Mt. Cabot (4,161), The Bulge (3,945 ft), & The Horn (3,900 ft) 8-20-23

Distance: 17.1 mi.
Elevation: 2,665 ft. (Overall) 4,431 ft. (Total)
Time: 0:38 (Bunnell Notch Trail) 3:37 (Cabot Cabin) 3:51 (Cabot Spring) 4:10 (Mt. Cabot) 4:45 (The Bulge) 5:15 (The Horn) 9:10 (Total)
Trails: York Pond Rd, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, Cabot Spring Spur, The Horn Spur, Mill Brook Trail

I was going to be up north for the start of the weekend so I took advatage of this to hike a loop of the northern most 4K and two of the New England Hundred Highest peaks. I made this into a bigger loop than normal so that I could get in some good redlining miles while I was at it. The worst part of doing today's loop would be the approximately 2 mile road walk between the two trail heads. Because I didn't want to end the day with a boring road walk, I decided to start the day with it so that I could end my hiking at my truck.

The road walk felt quicker than expected and I was soon (enough) at the other trail head and turning off the road to start the hiking. Today the trail started off dry down low other than minor mud. Since this year has been so wet this summer, that was a nice start, even though it wouldn't last. Once the trail makes the 90 degree left turn a way up it and it starts to actually gain some elevation, things got a bit more wet. It still wasn't bad with standing mud or anything, but you could tell things were just a bit more damp. Once I had had followed along the brook up through Bunnell Notch more and started to gain some real elevation the trail really started to get wet. As I was now hiking through the clouds some, at times the trail was more like a small brook. The water flowing down the trail never got very deep, but it was still running down the trail covering the surface and where you would want to walk.

The trail was wet in many places

The first really wet section was at the junction with the Kilkenny Ridge Trail near the height of land in Bunnell Notch. There was lots of standing water right in the trail here and you either had to make your way around it or just get wet feet. Now the trail was a mix of some standing or running water in the trail and also that of wet rocks. I didn't have any problems with slipping on wet rocks or anything, but it could be a possibility. On the way up the trail I stopped at the view point at Bunnell Rock where I was treated to a view of the inside of the clouds. This is a nice little spot, but not so much today. After this the trail seemed to go quicker and before I knew it the trail was leveling out some and I saw the outhouse for the Cabot Cabin just before rounding the corner to the cabin.

Cabot Cabin

I took a nice break at the cabin to get out of the breeze a bit and adjust my gear some. Inside the cabin is a small map that included where the spring for the cabin is. This provided some nice reassurance as the first bit of redlining for me today would be the spur to the spring. I didn't know it existed the first time here so I didn't hike it, and the second time was winter and it didn't make sense in all the snow. The Cabot Spring Spur is a little ways past the cabin before you get to the summit. There is a wide section where the trail makes a bit of a left turn. The spring heads off to the right and there is a small sign on a tree that is most easily seen when heading from the cabin towards the summit. The spur isn't super wide or noticeable if you aren't looking for it and has the appearance of being a bit better than just a herd path into the woods. The spur ends up being more of a herd path than an actual trail all the way down to the spring. It is narrow, tight, and you do have to climb over a couple downed trees on the way down. The worst part is probably just how much elevation you lose hiking down in such a short distance. This makes coming back up that much more tiring. And if you are just redlining and don't really need the water, it seems more like a waste. Perhaps leave most of your gear near the start of the spur. The spring was flowing well today though, and the white pipe in the ground makes it easy to tell you are in the right spot.

Cabot Spring

Cabot Spring Spur is steep and narrow

After coming back up from the spring, I did the short and easy hike over to the summit of Mt. Cabot. The actual high point is just behind the sign that is in a large open area of the trail. There is a small cairn just into the trees following a short path past the sign. I took a short break here since I had taken a longer break at the cabin. Plus the clouds were starting to break up some and conditions were getting nicer. I was at the highest point of the day, but still had lots of hiking left to do.

Mt. Cabot

Coming down from Cabot and heading towards The Bulge the trail always feels to me that is turns further to the right (east) than it actually does and it always messes with me somewhat through here. Despite this though, the hike over to The Bulge went pretty quickly and soon I was at the viewless summit that only has a small cairn marking the top which someone could pass right by without really knowing what it was. Part of the descent of The Bulge is a little bit steep and had a tree that had fallen across it. This had the nice surprise though of being where I crossed paths with some my other hiking friends. With the unpopularity of Mt Cabot and even more so going past it to the Bulge and the Horn, it wasn't surprising that I only ran into other people I know that are working on either redlining or their grid of the 48 4Ks.

