Mt. Cabot, The Bulge, The Horn - York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, Horn Spur, Unknown Pond Trail - 5-26-2019

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	Mt. Cabot, The Bulge, The Horn, NH

	Trails:	York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, Horn Spur, Unknown Pond Trail

	Date of Hike:	Sunday, May 26, 2019

	Parking/Access Road Notes:	Parking lot 1/2 full at 9:30am. A few cars on the street but plenty of room.

	Surface Conditions:	Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches

	Recommended Equipment:

	Water Crossing Notes:	Some swampy areas of trail with standing water down low on the Bunnell Notch Tr. Generally was navigable without incident. Unknown Pond Tr was a different story, the brook and trail cross a bunch of times and there was a larger section with the brook overflowing through the trail - required a bushwhack and I still ended up getting both feet submerged.

	Trail Maintenance Notes:	A few blowdowns on the Kilkenney Ridge Tr between Horn and Unknown Pond.

	Dog-Related Notes:	yep

	Bugs:	Black flies and mosquitos, but not biting yet. In the more general Animals category, the spring peepers were out in force over Unknown Pond at dusk, and I saw a garden snake on the Unknown Pond Tr.

	Lost and Found:


	Comments:	Clockwise loop of Cabot/Bulge/Horn. Nearly snow-free to the cabin, then snow on/off to the summit. Monorail still packed, I barebooted but put on full gaiters. No postholing until the descent between Cabot summit and bulge, which was the worst of the deteriorating monorail. All in all not really bad, I postholed a few times, but saw others who hacked up their shins. Out/back to the Horn spur was snow-free, and pretty much no snow for the remainder of the loop. Some run-off across the trails but not too wet. Mud was 6/10 overall. As mentioned above, the water crossings on the lower section of the Unknown Pond Tr were tricky in a few places but a short detour up/down stream gave better options.

	Name:	Eric H

	E-Mail:

	Date Submitted:	2019-05-27

	Link:	https://
		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.