| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Cabot, The Bulge, Unknown Pond - North Peak, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Unknown Pond Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, bushwhack |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, November 4, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Route 110 to Mill Brook Rd, parked at the end |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Unknown Pond Trail had some minor blowdowns, Kilkenny Ridge had 9 new and 4 older six inch or large groups of blowdowns |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
After a long drive and as the days get shorter we set off hiking on Unknown Pond Trail at Mill Brook Road heading south. This trail climbs through some nice birch glades with lots of moose active. I couldn’t stop looking up towards the ridge and summit knowing on our way back from hitting these peaks I wanted to be up there bushwhack and looking for moose antlers. Moose just love birch glades.
Daydreaming over we kept going and at 3200 feet we hit the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and took it southwest towards the summit of The Horn, The Bulge and Mt Cabot and made a quick stop to checked out majestic Unknown Pond. Back on the trail, we came across lots of large blowdowns caused by the recent nor’easter. With my head still wanting to hit that birch glades ridge and summit we bypassed the spur trail to The Horn (we’ve been there many times). The trail continued with lots of ups and downs in nice woods over The Bulge until we hit the summit of Mt Cabot.
We then reversed direction and head back to the trail junction of Unknown Pond Trail and Kilkenny Ridge Trail. From this junction, we started bushwhacking northeast in nice open woods toward this 3300-foot summit I’m calling Unknown Pond Peak - North. Now I’m not sure of the name I just made it up because it’s north of Unknown Pond and Unknown Pond. Anyway, along the way we hit some very impressive ledge area that pushed us east. We found a nice area to scramble up and once on top of this ledge herd paths opened to the birch glades and the recognized high point. We took a short path that brought us to the ledge area with we’ve ever seen. With not much daylight left we set of following the birch glades ridge that parallels the Unknown Pond trail we came up on. This ridge was prime moose habitat area as we found a few chewed-up antlers. We really didn’t have much time to explore so we keep a steady pace heading north and soon dropped off the ridge to the trail and back to our car clocking 11 miles and 3600 feet of elevation gain for the day.
Another great adventure with Mary!
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 | Name: |
Brian Bond |
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 | E-Mail: |
BrianBond@comcast.net |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-11-05 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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