"Stayed in Gorham, NH the night before and enjoyed the 4th of July festivities. Woke up to a beautiful day, with temperatures in the high 50s and clear skies. The gate to the Berlin Fish Hatchery was open, so we got an early start at 7:30am. Setting off from the Unknown Pond Trailhead, we first walked down York Pond Road to begin the clockwise loop starting from the York Pond Trailhead. After a very brief flat section, we took the first turn onto the Bunnell Notch Trail and began the ascent. The next half-mile is also very flat as we alternated between shaded leafy groves and sunny clearings. Eventually the trails joins up with a tributary of the Upper Ammonoosuc River and gradually winds its way upwards, remaining mildly sloped and well-graded most of the way. We noticed a good volume of steam coming off the Androscoggin River on the drive up, and we experienced a similar effect on a smaller scale with the tributary stream as it created a rather humid atmosphere. We kept climbing into the Notch, enjoying the variety of birds as the trail gradually became rockier, steeper, and wetter. Eventually we leveled off at the height of Bunnell Notch and came across a gorgeous mossy patch of ..." — JCalautti • Jul 5, 2026

"Ahhhh, back in New Hampshire's Golden Zone, the summits above 4,000 ft. Started this challenge when I was 10 and have been chipping away at it ever since. But this summer, I put together a 3-day plan to finish them all. But after failing to recruit any friends to join me (with a last minute bail boooo), I was on the fence. Then instead of a friend, COVID joined me. Uggh. Fever hit me hard for few days. By the time I could stand again, I only had time for one day out. I decided to go for it. The Cabot/Horn loop looked like the best fit of the remaining hikes. I once again totally underestimated how burly and difficult these trails are -- and everything was wet and slick from last night's rainstorm. Slow going up streams and muddy conditions into a cloudbank. Caught a limited view from Bunnell Rock. The V/J summit of Cabot (that's Viewless/Joyless) lived up to its ultra-low expectations. But wow, The Horn, what a great summit. A bizarre circle of blue sky hovered directly over The Horn while I ate snacks and checked the weather forecast (perfect cell signal up there). What? 75% chance of a thunderstorm in 1 hour? In the morning the forecast had been no rain until 5pm. I tried to m..." — scott • Jul 17, 2024

"Pretty nice weather for the 11 mile loop. Lots of color now appearing. Been a few years since we've been up here, the cabin is freshly painted and looks good. Came down via Bulge, Horn and Unknown Pond. Lots of mud and water on the trail." — Alohabuffy • Sep 25, 2021

"Set up camp at Unknown Pond the night before and headed up to Cabot the next morning, grabbing The Horn and The Bulge on the way. Mostly in the clouds on The Horn, but we were able to catch a few glimpses of the nice foliage happening in the distance. Met a few folks on the trail too. " — ElectroSpecter • Sep 24, 2020

"Solo. 19/48. Humid and in the 50’s, extremely overcast all day. Didn’t see a single other person all day long. Started out at 0745 and the gate to the fish hatchery was open. Decided on the Bunnell Notch trail to start, hoping that perhaps by the time I hit the Horn I would get some kind of view. I would say that probably 65-70% of the time I was hiking today I was being touched by some kind of plant- whether it was ferns or little fiddly tree branches or other greenery along the trail, it was near-constant. If you don’t like being touched by stuff while you hike maybe hit this in the winter. Lol. The Bunnell Notch Trail starts out nice and easy, very narrow & mostly dirt with some tiny steam crossings, and lots and lots of ferns. Tall ones! It was very quiet in the woods today, barely even a bird chirping- so around half a mile in when I heard something large moving off trail I was sure it was Bigfoot (probably a fat squirrel though.) I did see some moose signs on the trail in a few areas though which was exciting and a bit nerve wracking. The trail is a nice easy or moderate ascent all the way up to Cabot summit, steep in some areas with rocks or bedrock b..." — kellieirene • Sep 17, 2020

"Beautiful day to hike in the Whites. I decided to do a loop of the horn, the bulge, and Cabot. When I pulled in their was a large group headed up Bunnell, so I decided to head up the unknown pond trail to start my loop. I had the horn all to myself and the views were phenomenal. With all the cars in the parking lot I found it strange that I made it over the bulge and past the summit of Cabot before seeing my first group of people. Nothing to say about the bulge, no views, just in the way, Cabot also had no views, so The Horn was the peak of the day. Ended up being an 11.1 mile loop from my car back to the car. " — LGH-Tom • Jun 18, 2016

"Myself and Denise didn't even realize we had gone over the Bulge until we reached the Horn. Nick knew though. Good for him since he had never been in the area before. Wooded summit. Onwards to the Horn." — newenglandwarrior • Jul 3, 2015

"Finally reached the far northern 4000 footers Cabot and Waumbek, trail conditions were poor on Cabot with many fallen trees and some minor erosion on the Unknown Pond Trail and Kilkenny Trail to the summit. Weather was amazing, sunny and 70, right before the remnants of Isaac struck. Hiked Waumbek the day after Cabot and was in the clouds though. Finished # 46 and 47 on this trip, almost done!" — chrisr00d • Sep 3, 2012