BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 26, 2011: Cabot
Trails: York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail
Summits: Cabot
Hikers: Peakbagger (Dennis), Peak576 (Dave), Kody, Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Once again, Sue is on vacation and filling her free time with hikes. A month ago to the day we hiked Cabot. On that trip through, the only friends that joined us were a couple snowmen. This time, we enjoyed the company of Dennis, Dave, and Kody. Generally as planned, we were on-trail a little after 8:30am and expecting a leisurely and short day. All reports on the AMC Backcountry Weather and Conditions indicated snowshoes weren’t needed. We left them behind and looked forward to a combination of bare booting and MicroSpikes for the day.
We started bare booting the hike. Another couple set off roughly thirty minutes ahead of us and were tracking out the two to three inches of fresh snow on the trail. Roughly two miles into their hike they turned around. Many of the mud pits that were messy on our last hike are now frozen but there are enough wet places to still require a little extra attention. We found a few of them. We had a very pleasant walk through the lower section of the hike and soon found ourselves at the height of land in Bunnell Notch and getting hit by the moderate northwesterly wind. I think we all stopped to add a layer before continuing.
With a little added warmth we continued around the west side of Cabot to the junction with the now abandoned Mt. Cabot Trail. Here we stopped again and pulled out the MicroSpikes. I think there might have been another layer for a couple of us as well. Soon, we were making the climb to the summit.
There is a fair amount of ice covered by loose snow. Watch your step, the ice is hard, MicroSpikes don’t bits hard ice very well, there were a few interesting slips. Eventually we were standing on Bunnell Rock with no views. The National Weather Service had predicted less than 50% sky cover by mid-morning. They must have been talking about some other time zone. I got a couple non-view pictures along with a few people and dog pictures before getting back into the climb. Eventually we were making our way past Cabot Cabin. We stopped on the east (back) side of the cabin while we pulled out some wind protection. Soon we were back to the job of finding the summit. Roughly a quarter mile further we were standing at the summit tree and getting pictures. The BIG snowman that Sue left a month earlier was no longer anything more than a memory. Unfortunately, the snow was too cold and dry to work as snowman body parts. There will be no Cabot snowman on this trip.
We all enjoyed a quick snack. As soon as anybody says they’re cold we start moving. Dennis announced he was cold and I think the rest of us all agreed. No thought was needed. We made the u-turn and headed back out the way we hiked in. At the old tower site near the cabin there were still no views and we just kept walking. Roughly half-way to Bunell Rock Dave stopped to take care of some ice balls on Kody’s paws. While we were there another hiker passed from the direction of the summit. He was hiking the loop.
Back underway we made the remainder of the run down to the Mt. Cabot Trail junction quickly and continued to Bunnell Notch. As we lost elevation, the wind died and the temperature seemed to improve. Along the way there were brief stops while one or more of us de-layered. Eventually we were all generally back to where we started the day. Once we started down from Bunnell Notch we were also sheltered from the northwesterly wind. Finally, the clearing that was predicted by mid morning arrived just as we arrived back at the old wood road on the lower Bunnell Notch Trail.
From this point to the trailhead the MicroSpikes were retired for the day. Eventually we hit the trailhead generally in the same condition as when we left. We all expected to possibly see each other again before this week of hiking came to an end. After a quick goodbye we packed and were on the road south.
Pictures will be posted, but probably not for a few days.
Trails: York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail
Summits: Cabot
Hikers: Peakbagger (Dennis), Peak576 (Dave), Kody, Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Once again, Sue is on vacation and filling her free time with hikes. A month ago to the day we hiked Cabot. On that trip through, the only friends that joined us were a couple snowmen. This time, we enjoyed the company of Dennis, Dave, and Kody. Generally as planned, we were on-trail a little after 8:30am and expecting a leisurely and short day. All reports on the AMC Backcountry Weather and Conditions indicated snowshoes weren’t needed. We left them behind and looked forward to a combination of bare booting and MicroSpikes for the day.
We started bare booting the hike. Another couple set off roughly thirty minutes ahead of us and were tracking out the two to three inches of fresh snow on the trail. Roughly two miles into their hike they turned around. Many of the mud pits that were messy on our last hike are now frozen but there are enough wet places to still require a little extra attention. We found a few of them. We had a very pleasant walk through the lower section of the hike and soon found ourselves at the height of land in Bunnell Notch and getting hit by the moderate northwesterly wind. I think we all stopped to add a layer before continuing.
With a little added warmth we continued around the west side of Cabot to the junction with the now abandoned Mt. Cabot Trail. Here we stopped again and pulled out the MicroSpikes. I think there might have been another layer for a couple of us as well. Soon, we were making the climb to the summit.
There is a fair amount of ice covered by loose snow. Watch your step, the ice is hard, MicroSpikes don’t bits hard ice very well, there were a few interesting slips. Eventually we were standing on Bunnell Rock with no views. The National Weather Service had predicted less than 50% sky cover by mid-morning. They must have been talking about some other time zone. I got a couple non-view pictures along with a few people and dog pictures before getting back into the climb. Eventually we were making our way past Cabot Cabin. We stopped on the east (back) side of the cabin while we pulled out some wind protection. Soon we were back to the job of finding the summit. Roughly a quarter mile further we were standing at the summit tree and getting pictures. The BIG snowman that Sue left a month earlier was no longer anything more than a memory. Unfortunately, the snow was too cold and dry to work as snowman body parts. There will be no Cabot snowman on this trip.
We all enjoyed a quick snack. As soon as anybody says they’re cold we start moving. Dennis announced he was cold and I think the rest of us all agreed. No thought was needed. We made the u-turn and headed back out the way we hiked in. At the old tower site near the cabin there were still no views and we just kept walking. Roughly half-way to Bunell Rock Dave stopped to take care of some ice balls on Kody’s paws. While we were there another hiker passed from the direction of the summit. He was hiking the loop.
Back underway we made the remainder of the run down to the Mt. Cabot Trail junction quickly and continued to Bunnell Notch. As we lost elevation, the wind died and the temperature seemed to improve. Along the way there were brief stops while one or more of us de-layered. Eventually we were all generally back to where we started the day. Once we started down from Bunnell Notch we were also sheltered from the northwesterly wind. Finally, the clearing that was predicted by mid morning arrived just as we arrived back at the old wood road on the lower Bunnell Notch Trail.
From this point to the trailhead the MicroSpikes were retired for the day. Eventually we hit the trailhead generally in the same condition as when we left. We all expected to possibly see each other again before this week of hiking came to an end. After a quick goodbye we packed and were on the road south.
Pictures will be posted, but probably not for a few days.
