| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Rogers Ledge, The Horn, The Bulge, Mt. Cabot, Terrace Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
York Pond Road, Mill Brook Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, Horn Spur, Terrace Mountain Spur, York Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, May 25, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
About 5 cars in the York Pond Tr lot and a couple parked on the side of York Pond Road when I arrived around 9. When I finished at 3, there were about 5 cars total left. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The water crossings on the vast majority of this route weren't too bad. The bog section of the Kilkenny Ridge Trail between Unknown Pond and Roger's Ledge has submerged bog bridges but I was able to cross by walking on top of the beaver dam without getting my feet particularly wet. The two crossings at the beginning of the York Pond Trail are a bit tricky, one of them I was able to rock hop and the other I just walked right through because I was only half a mile from my car and it was less than a foot deep. The water was pretty cold. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
LOTS of blowdowns in certain places. Anything stretch of trail below 3,500' and the stretch of Kilkenny Ridge from the Bunnell Notch intersection to the summit of Cabot only had them intermittently, but everywhere else had several (sometimes even 10-15) per mile. The worst part was definitely between the Horn and the summit of Cabot, but it's possible the snow and the difficulty route-finding played a role in that. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw no dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
Must've been too cold because I did not notice a single bug. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Overall, a great day in the Pilot Range! The storm left about 4" of snow on the summit of Cabot, and it looked like it was only just starting to melt significantly when I reached that point. I traveled counterclockwise, starting with a quick jog down the road to the Mill Brook trailhead, and then up Mill Brook to the Kilkenny Ridge intersection. Mill Brook was in about as good of shape as I could have realistically expected, with some significant mud and a couple blowdowns, but nothing too major. I had never hiked this trail before, and I'm glad I checked it out. I out-and-backed Roger's Ledge (which also exceeded my expectations) and traveled southbound on Kilkenny Ridge. There were a few blowdowns between Roger's Ledge and Unknown Pond, but they were all pretty navigable. It also wasn't particularly muddy in most areas, but there were a few spots with significant mud. Sometimes there were bog bridges, but not always. I also really liked this stretch of trail. I saw my first bit of snow that day on that small hump before hitting Unknown Pond (around 3,250'). At this elevation, it was completely avoidable.
I made my way up the Horn from Unknown Pond. The trail was in great shape at first, but there was a very sudden snow line at about 3,500' which made everything very slick. There wasn't more than a couple inches, but it was hard to get traction. Microspikes probably won't be much help, though. The Horn Spur had quite a few blowdowns for such a short trail, though none of them were too difficult to maneuver around. No views on the Horn, luckily I had been there before. Ascending the Bulge, however, the blowdowns were even more plentiful and much harder to navigate around. The snow made this short stretch of trail much more difficult than it normally would be, and it was more of the same from the Bulge to the summit of Cabot. I was also having some issues with route-finding because of the snow and the fact that very few (if any) people had done the full traverse from the Bulge to Cabot before me since the storm. The summit of Cabot was in the clouds (not that there's much of a view anyway), with about 4" of slushy snow. Descending towards Bunnell Notch wasn't too bad; the trail was very wet though. There was some snow up high, but as I descended, it gradually turned into mud with some streams of running water.
Once I reached the Bunnell Notch intersection, I continued southbound on Kilkenny Ridge towards Terrace Mtn. The snow on this stretch didn't begin until around 3,500' and was never that significant (< 2"), mostly just annoying at times. The blowdowns on this stretch were also abundant and sometimes quite frustrating, often dealing with what felt like 10+ per mile. Once I dropped to around 3,000', trail conditions improved significantly. Descending the York Pond trail was also very enjoyable, as it is mostly a narrow singletrack with pretty good footing. The bottom of the trail is quite muddy, but luckily it was bridged about 60% of the time. The two crossings (not the bridged one) near the beginning are pretty gnarly, but I'm guessing that was due in large part to the storm and they aren't usually quite that bad. I'm guessing the snow is still going to be there tomorrow, but it could be gone by Tuesday. In total, I did about 19.3 miles and really enjoyed about 13 of them, so I'll call that a win. |
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 | Name: |
Colin Smith |
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 | E-Mail: |
colinsmith0427@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-05-25 |
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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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