Hiked by Tim & Val on 9/25/2007 via York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, and Mt Cabot Trail
We got a bit of a late start, not quite comprehending how early we would need to leave home to get to the trailhead at a reasonable time. As it was, we started hiking about 9:30am. The drive up through the North Country was gorgeous. Leaves were vivid reds and golds. Must have been almost peak colors. Doing the calculations, we realized that our relatively slow hiking style would not get us around the "loop" in time to escape before the gate closed. The trailhead is inside the Berlin Fish Hatchery property, the gates for which are only open between 8am and 4pm daily. We joked all day how we had to save some emergency food for an overnight stay in case we didn't make it to the car before 4pm.
The hike was easy for the first bit - walking through obvious logging roads, etc. Then a sharp left put us into the woods. From that point, there was the usual uphill through the woods, but more of a soft pine needle trail than usual. Nothing too steep, but enough to get your heart pumping.
We saw very few people on the way up to the summit. We ran into a couple who had spent the night at Unknown Pond (can't wait to try that) and a few guys hiking alone. We got to the Fire Warden's cabin and stopped for pictures. In an emergency, this might be a good spot to stay for the night, but it looks a little scary in the light. From there, it was just a quick jaunt over to the summit, where we saw the first crowd of the day. There were about 10 people at the summit. Most were doing the "loop".
We stopped, had a snack and headed back the way we came. We stopped at a beautiful outcrop of rocks where Tim took the opportunity to bask in the sun.
We got back to the car around 3:30pm. Plenty of time to gather our leftover snacks, change our shoes and still get out before the gate closed. We were really sorry that we missed the "Horn" and the "Bulge", but this is a hike that we'll do again, hopefully with that overnight at Unknown Pond, so we'll get a chance to see it all.