A small group climbed the Huntington’s on Saturday 9/17. Despite the early hour, the line was out the door of Dunkin Donuts in Lincoln so I headed to the Hairpin parking lot. When I pulled into a spare spot I noted a SUV with a VFTT sticker next to me. The intel over the years on this hike was pretty consistent, Hike to the height of land on the Hancock Notch Trail and then head south up a steep slope. We quickly found a good spot and headed out through the woods. Very soon we encountered what was the norm for the day, mature softwoods and occasional birches with inadequate overstory to prevent a very thick understory transitioning to dense growth. Add in frequent blowdowns and it made for occasionally steep but thick bushwhacking. As we ascended the slope we also encountered slick moss covered footing which was pretty consistent up to the height of land. We did encounter the rocky cliff area. We took a break and took in the best view of the day. It’s surprising the views from this spot. Definitely a nice spot to plan a trip to the Hitchcock’s and the views of the Hancock’s are hard to beat. There were a couple of chimneys up the rocky section but the rocks were very loose with plenty of potential for rock fall so we elected to skirt to the right. There were some signs that the terrain would be a bit easier once the slope flattened out a bit but it soon got thick again and it was consistently slow progress until the summit. We came out smack in the middle of the east to west summit contour and after some searching we found the summit Canister. While taking a break we got a visit from a gray jay that must have been raised on a more popular summit as this one was well trained in the art of taking food.
We then decided to take a run over to South Huntington. Things started out optimistically with a trace of a herd path but it soon disappeared. Like earlier, the woods are fairly large softwoods but not enough canopy to block out young growth with blowdowns mixed in to make things slow. We eventually headed upslope and came right out at the summit. After a break we looked at the time and our choices for coming down. Our original plan was to head back to the North Summit and then head west along the ridge just north of the cliffs back to the hairpin. I guessed that we might find a climbers route from the top of the cliffs but given the far longer off trail route and woods conditions up high we elected to head down to the col between the summits and head north to miss the cliffs and hit Hancock Notch trail just east of the Notch. Heading down we were back in mature woods with inadequate canopy so plenty of young growth and more significant blowdown patches. This was definitely the day to avoid open areas in the woods as they inevitably were heavy blowdown patches. After a thick haul down the slope we crossed the brook and popped out onto the Hancock Notch Trail.
Hancock Notch Trail was in great condition with evidence of recent maintenance. While on the way out we encountered a group of unequipped tourists about 2 miles in from the road looking for the view. We informed them that it was long way in for view and suggested it was poor time of day to try to find one. Overall navigationally a fairly straightforward bushwhack but the woods conditions made for a long day. I usually hope for some nice easy woods conditions but today I wasn't rewarded.
We then decided to take a run over to South Huntington. Things started out optimistically with a trace of a herd path but it soon disappeared. Like earlier, the woods are fairly large softwoods but not enough canopy to block out young growth with blowdowns mixed in to make things slow. We eventually headed upslope and came right out at the summit. After a break we looked at the time and our choices for coming down. Our original plan was to head back to the North Summit and then head west along the ridge just north of the cliffs back to the hairpin. I guessed that we might find a climbers route from the top of the cliffs but given the far longer off trail route and woods conditions up high we elected to head down to the col between the summits and head north to miss the cliffs and hit Hancock Notch trail just east of the Notch. Heading down we were back in mature woods with inadequate canopy so plenty of young growth and more significant blowdown patches. This was definitely the day to avoid open areas in the woods as they inevitably were heavy blowdown patches. After a thick haul down the slope we crossed the brook and popped out onto the Hancock Notch Trail.
Hancock Notch Trail was in great condition with evidence of recent maintenance. While on the way out we encountered a group of unequipped tourists about 2 miles in from the road looking for the view. We informed them that it was long way in for view and suggested it was poor time of day to try to find one. Overall navigationally a fairly straightforward bushwhack but the woods conditions made for a long day. I usually hope for some nice easy woods conditions but today I wasn't rewarded.
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