Nancy Pond Haunted Hike

This hike took greater preparation than normal since we had to put make up on and prepared our costumes. Running a tad late, we zipped up I-93 and Route 302 for the ride up to the trailhead. Upon reaching the trailhead we met strange creatures including werewolves, zombies, pirates, a devil, a P-Town beach bum and a mad scientist! The parking area has just enough room for all of our cars.

We started up the trail at about 10:15 AM. The trail begins on what appears to be the remants of an old logging road. It begins climbing at a moderate grade. With all the leaves on all the trail we had to pay attention as to when the trail left the various logging roads. We were able to walk side-by-side for about the first 3/4  to one mile of the trail. As the trail winds it's way through the woods, it passes some houses very near the trail, which highlights the fact that the trail doesn't actually enter the White Mountain National Forest until after the first mile. The boundary is marked by red paint on trees and a large pile of red rocks at a corner.

Throughout most of its length, the trail is easy to follow. It is blazed with yellow along its entire length. Throughout the first two miles, the trail crosses Halfway Brook and Nancy Brook. When we reached Halfway Brook, I thought it was Nancy Brook and began telling the story of Nancy Barton, who died of hypothermia in December 1778 from crossing this brook while pursuing her lover who had been transferred to Portsmouth by her master while she was away visiting friends. Legend has it that her spirit awakens around Halloween seeking revenge at anyone who enters these woods! I gave everyone a chance to turn back at this point but everyone was ready for the challenge.

After reaching the 'real' Nancy Brook and crossing it, the trail narrows and becomes typical of most single-track White Mountain trails: It climbs steadily for most of its length, with one very steep section in the middle. The hike gains about 2,000 feet over its 4-mile length, which qualifies as a generous elevation gain and is comparable to that gained when climbing many of the 4,000 footers. However, for about 3.5 miles of the 4 miles, the gain is slow and steady. As we gained elevation, we started to notice snow on the trees! This hike was turning out to be an introduction to winter hiking for those of us who had never done it before. 

About 2.5 miles from the trailhead, we came upon the Nancy Cascades. What an incredible sight! The Nancy Cascades is exactly what you expect a waterfall to be. A clear stream tumbling over a sheer rock face into a pool at the bottom. Although not quite as high as Arethusa Falls, I rank these as some of the most beautiful in the Whites. It's worth the effort just to see these falls. We also ran into a a lot of werewolves and zombies here so we did not linger for too long for fear of getting killed. 

Now think what I just wrote for a second. Water cascading over a sheer rock face. That means a cliff. A cliff is a steep rock face. That means that the terrain surrounding the cliff is probably steep also. And, in fact, it is. Once we reached the base of the falls, we did about a 1/2 mile of steep climbing up some switchbacks. This section near the falls was as steep as many "taller" trails we have hiked. The snow on the trail had accumulated to about 1/2 inch. We then noticed for the first time fresh footprints ahead of us. Strange thing...our cars were the only ones in the parking lot. Where did this person come from? Was it Nancy's spirit...awaken! Thankfully Jon wore his skeleton beads to protect us. 

Visibility was not that great of distant mountains due to the cloud cover. This hike turned out to be a great for this sort of day since views were not what this hike was all about. From the top of the falls to the the ponds, the trail follows mostly flat terrain and isn't very remarkable. But our first hike in the snow for this season made up for it. The trail is still well marked and travels through some swampy areas. There were old log "bridges" that we were careful to cross since they were covered with snow. 

We eventually caught up to the person who was making the footprints and as we approached we realized the footprints came from a woman! Could it be Nancy Barton? We put on our costumes to protect ourselves from her and we all safely passed. Strange thing...we never saw this woman the rest of the day! We are still wondering whether that was actually Nancy Barton. Creepy.... 

After hiking for another rmile, we were treated to an opening in the trees and our first views of Nancy Pond. It was incredible...we'll let the photos speak for themselves. We stopped and admired the pond, then pushed for the last 1/2 mile to Norcross Pond. All I can say is that as beautiful Nancy Pond was, Norcross was better. We hiked to a height of land beside the pond as we were getting hungry and frankly cold, with the temperature around 35 degrees.  

It was a quick lunch due to the cold. We retraced our steps back past Nancy Pond and the Cascades. On the return, we came upon an odd structure to the right side of the trail. The White Mountain Guide identifies it as the remains of "Lucy Mill." It gives no indication of what they actually used to mill. We arrived back at the parking area around 4:30, so this turned out to be around a 6 1/2 hour hike. 

Overall the hike was a perfect balance of steep and flat. It challenged us enough to make it all worthwhile. I highly recommend this hike. 

Afterwards, ten of us went back to our house for dinner. Steve stopped by after dinner from the nearby Osceola hike and it was great to catch up with him since we are usually each running hikes on weekends to separate locations. Everyone sat around the fireplace having drinks and snacks while Jon & I were preparing dinner. Rick and Steve left right before dinner.

We served grilled BBQ chicken and polish kielbasa, rice, cole slaw and rolls. Dessert was a Halloween pumpkin cake. And afterwards we surprised everyone by shooting fireworks outside!

We then retired upstairs to the loft to watch the classic "Rocky Horror Picture Show." We had some members who had never seen it. After some coaching, everyone danced the "Time Warp" when the segment appeared in the movie. 

All together, it was a great day with friends that had it all: costumes, hiking, snow, delicious dinner, halloween cake, fireworks and the "Rocky Horrow Picture Show." We had so much fun, we decided to have another Halloween hike next year! 

It's that time of year again! We have chosen the tragic tale of Nancy Barton, a young servant girl who met and fell fell in love with a hansome farmhand only to be betrayed and left brokenhearted. She pursued her love and died of hypothermia on the brook/pond named after her. To this day, her spirit still hovers in the area in the pursuit of her lover. Come hear the story of the fate that bestowed young Nancy as we search for her restless and broken spirit, and hike to Nancy Pond! 

Few trails in the Whites pack as much scenic variety into one hike as the Nancy Pond Trail from Route 302 up to Norcross Pond. For a fairly rugged 8.6 mi. round trip, with 2200-ft. elevation gain, you can take in towering waterfalls, old growth spruce forest, a pair of high-country ponds [Nancy & Norcross], and a unique view into a remote corner of the Pemigewasset Wilderness.

Costumes RECOMMENDED, but not required.

After The Hike: Everyone is welcome back at our house for a halloween BBQ. Bring a change of clothing and take a shower to freshen up...we have plenty of towels. It's BYOB and the cost is $5 to pay for food costs.  After the BBQ, we'll be watching the gay classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show on the TV.  

Lodging Option: We have 8 bunks available with linen for Saturday night at our house in Waterville Valley for $20. You can use the kitchen facilities and store beverages/food in the fridge. I serve coffee in the morning and a continental breakfast. Contact me to RSVP. SPACE IS LIMITED TO EIGHT GUYS.