Mt Cabot, Flags on the 48

“Date(s) Hiked:September 7 and 8

Trails(s) Hiked: York Pond, Bunnell Notch, Kilkenny Ridge

Total Distance:11.6

Difficulty:Moderate

Conditions:Dry, cloudy (fog) at peak

Special Required Equipment: Lots of water containers as water source was distant

Trip Report:

We started this trip on Friday Morning. We had both managed to get the day off. We packed up in less than an hour and hit the road, grabbed an Italian and chips and were at the trail head at noon. Some things to remember about klimbing this peak. The Cabot trail is closed due to a dispute between the AMC and the landowner, so other trails must be taken. We chose the Bunnell Notch trail off the York Pond road. We checked the book, the rangers and the sign at the gate. They all said the gate was locked at 4 PM and unlocked at 8 AM. So we figured to park outside the gate. We were flying the flag from noon to 2, and no way would we make it back to the car by 4. So I dropped off my wife, the dog and the packs at the trailhead, drove the car back (2 miles exactly by our odometer) and walked back to the trailhead to start the hike.

We have planned to stay overnight at the cabin near the peak. But, just in case it is full, we bring a tent. And knowing that cabins have hard bunks, or well packed tent sites, we bring both our ridge rests and thermarests. Also, we are prepared to load more water on the way up, as there is no mention of reliable water up there. Seems the tops of mountains seldom have water, it all runs downhill!

The hike starts out flat. As you go in, the first trail junction has a sign that says the wood stove has been removed from the cabin. From there, you can see the peak, looming not too far away. For some reason, I have it in my head that this is a 4 mile hike, when in reality it is 5.8 miles, with an elevation gain of between 2000 and 2500 feet. This part of the trail is through an old logging road, overgrown with raspberries, very narrow. The lekis are used to push the bushes back to avoid scratching our legs. Then, I happen upon a dead animal right in the middle of the trail, about the size of a raccoon. It is covered with these dull orange stinging things, which I did not wish to observe too long. I decide a trip around it, through the raspberries, bare legs and all, is a great idea!

Our next trail junction is where we leave the logging road and get in the woods. There is just a post with an arrow on it. We had passed a similar post earlier at a fork in the logging road. It gets suddenly steeper. Did I mention that this day is well into the 80's and humid? We are soon dripping. The trail leads by a stream, the upper Ammonusic, I believe. The dog is getting plenty to drink along the way.

I am watching the water, and know that there is little or no water above the intersection of the Kilkenny Ridge trail and the Bunnell Notch trail. We are now on the Kilkenny Ridge trail. We tie the dog to a tree, leaving her in reach of both packs to keep the squirrels at bay, and we give her the last of our water in a dish to drink. We are somewhat surprised at the amount of water we have drunk so far. Generally speaking, our camelbacks will get us all the way to our destination, and then some. (We are carrying a bit more weight than normal, the trail is a bit steeper than others we have done, and it is hot and humid) So we grab our filter, camelbacks and nalgenes. (The nalgenes had powder in them for lemonade and Gatorade.) We pick up over 12 lbs of water and load them in our packs, and encourage the dog to drink. Then we are off.

Now we have all this extra weight on our backs, and the trail gets just a little bit steeper. What a heartbreaker! It is difficult to come up with a sustainable pace. We hike a couple hundred feet, stop and get our breath; repeat. Then there are the switch backs, and the peak always appearing to be oh-so-close. Are we ever ever gonna end this drudgery?

Finally, I see the cabin near the peak. We go in, and it is a welcome layover. A bit rustic, but home for the night! We can see where the wood stove, has indeed, been removed. We were to see pieces of it, broken and scattered about the site, some used for the fire circle. The table and benches are nailed in place. The table and counters are covered in tin, to keep the carving down, no doubt. The bunks have Ridgerests nailed in place. We look at that and both think we'll have plenty of padding to sleep on. We are also thinking that we carried the tent and extra bed padding up for nothing...... That and all the water we dragged up also. Better to have it and not need it.....

We look around and see a rain water barrel set under the edge of the roof. We can wash up and boil water for cooking! And we brought up all this water for...... My wife rolls out the bedding and zips the bags together, I start cooking. The dog is not interested in her food, she want ours. After we eat, we dump her food in our bowls and swish them around in the sauce. She eats heartily. I boil up some water and wash the dishes up good. We are reading up on notes on the walls and viewing the pics of the cabin from the past, and we see: Spring is 1/3 mile towards the peak, take a right at the sign and 300 feet in is the spring. (Once again, we lugged all this water up here for.......) I am well aware that one persons 300 feet is another's 600 feet. I hiked down that trail a good 600 feet or so, and nothing. It is dry as can be. The trail is maintained, blow downs being cut away and all. I never find the spring, and conclude this must be an alternate trail down the mountain. Okay, now I am happy that we lugged all this water up to the peak!

