BIGEarl
Well-known member
October 8, 2008: Waumbek and Cabot
Summits: Waumbek, Cabot
Distance – Elevation: 15 miles, 5400 feet
Hikers: Solo
I have a personal policy to avoid hikes where the hike time is less than the drive time. If the hike is so short that it takes longer to travel to and from the trailhead, I try to plan more of a hike. With a round trip drive time that can be as much as 7 hours for Cabot alone I decided to plan the day for both of these peaks.
My target start time was 6:00am on the Starr King Trail. At a little before 5:00am I made a quick pit-stop along the way and couldn’t help but notice the sky. It was still night, the moon had set around midnight, and there were no clouds. Being far away from city lights and with no moonlight to brighten the sky, the stars and occasional satellites were brilliant almost hypnotizing. There I was - standing next to the road, looking straight up to enjoy the view, and an Eagles tune was playing in my head when it occurred to me I had some hiking planned. Distraction over and I was back on my way to the trailhead for the Starr King Trail. I arrived a few minutes earlier than planned, quickly changed into my hiking boots, grabbed my poles and pack, and set off for Waumbek with a headlight helping me see the way.
The conditions were great with temps in the low 30’s, no wind, and a completely clear sky. I was pretty well up to temperature by the time I reached the old well foundation beside the trail. I still had darkness and my world extended as far as my headlight beam. As I walked along in my thirty-foot world my thoughts drifted back to my childhood for some unknown reason. I started to think about all of the terrific memories of this time of year. All of the usual seasonal activities were racing in my head – apple picking, pumpkins, hay rides, etc. One that kept coming back to me was leaf raking. I remembered how much fun it was with friends. We would rake them into a huge pile and jump in, roll around, throw leaves at each other – all in good fun. That great smell of dry leaves only comes along at this time of year. At first I was a little confused as to why my thoughts kept coming back to this. Slowly, as I hiked along the sky became lighter and eventually at a little under 3000 feet I switched off the light. There I looked around and realized why my thoughts were returning to the leaf piles. A large amount of the leaves have already fallen in this area and they were surrounding me with that wonderful smell of autumn. Nice!
With my daydreaming mystery solved I continued along as the trail led into the spruce. The scenery changed, the smells changed, but I was still thinking about the fun of autumn in New England. The trail is generally clear (except for the leaves) and dry with only a few small wet places but no real mud pits. As I was approaching the summit of Starr King I came upon a new large blowdown (new since my last pass through the area with Fitz roughly a month ago). I was able to push through the branches underneath but this really needs some attention before winter. Then I reached the final small climb to the summit level of Starr King, and made a stop at the USGS marker to check the views. A couple pictures and I was headed for the clearing with the fireplace. There were nice views to the Presidentials and Franconia Ridge. After a few more pictures I was off for Waumbek. This final section is a quick hike across the ridge with only a small amount of additional elevation. In no time I was standing at the summit cairn. I checked the time and found I was way ahead of plan and feeling pretty good. So far, the only negative was hiking “viewless summits” on such a clear day. I was enjoying everything about the day.
Without wasting any time I made the u-turn and headed back out. I recall the last hike out included a lunch on Starr King, stops to visit with other hikers a couple times, and only required two hours back to the trailhead. It seemed I was the only one hiking the area and it was too early to think about lunch. I was sure the hike out would be quick – and it was.
Back at the truck I tossed my pack and poles in and set off for the trailhead for the hike to Cabot. Again, it looked like I might be alone except for one hunter in the area. The hiking conditions, complete with the autumn smells were pretty much the same as on Starr King – no surprise here. Quietly I made my way along the trail gradually gaining elevation to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and thoroughly enjoying every step of the way. As the day continued some clouds started to move in but they were very high and very thin. I reached the point where the Kilkenny Ridge and Mt. Cabot trails run together and was faced with 1300 feet in the next 1.4 miles. The final climb is generally spruce and interrupted roughly a third of the way up by a very nice viewpoint, Bunnell Rock. I made it to the spur path that leads to Bunnell Rock and turned right. A few steps south and I was enjoying great views west - into Vermont, and south and southeast. The foliage was outstanding.
Roughly half way between Bunnell Rock and the Cabot Cabin I met another hiker on his way back down. We exchanged greetings and both continued on our hikes. He was the only other hiker I met all day. I reached the Cabot Cabin and made a brief stop to relax and re-tie my boots. The cabin and surrounding area is clean and in great shape. Soon I was off for the summit, .4 miles away. Similar to Waumbek, this final section is short with only a small amount of additional elevation. In a short time I was at the Mount Cabot summit sign snapping pictures and then making the u-turn. On the return hike I paused for a few minutes at the site of the old tower and enjoyed the views before making my descent.
The hike out went quickly. On the way I stopped again at Bunnell Rock for one last look. Then, I was on the trail with my focus being the trailhead. I quickly fell into a comfortable pace and made my way down from the summit. In approximately 1.5 hours I was at the truck, changing into comfortable footwear, and heading for the highway.
Even though it was mid-week I was quite surprised to see only one other hiker on the trail. The day couldn’t have been better to be out. Perhaps other hikers were on the “view peaks” for the day.
After a final check of the totals it looks like ten hours of hiking but only ~7 hours of driving. That’s acceptable.
