WHITE MOUNTAIN INTERLUDE II: NANCY CASCADES (SORT OF)

A return to the Mount Washington Hotel in the White Mountains. 

In this post, dear readers, we take a brief divergence from hobbying to report on a brief trip to the nearby White Mountains here in New Hampshire.  This is where being a "local" has its advantages--being a two hour drive away, we are able to take advantage of "off season" (or would this be "early" season?) times and special offers.  And being a "gentleman adventurer, semi-retired" we are also able to go during the week and avoid weekend crowds... 

...View of the grand lobby of the Mount Washington Hotel at check-in time: around 4:30 PM.  A conference group would be coming in later, but we had the place virtually to ourselves otherwise.

For anyone curious about the historic Mount Washington Hotel, I would suggest checking out the July 23, 2021 post where I go into more detail about the place. In my previous professional life, I had been arranging offsites at this venue for some time, and so accumulated points in their select guest program.  As such, we were taking advantage of an early season member discount and also got an upgrade to a corner tower room with a view (above) looking towards both Mount Washington and the Crawford Notch...

...looking south to the Crawford Notch from our room. We arrived just ahead of the weather closing in. We would be heading just south of the Crawford Notch for our hike the next day.

Having learned from the last hike in the Whites, I looked for something that would be rewarding without risking injury (although one learns to not take any hikes in this region lightly). So we mapped out an expedition to the Nancy Cascades, which promised to provide a full morning's excursion with some elevation gain, but not up to summit levels (and the scrambles, weather issues, and rock climbs that those can entail).  There was, however, a warning in the trail descriptions that did come home to roost (there's always something in the White Mountains, it seems). Specifically, the cautions involved several water crossings, most notably of Nancy Brook, that can be problematic early in the season when the water levels are high.  Well, we were definitely early in the season, and it had rained several days before, and had rained again (heavily) the night before, so we were on guard about water crossings--more on this hazard later, dear reader. What follows is a report on our hike: as usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX in this report). 

Mrs Meanderer leading the way upwards. We hit the trailhead at 8 a.m. and were the only car there--and did not encounter anyone else for the entire time. The trail conditions indicated that weather was going to close in (high winds and rain) in the the early afternoon, but the morning promised to be clear and temperate (in the 50-60F range). And so it turned out to be, as the sun dappled trail indicates. This path has its rocks and and a few tough sections, but in general it is much less rugged than others in the Whites. Very nice. We soon crossed Halfway Brook with no problem (no pix of that: sorry). At this early point, I was thinking to myself, "Self, seems to me that there may be no problem with water crossings today after all"...

...proceeding up the trail, we then heard before we saw the rushing water of the first crossing of Nancy Brook (above).  The force of the water was intimidating, but we found that we could safely make our way across...

...when I say that "we" found a safe way across, I really mean that "I" found a safe way. While I was seeking a safe "rock hop" to cross, I looked up to see Mrs Meanderer sticking a four-point landing on a rock in the middle of the stream (!)--hardly a method I would recommend for crossing a mountain stream in torrent.  Seeing her then shakily straightening up to make a second standing long jump, I quickly sprang into action and did what any husband would do: I whipped out my phone and took a picture (thoughtful fellow that I am). Happily, all went well and she made it...

...I then invested the additional 30 seconds that Mrs Meanderer did not to find this most pedestrian "rock hop" across the brook. The first step was the most problematic, being in a pool of slow moving shallow water that covered but did not rise over my boot (hint: it pays to invest in high-top "dry boot" hikers, for just such an occasion), and then I just stepped across the rocks the rest of the way, steadying myself with my hiking poles.  No excitement needed.  At this point, I was thinking to myself, "Self, that was more of an adventure than Half Way Brook, but we've now encountered what the trail descriptions had warned us about, so the next (and last) crossing should be no problem."  So we proceeded up the trail, which was a steady uphill. And then we eventually came to Nancy Brook crossing  #2 ...

...which was was a very different creature than the first. Above, the intrepid Mrs Meanderer scanning the second crossing point. There would be no long jumps here!

I then said to myself, "Self, this is the dangerous high water crossing that the trail descriptions had warned about."  And right I was, too. The advice was to not attempt a crossing during high water, and seeing it we understood why. Given the force of the water, wading was out of the question, and many boulders were submerged under the fast flowing water, leaving too few to "rock hop" across. To get a full impression of the power of the water, I would suggest clicking on the "full screen" version of the above video. Given our isolation (we were 1 hour up the trail and had not seen anyone), we heeded the advice and turned back rather than risk it--which is an important lesson for hiking in general but particularly in the White Mountains.  Being there alone in the forest and encountering Nancy Brook in torrent was an awe inspiring experience that was a reward in itself. One big advantage of being local is that it is a low stakes decision to cut off a hike: we can always come back later when conditions are better...

...and so we turned around and headed back.  By this point, we had gained something like 900 feet in elevation, so the return was a steady downhill and fairly smooth going, making for an enjoyable walk. We again crossed Nancy Brook on the way down (this time Mrs Meanderer did not reprise the long jump, thankfully!). 

The trail is not well marked (there are supposed to be yellow blazes, but we never saw one).  This was not an issue on the hike in, but on the hike back there were side trails that branched off that became confusing.  We finally took one of these just short of Half Way Brook that took us out to the highway (above left), where we sauntered an easy 1/4 mile down the road to the trailhead. By this time, it was around 10:30 and our car was still the only one there: very different than it would have been later in the season. 

The timing worked out perfectly.  The weather closed-in not long after we left.  Above, the scene after getting back to our room looking back towards the Crawford Notch and Nancy Trail.  We had showers, cleaned up, and headed for lunch and drinks (beats the hell out of camping!). 

The next morning, we took our post-breakfast coffee and reading materials out on the grand veranda, which we had to ourselves (leading to a few antics before settling down).  

...the weather on the veranda was in the upper 50s (F), a bit brisk but not at all unpleasant given the morning the sunlight.  The conditions on the ridge (4,000' and above) were another story.  On Mount Washington, it was 22 degrees (F), with sustained winds of 50 mph, gusting to 70--with wind chills below zero (F). Later in the day, it was predicted to "moderate" to sustained winds of 30 mph, gusting to 50, with temps in the 30s (wind chills in the teens).  Because the elevations are fairly modest, unwary visitors to the region can often be caught by surprise when conditions are so different from those at the trailhead, particularly in May or June when it's summer/spring at the start.  Checking the summit forecast is an important part of any hike in the White mountains.  

After a while, the ceiling lifted, showing the frozen ridge. 

A bit later, looking once again towards Crawford Notch to the south, the weather had cleared even more and promised a fine day to travel home. 

 We will return to normally scheduled toy solider programming in the next post.

Excelsior!