I had the day off, so I thought, "What better way to spend the day than bag #32?" So that's what I did. As I drove through Pinkham Notch, Washington and every other peak in the vicinity was socked-in, plus it was drizzling. However, when I got into Gorham, I noticed that the skies were clear past the Presidentials. Wanting a sunshine hike, I thought to myself, "Screw here, Cabot it is!" And I was not disappointed- the skies were mostly clear with some sun, it was very warm, there was almost no rain except for some sprinkles on the way down, and the only significant snow and ice was found on the last few hundred vertical feet to the top.
Oh yeah, and I got a sunburn on the back of my neck. That's how sunny and nice it was Very Happy Shocked .
I headed up the York Pond Trail at 9:30 AM, following the corridor of a woods road. After 0.2 mile, I emerged onto a field and turned right onto the Bunnell Notch Trail and followed it to Bunnell Notch.
This trail started by following an old woods road, crossing a tricky river in the early going. A sign directed me onto the trail at the end of the road, and it followed an actual standard trail for the rest of its length. I ascended a small ridge and then paralled the river I crossed earlier for most of the trip to the notch. The grade was steady but never steep, and the footing was good for the most part except for some mud and water patches. Near Bunnell Notch, I saw stray patches of snow and ice, but upon turning onto the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, I wouldn't see any of that until I was near the cabin.
Not 0.1 mile down the KRT, I came to a large blowdown, which I had to 'whack around. After that, it was smooth sailing. I passed the unmaintained section of the Mt. Cabot Trail, then the two trails coincided past the cabin and to the summit. About halfway from the junction to the summit, I began to run into the first significant snow/ice patches; I put my spikes on here and wore them intermittently to the summit.
The Cabot Cabin was amazing! The USFS did a great job on it. (This would be my lunch spot after bagging the top.) From the cabin to the summit, the trail was a mix of dry ground, wet ground, and unstable monorail. Needless to stay, the spikes got some use.
The true summit area, surprisingly, was dry and snow-free. No views, though, so I took some summit shots then headed back to the cabin for a quick bite to eat, then I headed back down.
This was an excellent hike, mostly due to the fact that most of NH was in the clouds with rain and Cabot was not
. But in all seriousness, what views I had were great, and the Cabot Cabin was very interesting. Total distance was 9.6 miles with 2,900 feet of elevation gain.
32 down, 16 to go!
Here's some video highlights from the day, if anyone's interested. I apologize about the weird angle; it wasn't like that on camera roll, but on YouTube Capture, it got this weird orientation that I couldn't fix . Still a good idea of what this hike is like.
http://youtu.be/8zrE_qE2f64
Oh yeah, and I got a sunburn on the back of my neck. That's how sunny and nice it was Very Happy Shocked .
I headed up the York Pond Trail at 9:30 AM, following the corridor of a woods road. After 0.2 mile, I emerged onto a field and turned right onto the Bunnell Notch Trail and followed it to Bunnell Notch.
This trail started by following an old woods road, crossing a tricky river in the early going. A sign directed me onto the trail at the end of the road, and it followed an actual standard trail for the rest of its length. I ascended a small ridge and then paralled the river I crossed earlier for most of the trip to the notch. The grade was steady but never steep, and the footing was good for the most part except for some mud and water patches. Near Bunnell Notch, I saw stray patches of snow and ice, but upon turning onto the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, I wouldn't see any of that until I was near the cabin.
Not 0.1 mile down the KRT, I came to a large blowdown, which I had to 'whack around. After that, it was smooth sailing. I passed the unmaintained section of the Mt. Cabot Trail, then the two trails coincided past the cabin and to the summit. About halfway from the junction to the summit, I began to run into the first significant snow/ice patches; I put my spikes on here and wore them intermittently to the summit.
The Cabot Cabin was amazing! The USFS did a great job on it. (This would be my lunch spot after bagging the top.) From the cabin to the summit, the trail was a mix of dry ground, wet ground, and unstable monorail. Needless to stay, the spikes got some use.
The true summit area, surprisingly, was dry and snow-free. No views, though, so I took some summit shots then headed back to the cabin for a quick bite to eat, then I headed back down.
This was an excellent hike, mostly due to the fact that most of NH was in the clouds with rain and Cabot was not
. But in all seriousness, what views I had were great, and the Cabot Cabin was very interesting. Total distance was 9.6 miles with 2,900 feet of elevation gain. 32 down, 16 to go!
Here's some video highlights from the day, if anyone's interested. I apologize about the weird angle; it wasn't like that on camera roll, but on YouTube Capture, it got this weird orientation that I couldn't fix
. Still a good idea of what this hike is like. http://youtu.be/8zrE_qE2f64