A couple notes about the rain barrel. It is a 45 gallon plastic barrel under the roof edge. There is a valve drilled and caulked into the bottom of the barrel. And there is a wet spot under the valve. The water level in the barrel is even with the valve. I tighten the valve, it is already tight. The setting of the valve is what leaks. So there about 10 inches of water in the barrel. I am thankful for that much water. Also, we see under the porch, a gutter with an angle iron attached, which certainly appear to be intended to direct water into the barrel. I find no mounting brackets or ladder, so I can not hook this back up.

It is windy at night. In the valley, we can clearly see Lancaster and a nearby airport. There is a raised topo map on the table. We play with the compass and locate several landmarks. The door is rattling in the breeze, so I grab the rock on the porch and close the door, which has a rope on the inside. I wind her as tight as I can, then lean the rock on the door. End of rattling!

In the morning, the peak is socked right into the clouds, no visibility. The intention is to fly the flag on the peak for all to see from noon to 2 PM in memorial to the 9-11 victims. We flew the flag alright, but few would see it this time. We met several others on the peak. There were a couple of hikers who were just finishing up their 48th peak of the NH48. An older couple made it to the top. He chatted with us a bit while waiting for her. As soon as she made it up, he said here we are, at the peak. She said Good, now let's go down. He says good talking with you, see you later. We all get a good laugh out of that! We have a bit of a ceremony up top. This is also Pedxing's final peak of the NH 48. I had attempted to pick up a patch for him, commemorating the accomplishment, but they do not hand out these patches. They must be earned and documented. So I give him the paperwork to file for his patch.

In conversation, Pedxing tells us that the gate will be open until 10 PM today. He offers to ferry all of us and Chad to our cars when we hit the bottom, as we had parked 2 miles from the trailhead. We made good time to the bottom, about 2 1/2 hours with over weight packs. We figure I was pushing 50 lbs. with full water load, and she was pushing 40. On the way out, we check out the fish growing in the hatchery. So many fish....... The ride home is uneventful, with a stop at Burger king for chow.
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“Great trip report. It sounds like you had a hot, humid weekend up there too. It was the same around here. Better to carry more water in those conditions than run out.”

“I agree. It did not hurt me to carry all that weight, so I guess I am stronger for it. But I am also gonna lose afew pounds for the next trip (In my pack and my gut!!!)”

“Glad to hear you are feeling better and getting out hiking. That didn't sound like an easy hike with that heat and all the climbing.”

“That surgery I had on Memorial is now a little more than a memory. I am back!!!!! Well... they have a few more tests to do... But all went text book like. They did it with the scope so pain and healing were minimal. Never needed any painkillers when I got home. Still have a full bottle.

I love the whole idea of the scope. I walked to the bathroom immediately when they woke me up. Later I shook hands with my doc, and realized why he learned to use the scope. I felt like I was shaking hands with a baseball glove.”

“That's great it went so well and I hope the tests come back with good results. If what you mean by a scope is video assisted surgery, I just had that a few weeks ago in my chest and it was very painful. The wound healing wasn't bad, but the first few days I couldn't breathe without pain drugs.”

“They used a scope on my ureter from the left kidney to the bladder. It was partially constricted, the cut it open, "fileted" it, inserted a stint and sewed it back up. That stint was the worst part of the whole thing. Never so glad to get it removed.”

“Thanks for posting this and for doing the hike. MB, it was great to see you again and do some hiking.

Flags continues to be a great event, whether I go to a prominent peak like Carrigain, or one with no view at all, like Cabot.

FOT48 is also the reason I finished my 48, it motivates me to get out and try something new. I've done 8 peaks for the first time on FOT48 events.”

“That surgery sounds like some delicate cutting and I'm glad everything went well.”

“Rich, I hope is going well for you. Surgery thru the ribs as opposed to below the ribs, just sounds like not too much fun. I hope all is well.”

“Thanks, I still have one major issue to get taken care of, a cancerous nodule on my lung that was so small he couldn't find it. This week, I'll find out how they plan on getting rid of it, but I don't think it'll be another surgery. That definitely wasn't any fun. I have no symptoms and feel good right now and I'm hiking pretty strong for all the things that went on.”