Pete Hogan
New member
Mt. Cabot
6.10.11
With Owl’s Head in the plus column, our sights turned to peak number forty-six, Mt. Cabot. We decided to start from York Pond Road at the Berlin Fish Hatchery and approach the summit via the Bunnel Notch and Kilkenny Ridge Trails. The round trip distance is 9.6 miles and requires 2900’ of vertical ascent.
Late evening thunderstorms washed away the oppressive heat and humidity of the past two days and the morning of June 10 dawned sunny, cool and full of promise. The drive from Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch involved some precise navigation through Berlin, but forty-five minutes after our JDL departure we were at the York Pond trail head lacing our boots.
We took a few moments to check out the fish hatchery “raceway” which we surmised contained Rainbow Trout because of all the unlucky “jumpers” in the grass. Looking into the dark, reflective waters of the channel, I couldn’t see the fish, but I had a creepy sense they could see me because each time I moved about for a closer look, the surface of the water became a frenetic frenzy of freaked-out fish. (One can only imagine the excitement and anticipation Piranha must feel when they see someone at the edge of their neighborhood!)
The hiking path improved within the first ten minutes as we left gravel, logging roads and happily entered the forest. There were many signs of moose and a couple of huge imprints in the soft sections of trail. We were excited at the prospect of sharing our day with Rocky’s favorite antlered friend, but that never happened. We couldn’t help but wonder if a moose saw us and decided to remain incognito.
The Bunnel Notch Trail was soft, scenic and offered a variety of interesting terrain and features. The babbling brook section was especially picturesque and peaceful. We enjoyed the gradual ascent into the secluded notch before connecting with the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and the final mile to the summit.
Bunnel Rock was a welcomed respite and beautiful view of the surrounding wilderness. We took time to relax and appreciate the lofty platform. It wasn’t long after Bunnel Rock before we were exploring the Mt. Cabot cabin. It was shortly after noon so we decided to eat our lunch at the cabin when we returned from the summit.
About 5 minutes from the cabin we confronted a maze of downed trees and diverging herd paths. We marveled at a tree's ability to withstand severe winds despite remarkably shallow root systems. Each up-rooted foundation contained large rocks that the roots had entwined to help stabilize its unrelenting life and death struggle at this elevation.Talk about being vertically challenged!
A few quick snapshots and congratulatory hugs for achieving our forty-sixth New Hampshire summit. We returned to the cabin for a brief lunch before starting the descent at 1:15 PM. Our pace was unhurried, but purposeful and returned us to the car at 3:52 PM.
Here are some photographs of the day:
As always, click on slide show, then pause, and F11 if you want full screen viewing and the opportunity to appreciate the photos and captions at your own pace.
https://picasaweb.google.com/runswi...?authkey=Gv1sRgCIGd3_zir7fRPw&feat=directlink
6.10.11
With Owl’s Head in the plus column, our sights turned to peak number forty-six, Mt. Cabot. We decided to start from York Pond Road at the Berlin Fish Hatchery and approach the summit via the Bunnel Notch and Kilkenny Ridge Trails. The round trip distance is 9.6 miles and requires 2900’ of vertical ascent.
Late evening thunderstorms washed away the oppressive heat and humidity of the past two days and the morning of June 10 dawned sunny, cool and full of promise. The drive from Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch involved some precise navigation through Berlin, but forty-five minutes after our JDL departure we were at the York Pond trail head lacing our boots.
We took a few moments to check out the fish hatchery “raceway” which we surmised contained Rainbow Trout because of all the unlucky “jumpers” in the grass. Looking into the dark, reflective waters of the channel, I couldn’t see the fish, but I had a creepy sense they could see me because each time I moved about for a closer look, the surface of the water became a frenetic frenzy of freaked-out fish. (One can only imagine the excitement and anticipation Piranha must feel when they see someone at the edge of their neighborhood!)
The hiking path improved within the first ten minutes as we left gravel, logging roads and happily entered the forest. There were many signs of moose and a couple of huge imprints in the soft sections of trail. We were excited at the prospect of sharing our day with Rocky’s favorite antlered friend, but that never happened. We couldn’t help but wonder if a moose saw us and decided to remain incognito.
The Bunnel Notch Trail was soft, scenic and offered a variety of interesting terrain and features. The babbling brook section was especially picturesque and peaceful. We enjoyed the gradual ascent into the secluded notch before connecting with the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and the final mile to the summit.
Bunnel Rock was a welcomed respite and beautiful view of the surrounding wilderness. We took time to relax and appreciate the lofty platform. It wasn’t long after Bunnel Rock before we were exploring the Mt. Cabot cabin. It was shortly after noon so we decided to eat our lunch at the cabin when we returned from the summit.
About 5 minutes from the cabin we confronted a maze of downed trees and diverging herd paths. We marveled at a tree's ability to withstand severe winds despite remarkably shallow root systems. Each up-rooted foundation contained large rocks that the roots had entwined to help stabilize its unrelenting life and death struggle at this elevation.Talk about being vertically challenged!
A few quick snapshots and congratulatory hugs for achieving our forty-sixth New Hampshire summit. We returned to the cabin for a brief lunch before starting the descent at 1:15 PM. Our pace was unhurried, but purposeful and returned us to the car at 3:52 PM.
Here are some photographs of the day:
As always, click on slide show, then pause, and F11 if you want full screen viewing and the opportunity to appreciate the photos and captions at your own pace.
https://picasaweb.google.com/runswi...?authkey=Gv1sRgCIGd3_zir7fRPw&feat=directlink
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