Under a milky white-blue sky, we parked in a muddy spot near Heath's Gate. Turning off RT-2 a mile or so after the Starr King Rd in Jefferson, we took a right onto North Rd, then rights onto Gore, Pleasant and Arthur White. Although this is considered an "illegal" trailhead, many hikers use this for their winter ascent. With the Pats-Jags game that evening, we chose the closest and fastest way up Cabot.
The town of Jefferson had huge bare stretches with no snow. It seemed the north-country had less snow than we do in Sandown. We debated snowshoes, but we decided to carry them. Jeb would wear his stabilicers while Bill and I barebooted. Stanley had his built-in Crampons so he didn't need any traction.
The walk up a muddy road through an area that looks like it's going to be developed wasn't very scenic. I saw the old Mt Cabot trail sign about 15 feet up a birch-tree. I wondered aloud if the owner had put it up there. After .4 miles we were on the wide pathway heading towards Kilkenny Ridge. Frosted trees up high showed fresh rime ice.
With Bill and Stanley in the lead, we headed up to Bunnell Rock. From here there was short spur path to a nice outlook. There are some great switch-backs through this area.
The weather was trying to clear, there were great views. After taking a few pictures, we were off again on the relentless Kilkenny Ridge Trail. Why do I hate this trail? It seems like such a nice little trail. Small dense evergreen trees of balsam and spruce looked weather worn. There are even some nice views here and there as you work alongside the ridge.
Jeb, Bill and Stanley the wonder dog at Bunnell Rock->
From the rock, the march was just an uphill Kilkenny slog. I was really struggling here, my belly rumbled and it reminded me that I'd skipped breakfast. That's a really stupid thing to do when you go winter hiking. My sugar laced Tang-water helped some. I would be the caboose in our little train today.
Jeb and I reached the cabin and heard a dog barking. We went inside to drop packs and it was the same guy we'd met doing Galehead last winter. He had his dog today. So Bill and Stanley had continued on. Carrying just a camera and some water, we walked the easy 10 minutes to Cabot's shaggy top.
The summit would be shared by quite a few others on this nice Saturday. I touched the tree and counted my 44th winter peak while Stanley tried to climb the tree to claim his 24th in winter. Bill reached #26 and Jeb pointed out that this was #17 so the Pats would go 17-0 after tonight. His prediction proved to be quite accurate!
Stanley looked for some imaginary squirrels hiding up in the trees. He's quite the fearsome squirrel hound. After some posing and goofing around, we headed back to the cabin for lunch.
Hot cocoa and some good food helped my lagging energy. Stanley came over to investigate my lunch. The hike down was fun, no glissades but still fun with great company. At the crossing, we took off snowshoes for the muddy slog down. We hiked almost 8 miles with just over 2700 feet of elevation gain. Our fears of meeting up with the land-owner carrying a shot-gun never materialized. Thanks to Bill for driving! I hope I'm ready for the Bonds deathmarch!
