hike in Tucson Mountain Park

Sat: 6 mile trail run at Paradise Island

Sun: Travel all day back home

I also ordered a couple books: The Challenge of Ranier: A Record of the Explorations and Ascents, Triumphs and Tragedies, and Winter Trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire: Backcountry Ski Tours and Snowshoeing. They should be coming soon.

- Brian

We watched the training DVD yesterday. Despite the low quality sound and the resulting information overload, it made me feel excitement and anticipation.

Except there is this one thing... They showed someone sliding down a snowy hill backwards. The person then dug his ax into the ground, thus stopping his tumble.

Brian said we all have to demonstrate that we can do that.They teach us on day one. But if we screw up and hesitate and can't catch on, they probably won't let us continue.

Oh my gosh, this could be dangerous. I couldn't help thinking it. I think I even said it out loud. I had visions of tumbling down Rainier, sliding down a snowy ledge. What am I getting myself into?

I am doing this climb to help me get over my fear of the climb. It challenges me, intrigues me. Best thing I can do is train and learn and get myself to the point where I feel confident in my abilities.

But I am open to the fact that I will have occasional moments of uncertainty. It's all part of the process. I have no idea what is going to happen during the climb. I can't predict my own personal outcome. However, I am sure this journey will result in my own personal growth and will make the whole process worth the effort.

Training Month 1

It is January, and we are six months away from our climb. A few of us watched the training video last night, and I am going to post their suggestions and goals for month 1.

For the first month, the goal is to simply "get moving". Most of us probably have our own routines already established. I started running again (after the marathon my knees complained) and my current schedule is to run on Tues, Wed, Thurs, and Sat. I do strength work four times a week.

Anyway, here are this month's training goals:

• Cardio- Build up to around 45 minutes of sustained activity.
• Stretching- The DVD outlined a list of helpful stretches. Try to stretch every day, paying particular attention before a workout (after warmup) and after a workout.
• Strength- Concentrate on building your routine. The DVD reccomends paying particular attention to the back, shoulders, core, hamstrings, and quadraceps. They also reccomend staying away from machines and only using free weights. This helps increase your balance.
• Balance work- This is the last recommendation. You can use weights, stability balls, or any other balance workout you can think of.

Ok, I've been slackin' a little on putting some posts up. Good news is that it's more because I've been busy doing fun stuff than because I've been too lazy to post!

I took a visit over to Boulder Morty's on MLK day (Jan 16). Morty's is an indoor climbing gym located right here in downtown Nashua that I didn't even know about until right before I went, and I was real excited to learn that it was here. Although it was pretty overrun with kids when I visited (I think there was a birthday party going on) it still looked like a great place to do some climbing. I met the owner, Ken Silber, and he told me that he could probably hook us up with a bit of a discount if our group came by for some climbing (support the troops, ya know!) Even without any sort of a discount, the prices seem pretty reasonable:

• $14 - Day pass
• $20 - Day pass + equipment
• $34 - 90 min intro belaying lesson ($25/ea if a group of 5+)
• $5/climb - Ice wall, including ice axes & crampons (I didn't know about the ice wall and didn't see it -- it was probably outside in back)

There are also quite a number of other pricing options for climbing (punch cards, month & year memberships, etc.). They also do some climbing schools (advanced climbing, lead climbing, etc.) for pretty reasonable prices, and even do some outdoor guided climbing trips for $100 and on up (including all equipment!)

Here are a couple more pics I took:

-Brian

I will not be doing too much training that is specifically geared towards the climb as my current training regime is pretty suitable I believe. Here's my normal winter workout schedule:

Mon: 2-5 mi warmup run (15-30 min) + 75 min Lift (back, chest, shoulders, abs)

Tue: morning: Military PT (60 min aerobics & stretching) + 60 min basketball
evening: Stationary bike 60-120 min

Wed: 2-5 mi warmup run (15-30 min) + 75 min Lift (back, chest, shoulders, abs)

Thu: Stationary bike 60-120 min

Fri: morning: Military PT (30 min warmup then stretching) + 90 min basketball
evening: 2-3 mi warmup run (15 min) + 75 min Lift (back, chest, shoulders, abs)

Sat: 2-3 hr bicycle or stationary bike

Sun: 2-4 hour bicycle or stationary bike

I will be substituting the Sat/Sun rides with snowshoeing and hiking, which is about all I'm doing that is specific to the climb. When the racing season is starting up (Feb-Mar) I will be dropping most of the lifting during the week to practice instead, and will be racing every Saturday and Sunday.

-Brian W.

My Training Goals for the week.

4 Cardio Workouts (2 jogs, 2 of something else, but the jogging will depend on whether or not I buy new shoes)

3 Strength workouts

Stretching every morning and after each workout

Focus on core strength- to keep the workout balanced, I will include work for the obliques, transverse, upper, and lower as well as upper and lower back work... people say to do this every day, but I read that you need to rest the abs just like every other muscle group so I am going to stick with what I read.