Mt Nancy

Nancy Pond & Bushwhack

November 28, 2010


Tim met us at our trailer in Twin Mountain at 8 and we car pooled down to the Nancy Pond trailhead on Rte 302. We arrived to find two cars in the lot. We had partly cloudy skies with glimpses of blue sky and sun as we geared up for the hike. As we started the hike we saw several sets of footprints in the 2 inches of fresh snow that had fallen on Saturday. We had only gone 15 minutes when we came upon a group of 6 coming towards us. They were staying at the nearby Inn and were out for a stroll.

Soon we were passing the junction with the trail to the Inn and were left with a single set of foot prints that we followed the rest of the day. We made fast time to the Cascades where the trail get's steep just before reaching them and then afterwards through a set of switchbacks. We stopped to take some photos of the casade which was frozen over. Continueing on we tackled the steeper section of trail and came out on the flat trail to the ponds. Earlier this year one section of the trail was re-routed a little away from the ponds due to beavers building a large dam that casued the levels to rise.

Just before the end of the ponds you come to a clearing with a "no camping" sign. Here we took a left to visit the damm and end of teh pond which has great views into the Pemi Wilderness area. Going back to the trail and sign, we took what would a right from the trail and then a quick left to follow the herd path to the summit of Mt Nancy. Shortly after starting on the herd path we came to a sign reminding people not to maintain this unofficial trail, which is now as easy to follow as any marked trail - just steeper with no switchbacks as it heads straight up the peak. Luckily it is narrow enough that there are many handholds to grab to assist in pulling yourself up the steeps. The trail comes out to the slide, but actually continues up just before the slide on your right.

As we neared the summit we ran into the lone hiker whose track we had been following - Stu, from VFTT whom we had spent a weeked hiking with years ago. We continued to the summit for photos, then met Stu back at the base for the hike out.

Directions to Trailhead
From Barlett at the intersection of Bear Notch Road and Rte 302 head north towards Twin Montain. The trail head is on the left 2.8 north of the Sayer Rock picnic area.

Length of Hike:
6:00 hours
12:00 miles





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