Mt. Cabot is such a beautiful mountain, full of lush greenery and a misty forrest quality. But between its moderate isolation, distance from home, and somewhat awkward trail access, it never quite seems to fall into that "convenient hike" category. We decided to finally bite the bullet and make it our 41st out of 48 NH 4,000-footers. We chose the [now] most frequently used route that begins at the Berlin Fish Hatchery on York Pond Rd. Word to the wise #1: call ahead. The Hatchery gate is usually scheduled to close at 4pm each day, limiting access, but they sometimes keep longer hours and have shown some flexibility with hikers in the past. It's nice to go in knowing how much time you actually have to work with. We spent a short time on York Pond Tr before transitioning to Bunnell Notch Tr, followed by Killkenny Ridge Tr which brought us to the summit. We chose to return the same way instead of taking the longer but scenic loop over to Unknown Pond Tr. Word to the Wise #2: the lowest parts of York Pond and Bunnell Notch Tr are tight with overgrown grasses/plants/young trees craving intimacy, and includes a nice crop of poison ivy. It all comes together in a way that screams, "Ticks live here!" Aside from, the trails and terrain are beautiful and ruggedly welcoming. There was only a 15% chance of rain that day, but we managed to find it. It didn't last long though, added to the scenery, and helped keep the bugs at bay. The clouds even cleared in time for us to get a lovely view from Bunnell Rock on the descent. Met a handful of friendly hikers along the way, but had most of the mountain to ourselves. Would love to climb it again sometime with the full loop.