KPMMBM
Member
Temps in the 60s, cool day for end of August. York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, & Kilkenny Ridge Trail. Hit the trail at about 8:15 with only two cars at the trailhead. Passing through the open areas that are grown in I was glad that I opted for long pants and long sleeves. I was only about 10 minutes into this hike when I heard some noise coming from the woods that run along side the trail as it passes through the open sections. I figured it was a bird, maybe a squirrel, or if I was lucky a deer. Just then I saw it, lumbering along on all fours, a bear. It was only about 50 feet away and was headed in the same direction as me. We were both headed into the wind so I’m not sure if it ever smelled me or even saw me. We walked along at the same pace for about a minute or so. I thought briefly about taking out my camera but was afraid the flash, if it went off, might attract attention to me. I didn’t think I should stop so I just kept going. It was a cub, maybe 3 feet high at the back as it plodded along on all fours. Eventually it turned away or stopped, I’m not sure. I just kept walking at a good clip hoping it didn’t come out of the woods and cross my path. Thinking it was a cub I was also concerned about where the mother might be. What a way to start the day! I made it to the ledges over-looking Bunnell Notch in just over 2 hours. It was clear and the views were good over to Starr King & Waumbek and over towards Lancaster. After the ledges, I saw the first other hikers of the day, a couple of guys that had been backpacking for a couple of days in the area. Half an hour later I was at the Cabot cabin. Looked like a cool place to do a winter overnighter some day. I headed up to the summit and arrived at just under 3 hours from the start. Took a few pictures and headed back down. I met up with a family of day hikers back at the cabin on the way up to the summit. Back down to the ledges by noon and had a wonderful lunch enjoying the solitude and the views. On the way down I met up with a couple that was day hiking and a group of 4 that was headed in for some overnights. I must say other than days when it was raining hard, this was the least amount of hikers I’ve seen hiking a 4,000 footer. This was a good hike, not too demanding physically and today’s weather was pretty close to ideal. Total of 9.7 miles in 5 hours and 19 minutes.