Soon the trail levels off more and becomes a nice walk to the junction with the trail leading up to the Horn. This trail starts off good and gets steeper as it goes on. Near the actual summit the trail seems to split and go mutiple directions up and over the rocks to get you to the top. At least one of these paths kind of forces you to go through the trees which are a bit tight to get to the top. Once at the top, the real high point is the top of a large exposed rock. This rock is a bit hard to climb up though to get up on top of it. You might need to check out a couple different spots to find which out which one allows you to get on top of it.

The Bulge

View from The Horn

After leaving the Horn it was time to make my way to Unknown Pond. The hiking through this section is pretty gentle without any real big ups or downs. Of course I was also going downhill for any of the elevation change. This was the time of day I started to encounter the most water though other than the water running down the trail near Bunnell Notch. Through here, there were lots of muddy spots with standing water in places as well. There were some bog bridges going over the water, but plenty of places to get your feet wet through here today. After Unknown Pond, the trail goes uphill again for a little bit slowly gaining some elevation. You will then go through a section where there was lots of ferns on both sides of the trail making it feel a bit narrow, but it was still easy to follow. After the ferns, the trail starts to drop downhill steeper than I was expecting and it keeps going for longer than I expected too. After the descent, the trail becomes mostly flat again which also means wet again. There are a couple places where it crosses the edges of some small ponds or bogs. One of these was easy with a bog bridge that was slightly sunken. Another one of these resulted in wet feet as what is left of the bog bridge is at a spot where the beavers have built a dam as well. The crossing starts off ok, but the end of it is basically walking on the beaver dam as there are no more bridge sections and the sticks rolled under my feet resulting in me stepping into the water and mud to keep from falling in.

Crossing the water

You'll likely get wet feet here

After the last pond/bog crossing, the trail all of a sudden widened up. Clearly someone had recently done some trail maintenance through this section. This made for some nice walking to the junction with the Mill Brook Trail. Starting down the Mill Brook Trail required a brief uphill climb leaving the intersection before things leveled out. Once heading back downhill, the trail is a long gradual decline all the way back to the parking area. It follows a bit of a sidehill higher up, then comes down closer to the brook where it then follows along the bank for quite some time as well. This trail had more wet sections just like much of the day had. At least now I already had soaking wet feet and didn't care if I stepped in more water since I knew I had dry shoes back in my truck. At the very bottom of the trail you come to a small pond with a small dam at the outlet. There is a sign saying to keep off the dam, so I turned right and went around the pond this direction before popping over onto the access road which you can follow the short way back to the parking area.

Given the weather to start the day, the length of the route, and the trails picked for the route this was a nice hike for a longer route. There weren't many people that I ran into and I didn't see a single person after passing Unknown Pond. The water on the trail was the biggest detractor of the day, but I still enjoyed the hike and added approximately 6 miles of new trails for the day of redlining.

Following the brook near the bottom of Mill Brook Trail

Given the weather to start the day, the length of the route, and the trails picked for the route this was a nice hike for a longer route. There weren't many people that I ran into and I didn't see a single person after passing Unknown Pond. The water on the trail was the biggest detractor of the day, but I still enjoyed the hike and added approximately 6 miles of new trails for the day of redlining.

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

---

Mt. Cabot (4,170 ft) 3-9-14

Distance: 9.30 mi.
Elevation: 2,500 ft. (overall) 2,877 ft. (total)
Time: 3:09 (Cabin) 3:24 (Summit) 5:57 (Total)
Trails: York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail

Today's hike felt like it has been a long time coming. The weather was great today. It was only 8 on the summit, but the sun was shinning all day and there were almost no clouds most of the day. I haven't had a day this clear on a big mountain since last June (that's right, 9 months). Great weather like this certainly helps with the motivation to get out hiking more.

This hike starts off pretty easily getting you warmed up slowly. The woods roads the trail follows to start don't gain elevation very quick, but do slowly get you some of what you will gain for the day. The snowshoe track was well packed out and I was hoping it would be like that all the way to the summit. The only odd thing in here was that I thought at a few times that I could hear someone coming up behind me, but there was never anyone there. The only other time I have hiked here, I had the same feeling and never saw another hiker. Thinking about this today, I also realized that the last time I hiked here was the day after we set the clocks back and today was the day we set the clocks forward.

