Bob Kittredge
Active member
Looking out the window of Hikers Paradise at 6AM, the weather did not look promising. After the previous day's slog in Carters, I considered bailing. But I drove down to Dolly Copp to meet Chantal. She was itching to do some hiking while Steve kayaked. By the time I got there, the sun was starting to poke through, and we decided to have a go at it.
There is some road work being done on route 110 in Berlin and zigzaggy detour we had to take through Berlin's back streets was comical. But the sun was out fully by the time we reached the York Pond trailhead about 8AM. We were soon geared up and on our way. Bunnell Notch Trail was wet, but our boots survived the muck holes. Lots of lovely wildflowers were out: wild strawberry, bunchberry, wild sarsaparilla, trillium (purple and painted), lady slippers (pink and white) and even some rhodora at higher elevations. We saw lots of toads: small, medium and large; occasional piles of moose doots and hoof prints marked the way. Then up the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to the cabin and the summit, with some pleasant views along the way. We stopped to eat lunch and encountered our first other hikers of the day, a couple who had come up the old Mount Cabot trail. Apparently the landowner near the trailhead has eased up and taken down the No Trespassing signs.
We decided to leave the full Bulge/Horn/Unknown Pond loop for another day, and returned from whence we'd come, meeting a few other groups of hikers along the way. There were now more butterflies out, too: some nice small, speckled orange ones and, near the trailhead, about a dozen tiger swallowtails who were all clustered on the ground together. They took flight as we passed to our surprise and delight.
Out a little after 2. A really lovely day in the woods.
There is some road work being done on route 110 in Berlin and zigzaggy detour we had to take through Berlin's back streets was comical. But the sun was out fully by the time we reached the York Pond trailhead about 8AM. We were soon geared up and on our way. Bunnell Notch Trail was wet, but our boots survived the muck holes. Lots of lovely wildflowers were out: wild strawberry, bunchberry, wild sarsaparilla, trillium (purple and painted), lady slippers (pink and white) and even some rhodora at higher elevations. We saw lots of toads: small, medium and large; occasional piles of moose doots and hoof prints marked the way. Then up the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to the cabin and the summit, with some pleasant views along the way. We stopped to eat lunch and encountered our first other hikers of the day, a couple who had come up the old Mount Cabot trail. Apparently the landowner near the trailhead has eased up and taken down the No Trespassing signs.
We decided to leave the full Bulge/Horn/Unknown Pond loop for another day, and returned from whence we'd come, meeting a few other groups of hikers along the way. There were now more butterflies out, too: some nice small, speckled orange ones and, near the trailhead, about a dozen tiger swallowtails who were all clustered on the ground together. They took flight as we passed to our surprise and delight.
Out a little after 2. A really lovely day in the woods.
