Summertime is a great time of year to go for a hike, well, OK, anytime of year is fun. Mt Cabot was our destination on this hot morning as Anne and I parked just beyond the gates to the Berlin Fish Hatchery.......we were afraid of being locked in as the gates usually close in late afternoon.
So instead of hiking right off we'd have a pleasant road walk along a nice pond for about 2 miles to the Trailhead. Well, it would've been more pleasant if we didn't have the company of about a million gnats (or whatever the were.) They didn't bite which was good but they sure bugged the heck outta Anne!
Before we reached the trail we came across a big patch of blueberries fully ripe and then some raspberry bushes too. So we had a natural breakfast. Bunnell Notch was our selected route, I'd experienced this back in 2002, it was bad but if we had to make a hasty retreat due to weather it was the most direct "open" route.
So now we were on the trail, or were we, it was a mess of piled up dead trees and muddy ditches. Ok we did finally reach the true Bunnell Notch trail by taking a left off this tote road. Pretty soon we were hiking beside a brook, climbing moderately and trying to avoid the bottomless mud-pits that make up this trail.
Squish, Squish, we tried not to let the mud go over our boots on this narrow mess. In a mile or so we'd left the worst of it behind and were climbing more steadily through a nice forest. Soon we joined the Kilkenny Ridge trail. Somewhere along here we met a nice forest ranger who advised us that the Bunnell Notch trail would soon be relocated.
The sun was still out and it was warm so at that point we decided not to descend that way. The little shelter at a nice viewpoint was our next stopping point, the boyscouts maintain this shelter. A bench made a good resting point, water tasted really good. I explained to Anne that it was just a short little jaunt from here to the summit so we took off. As we did a boy scout troop was heading down the Mt Cabot Trail (which is supposed to be closed!)
Mt Cabot as usual was wooded with no views so we just tagged it, took a picture and moved on. From here we stayed on Kilkenny Ridge trail down off Cabot and then uphill with mild grades to the 100 Highest peak called "The Bulge." We only sat for a minute or so, no views again, I promised better views from the Horn.
The descent was easy and climbing again was easy too, we both felt great, it was now mid-afternoon. The spur to the Horn goes off the main trail, it climbs moderately through a pleasant area to the rocky summit. You have to boost your way up the final steep part to stand on this rocky pulpit. What incredible views! My last time here it had been cloudy. There may be no better view of the Kilkenny Ridge than on top of this 100 highest peak. We soaked in the sun, all alone on the glorious peak taking our longest break of the day. A raindrop splattered and we could see some dark clouds off in the distance so unfortunately we headed off.
Anne said she'd like to go back there someday to climb it solo and enjoy the beauty of the peak. We decided to include it with our upcoming MOST BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS list.
The hike from there to Unknown Pond was uneventful and beautiful. Anne hiked at her pace and I walked a little slower. Soon some distance seperated us. We rejoined at the pond, pausing again only briefly, the bugs were pretty bad and the afternoon was waning away.
We continued on downhill, Anne again took the lead and set a faster pace. I was daydreaming when I heard her piercing scream cut through the forest. I woke up and began running, in my mind I said "BEAR!" I fumbled through my pocket for a 3 inch pocket knife as I stumbled over wet rocks. It wasn't a bear or a moose or anything like that......it was a Spruce Grouse. It had jumped from the bushes all hissing and puffed up and scared her to death. My presence had it running back into the woods, probably was defending a nest.
Anne decided to stay a little closer after that.....the rest of our walk went easy and uneventful and soon enough we popped out of the woods onto the dirt road. The sun was going down slowly and set the water off unknown pond like glittering diamonds. We did stop occasionally along the way to eat blueberries and take in the sights. As we passed the fish hatchery we noticed the gate was closed for the night so with our late start we'd made the right decision. Lots of miles on this day, maybe 14 or so. We'd had a wonderful time and I'd recommend this hike to anybody. The Horn is incredible.