| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Cabot, NH |
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 | Trails: |
York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plowed all the way into York Pond East trailhead. No problem for a Prius with good snow tires. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All pretty well snowed over. Watch out for postholing! |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
lol |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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|
 | Comments: |
Buckle up for an epic tale of two days of Cabot attempts. The second was successful. The first day was not.
Arrived at the trailhead about 9am and cruised pretty easily thru fresh snow from Sunday to about 2400' in Bunnell Notch. Here, I did not pay close attention to Gaia so invented my own route thru the bottom of the valley for a little ways. I was looking for a way out up the north slope of the stream valley when George and Gemma crashed my trail breaking party about 11:45. The three of us got just past the old trail junction down the Lancaster side when they decided to bail out. It was getting to be really rough going. I put the tails on my snowshoes, which helped, and kept going to just above Cabot Cabin when I also decided I'd had enough. I knew the trail was packed out except the last quarter mile, so tried it again today and had a successful summit.
IMO, the "make your own trail" around 2400 feet will be your best bet to follow as it has now been gone over 7 or 8 times. George and Gemma made a great detour around the dumbest part of my initial attempt up on to the ridge then back down, it set up well overnight last night. Pick the most broken out route, it should be obvious and will get you where you need to go.
There is easily 6 feet of snow above 4000 feet, in some places there is more than ten. Fir traps are not bad as long as you're paying attention and there was about the average amount of pushing thru the puckerbrush for this time of year. Folks looking to spike might find the trail to be well set up down low, but I would still want snowshoes above 3000. |
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 | Name: |
singalonghikes |
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 | E-Mail: |
Eduff564@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-02-19 |
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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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