Early section of trail

After a good distance of easy trail, you finally mark the left turn that starts the climb up into Bunnell Notch. The trail goes back and forth from short uphill climbs to mostly flat sections. Another good way to warm up since it isn't too strenuous yet. Once the trail gets down into the saddle of the notch and mostly follows the brook, there are a few sections where the trail crosses over wet spots or other water paths from when water levels get higher. Nothing too bad today, but I do remember some mud from my last hike here during the fall.

Following near the edge of the brook

The only thing I don't like about this portion of the trail is that the top of the notch never looks that far away. Not being able to see much through the trees ahead of you, you keep thinking you must be getting close. Probably about half way up into the notch, I finally put on microspikes. There were a few brief steeper sections where one of the last hikers coming down butt slid, making the trail smooth and a bit slick. It was easier to put the spikes on than try to carefully place my feet. After a couple more sections like this, I started coming into the spruce a little more and I recognized this as nearing the top of the notch. Soon I was at the intersection with the Kilkenny Ridge Trail.

Height of land in the notch

The trail stays mostly level here for a bit before dipping down on the other side of the height of land. Things open back up as you do this and you get some decent views through the leafless trees. The trail starts working to the right and you begin the climb up to the cabin. This section is a bit steeper than the previous incline, and also seemed to last longer than I remembered The trail makes a switchback to the right and soon gets to a spot with some limited views through the trees. Just after this it turns left and the viewpoint at Bunnell Rock is on your right. Views from here were great and I could easily make out Franconia Ridge and Cannon Mountain in the distance.

View from Bunnell Rock

Above Bunnell Rock, the trail gets a little tighter with the trees trying to reach into the trail some more. It continues at about the same grade as before, but with smaller more gradual switchbacks. Pretty soon though you notice the trees are getting shorter and the trail levels out some. There's an outhouse and the right and the cabin is just to your left. Personally, I love Cabot Cabin. I think it is a great spot for this little shack with a great view too. I look forward to some day spending the night here and hopefully watching the sunset from the porch. Today though, it provided a nice spot out of the wind to re-layer with dry clothes before the last quarter mile to the summit. I spend some time changing, having a drink/snack, and just enjoying the views and the day so far.

Cabot Cabin

The view from the porch

Back in dry layers (I sweat too much), I headed for the summit. The trail here seems to wander a bit along the ridge top. There were a couple blazes along it today, so I'm guessing the snowshoe track is following it. The first time I was here, there was not a very defined path in the snow and I followed what I could for hiker and moose tracks to the summit. You dip down from the cabin just a bit before an easy climb back up to the summit. It's a quick quarter mile between the two places. After some photos and another break, I headed back from the summit. Last time here I headed over The Bulge and The Horn back to the car. I'm glad I wasn't today as there wasn't much for tracks that had been that way (although trail conditions reports show some other did this today).

The summit of Mt. Cabot

Miles proving he made it to the summit (even if he was in the pack most of the time)

Before I knew it, I was back to the clearing next to the summit. Time for some pictures here and a nice pause to enjoy the great weather and views. Sadly, eventually I had to head back down. A few more hikers were headed up after I passed the cabin and we all commented about how nice the day was. It seems we've all been looking forward to this weather.

A great view towards the Mahoosucs

View to the west towards Lancaster

The hike back down went quite quickly and smooth. The trail was still packed well and staying firm. The sun made it so I could enjoy the scenery while paying just enough attention to not fall down the trail. As I hiked down, I kept switching to lighter layers on my upper half until I was finally just in a couple lightweight layers. I was still warm, and I could tell the sun was certainly having an effect shinning off all the snow. I was starting to think I was going to get a tan from this hike as my face was feeling a little warm. Sure enough, I did. By the time I got back to the car I was still pretty warm and it was feeling quite comfortable out. But when I checked the thermometer in the car, it was still only 25 degrees. I guess all the near 0 temps we've had this winter would make 25 and sunny be quite warm.

Today was a great day for a hike and conditions couldn't have been much better. I just wish I hadn't carried my snowshoes since I never even took them off my pack. I enjoyed the hike so much today, that I stopped in Conway for a longer meal than normal on the drive home and made sure to take multiple "scenic routes" through the mountains even though it was going to make the drive home longer.