Pictures to follow.
Summits: Waumbek, Cabot
Distance – Elevation: 15 miles, 5400 feet
Hikers: Solo
I have a personal policy to avoid hikes where the hike time is less than the drive time. If the hike is so short that it takes longer to travel to and from the trailhead, I try to plan more of a hike. With a round trip drive time that can be as much as 7 hours for Cabot alone I decided to plan the day for both of these peaks.
My target start time was 6:00am on the Starr King Trail. At a little before 5:00am I made a quick pit-stop along the way and couldn’t help but notice the sky. It was still night, the moon had set around midnight, and there were no clouds. Being far away from city lights and with no moonlight to brighten the sky, the stars and occasional satellites were brilliant almost hypnotizing. There I was - standing next to the road, looking straight up to enjoy the view, and an Eagles tune was playing in my head when it occurred to me I had some hiking planned. Distraction over and I was back on my way to the trailhead for the Starr King Trail. I arrived a few minutes earlier than planned, quickly changed into my hiking boots, grabbed my poles and pack, and set off for Waumbek with a headlight helping me see the way.
The conditions were great with temps in the low 30’s, no wind, and a completely clear sky. I was pretty well up to temperature by the time I reached the old well foundation beside the trail. I still had darkness and my world extended as far as my headlight beam. As I walked along in my thirty-foot world my thoughts drifted back to my childhood for some unknown reason. I started to think about all of the terrific memories of this time of year. All of the usual seasonal activities were racing in my head – apple picking, pumpkins, hay rides, etc. One that kept coming back to me was leaf raking. I remembered how much fun it was with friends. We would rake them into a huge pile and jump in, roll around, throw leaves at each other – all in good fun. That great smell of dry leaves only comes along at this time of year. At first I was a little confused as to why my thoughts kept coming back to this. Slowly, as I hiked along the sky became lighter and eventually at a little under 3000 feet I switched off the light. There I looked around and realized why my thoughts were returning to the leaf piles. A large amount of the leaves have already fallen in this area and they were surrounding me with that wonderful smell of autumn. Nice!
With my daydreaming mystery solved I continued along as the trail led into the spruce. The scenery changed, the smells changed, but I was still thinking about the fun of autumn in New England. The trail is generally clear (except for the leaves) and dry with only a few small wet places but no real mud pits. As I was approaching the summit of Starr King I came upon a new large blowdown (new since my last pass through the area with Fitz roughly a month ago). I was able to push through the branches underneath but this really needs some attention before winter. Then I reached the final small climb to the summit level of Starr King, and made a stop at the USGS marker to check the views. A couple pictures and I was headed for the clearing with the fireplace. There were nice views to the Presidentials and Franconia Ridge. After a few more pictures I was off for Waumbek. This final section is a quick hike across the ridge with only a small amount of additional elevation. In no time I was standing at the summit cairn. I checked the time and found I was way ahead of plan and feeling pretty good. So far, the only negative was hiking “viewless summits” on such a clear day. I was enjoying everything about the day.
Without wasting any time I made the u-turn and headed back out. I recall the last hike out included a lunch on Starr King, stops to visit with other hikers a couple times, and only required two hours back to the trailhead. It seemed I was the only one hiking the area and it was too early to think about lunch. I was sure the hike out would be quick – and it was.
Back at the truck I tossed my pack and poles in and set off for the trailhead for the hike to Cabot. Again, it looked like I might be alone except for one hunter in the area. The hiking conditions, complete with the autumn smells were pretty much the same as on Starr King – no surprise here. Quietly I made my way along the trail gradually gaining elevation to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and thoroughly enjoying every step of the way. As the day continued some clouds started to move in but they were very high and very thin. I reached the point where the Kilkenny Ridge and Mt. Cabot trails run together and was faced with 1300 feet in the next 1.4 miles. The final climb is generally spruce and interrupted roughly a third of the way up by a very nice viewpoint, Bunnell Rock. I made it to the spur path that leads to Bunnell Rock and turned right. A few steps south and I was enjoying great views west - into Vermont, and south and southeast. The foliage was outstanding.
Roughly half way between Bunnell Rock and the Cabot Cabin I met another hiker on his way back down. We exchanged greetings and both continued on our hikes. He was the only other hiker I met all day. I reached the Cabot Cabin and made a brief stop to relax and re-tie my boots. The cabin and surrounding area is clean and in great shape. Soon I was off for the summit, .4 miles away. Similar to Waumbek, this final section is short with only a small amount of additional elevation. In a short time I was at the Mount Cabot summit sign snapping pictures and then making the u-turn. On the return hike I paused for a few minutes at the site of the old tower and enjoyed the views before making my descent.
The hike out went quickly. On the way I stopped again at Bunnell Rock for one last look. Then, I was on the trail with my focus being the trailhead. I quickly fell into a comfortable pace and made my way down from the summit. In approximately 1.5 hours I was at the truck, changing into comfortable footwear, and heading for the highway.
Even though it was mid-week I was quite surprised to see only one other hiker on the trail. The day couldn’t have been better to be out. Perhaps other hikers were on the “view peaks” for the day.
After a final check of the totals it looks like ten hours of hiking but only ~7 hours of driving. That’s acceptable.
Pictures to follow.
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