On September 1st, Jamie, Guyot, Jenna, Margot, Hunter, and I headed north from our family compound in Randolph, NH, to climb Mt. Cabot. We used to approach Cabot from the southwest on a trail beginning in Lancaster, but the owner of the trailhead closed access to this trail after the Forest Service prohibited public use of it as a snowmobile route during the winter months. The only direct access to Cabot now is from the east on the York Pond Road that serves the Berlin Fish Hatchery and is closed to the public from 4 P.M. to 8 A.M. This not only lengthens the hike up Cabot by 0.8 miles, but means one has to be sure to exit the trail before the road closes at 4 P.M.
We began our hike at a moderate pace up the Bunnell Notch Trail, finding the footing more difficult as we approached the notch. Upon reaching the junction with the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, we found the trail began a gradual descent, ceasing when it intersected the old, and now abandoned trail coming up from Lancaster. At this point the ascent up Cabot becomes quite strenuous, and we were glad to stop briefly for the fine view from Bunnell Rock. Jamie, the two dogs, and I then picked up our pace and made haste to the cabin near the site of a fire tower that once sat on the lower but more open summit of Cabot. Soon we were joined by Margot and Jenna, and after some confusion as to where to eat lunch, all of us except Margot took off for the true summit some 0.4 miles farther up the trail. We stopped briefly on the wooded summit and then began our return to the old fire tower site for lunch, only to find Margot hiking toward us wondering why we were heading back down. She had not understood our plan to return to the only real viewpoint on the mountain top for lunch, but she was happy to eschew the true summit and joined us as we finished our return to our lunch spot.
After a quick repast, Jamie, Guyot, and Jenna headed north toward Unknown Pond on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, and returned to the trailhead via the Unknown Pond Trail. Margot, Hunter , and I returned the way we had come and found the descent off the summit, as well as the upper part of the Bunnell Notch Trail, to be much slower than we had anticipated. Hiking down wet, rocky paths often seems to take longer than climbing up them, since one is much more apt to slip on wet rocks while descending rather than while ascending a steep slope. Also, I find age plays an important part by decreasing my balance and telling me not to jump off high rocks. We all arrived at the trailhead within ten minutes of each other, even though Jamie and Jenna had hiked 2.5 miles farther than Margot and I. Ah, youth! After a stop at the Berlin Dairy for the usual milkshake, we arrived back in Randolph in time for Jenna to pack up her belongings to begin her return to Williams College for her junior year.
Cabot is situated in the center of the White Mountain region known as “the Kilkenny.” It has been logged heavily in the past, but today is mainly mature forest. Although the peaks and ridges are not as high as the mountains to the south, one certainly has the feeling this area is fully as “wild” as the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Fourteen years ago, Jamie and I traversed the 24.2 miles from the town of Jefferson to South Pond over the Kilkenny Ridge Trail in one day and, although physically very tired, I felt the experience was probably as close as I ever have come to experiencing true wilderness in the White Mountains!