Coming down the trail

Down near the brook

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Cabot (4,170), The Bulge (3,940 ft), & The Horn (3,905 ft) 11-7-11

Distance: 10.3 mi.
Elevation: 2,438 ft. (overall) 2,806 ft. (total)
Time: 3:30 (Mt. Cabot) 4:08 (The Bulge) 4:48 (The Horn) 7:19 (total)
Trails: York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, Unknown Pond Trail

The trail starts off very easy following old logging roads. It is well marked where you need to turn when the roads split or when the trail finally leaves the roads. When it leaves the roads it heads gradually up the notch that the brook is coming down. There are a couple log bridges on the trail, but this section isn't too wet. You stay to the right of the brook the entire time and are right next to is most of the time as well. This makes for some nice background noise as you hike. As you near the top of the notch the brook gradually becomes just a trickle and you quickly come into the softwood forest. Here the snow hadn't melted much and there was a noticeable drop in temperature because of this.

Looking up to the peaks

Bunnell Notch Trail

Soon the Kilkenny Ridge Trail goes off to your right and you start to head back downhill gradually over the ridge. After a short distance the trail turns right at the now unmaintained Mt. Cabot Trail. Now you start to head back uphill and the trail gets a little rocky. Here I started coming into a layer of snow on the trail that soon became a constant on the hike. The trail makes a couple switchbacks in this section and you will pass a view on your right that is marked by an old sign that simply says "view" with an arrow. About 30 feet off the trail is the nice view from Bunnell Rock.

Bunnell Rock view to the Southwest

The trail continues at a similar incline with still some rocks on the surface. Soon you come to the small Cabot Cabin that has a nice view to the West from the porch. There is also an outhouse here should you need it. I stopped here to take in the views and check out the cabin. When I started back out there was immediately moose track heading up the trail the same direction I was. After a brief walk you soon get to the view less summit of Mt. Cabot. There is almost a view to the West, but not really.

Cabot Cabin

With no view here I didn't spend much time before heading further along the trail and down from the summit towards The Bulge. I probably could/should have used my microspikes here, but they weren't quite needed. The trail is a little steep in spots, but all in all not bad (at least descending). It seemed to me like a longer descent than I expected and I thought the trail turned more to the right than it actually did here. Before long you are in the saddle and begin the gradual climb up to The Bulge.

Heading down from Mt. Cabot

The Bulge is very wooded and only marked by a small cairn. The decent from here is quick as well and soon you are at the spur to the Horn. This short hike is worth the effort for the great views that can be had from the peak of the rocks. From the writing in the snow it appears someone just recently finished their 4Ks on Mt. Cabot.

East from The Horn

It was windy up out of the trees and it seemed like I was running a little late, so I didn't spend too much time on the peak of The Horn before heading back down. Once back to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, it follows along the Western side of The Horn gradually working its way down. The trail then heads uphill slightly as you near the Unknown Pond Trail. By this point the clouds had come in for a bit and the view of the pond wasn't as good.

Near Unknown Pond

By this point most of the snow was all gone again and I kept going now down the Unknown Pond Trail. Working past the pond this trail never gets really steep and is only a little rocky in a few places. It works along the left side of a ravine and past a large birch glade. The trail is pretty gradual, but did get a little muddy in sections. As the trail gets lower on the mountain it does cross the brook a couple times but these are pretty easy.

Pretty easy going

Nearing the end you come to a swampy area and go along the side before following an old railroad bed. While the ties are no longer there, you can see depressions in the ground where they use to be. Soon I was back at my truck without seeing a single hiker on the trails. Just before leaving a group did hike back into the lot though.

Nearing the end of the Unknown Pond Trail

All in all the hike was a good one even with limited views most of the time. It was nice having the trails to myself all day. My sense of time was off today making me think I was constantly behind. I am sure this is due to daylight savings time and having been up since 3:30am with the 3.5 hr drive to the trail head. It was interesting to see how much the moose were using the trails recently. I saw tracks as soon as I left the truck and there was good track between the cabin and the summit of Mt. Cabot. And the Unknown Pond Trail had track in it probably at least 1/3 of the way it seemed. Too bad I didn't see any of them though, just 6 grouse at various places.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE