NE Hundred Highest: Equinox (VT)

Sunday, January 14, 2018
New England Hundred Highest climbed: Equinox Mountain
Miles: 5.4 (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained: 2680'
MapMyRun recording

For this hike, I arrived at the trailhead on West Union St around 11:45am. It was in the low 20s, so water bottles freezing was a problem. I got ready and headed up the Red Gate Trail, continuing straight/slightly to the right once I intersected with the Blue Summit Trail. 

At the beginning of this section, microspikes were quite welcome, as the trail was covered in 3-4 inches of ice. I left my microspikes on for the duration of the hike.

After hiking on the Blue Summit Trail for a few miles, I arrived at the peak of the mountain. I took pictures of the views north and south, added some layers, and then started hiking back down.

Part way down, I passed by a big group of people out for a hike, probably a local hiking club. Over the day, I saw maybe 3-4 groups of people hiking up the mountain; it was a nice day but it was still a fairly quiet hike.

The trail was very packed down; the hike could be done safely without microspikes, though they made it easier.

NH 48 4000 footers: Cabot

Saturday, December 30, 2017
NH 4000 footers climbed: Mt. Cabot
Miles: 9.6 (total, out and back hike)
Elevation gained: 2884'
MapMyRun recording

I woke up at 6am and left the hostel at 6:45am. There was something wrong with the hostel's heat so it was 83 degrees in my room when I woke up soaked in sweat. It was -20 when I went outside to my car (for a 100+ degree difference) and it had warmed up to -18 by the time I started my hike at 8am.

I'd planned ahead and bought hand and body warmers. I tried putting some hand warmers in plastic bags and adding them to my water bottles to prevent freezing but it turns out they only work if in contact with air. So my water bottles froze solid while I hiked. But the hand warmers were a great idea. They helped me defrost after I took my hand out of the glove to take a picture or check my GPS location.

I followed York Pond Trail from the parking lot to the intersection of Bunnell Notch Trail.

I then took Bunnell Notch Trail until it intersected with Kilkenny Ridge Trail, at which point I took a right and followed it up past Bunnell Rock and the Cabot Cabin.

After going through a clearing with a beautiful view and then up a short climb, I found myself at the summit of Cabot.

There wasn't enough snow to cover the sign, but there was at least 2.5 feet of snow along the trail and at the summit, there were drifts up to 4 feet deep. 

Once getting to the summit, I'd hoped to continue forward to make a loop hike, summitted the Bulge and the Horn before heading down Unknown Pond Trail but it wasn't packed down. Everyone else had hiked to the summit of Cabot and then turned around and returned the way they came. 

Using GPS, with a downloaded track of the trail, with no detectable path, I flailed around in the snow for half an hour, trying to find the trail. After getting turned around many times and the only blaze I managed to find being at ankle level, I decided to call it quits and come back in summer when I can see the trail. So I headed back the way I'd come, to return to my car.