The Bulge - 3,950'
Hike Statistics
Total Distance: 11.4 miles (with The Horn and Mount Cabot)
Elevation Gain: 3,100 feet
Hiking Time: 8 hours, 15 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Season: Summer
Hiking this peak in winter? Click here!
Hike date: 07/27/2019
Description: The Bulge is in the middle of The Horn and Mount Cabot. There is a small summit cairn that marks the top of the viewless summit. Using the route below, you’ll have the opportunity to visit Unknown Pond (as well as Unknown Pond Tentsite), visit Cabot Cabin, visit Bunnell Rock, summit a peak on the NH 48, summit two peaks on the New England Hundred Highest (one of which is also on the 52 With a View), and enjoy views that offer a different perspective of the White Mountains.
Trails Used: Ascend via Unknown Pond Trail to Kilkenny Ridge Trail. Continue on Kilkenny Ridge Trail and take a spur path to the summit of The Horn. Continue on Kilkenny Ridge Trail over the summit of The Bulge and onto Mount Cabot. Descend by taking Kilkenny Ridge Trail to Bunnell Notch Trail back to York Pond Road.
Trail Summary: The trailhead for this hike is on York Pond Road after the Berlin Fish Hatchery. The gate to the fish hatchery is supposedly supposed to be closed from 4 PM to 8 AM, but from our experience and from talking to other hikers, it is almost never closed. The route described below is a nice loop hike that gets you a peak on the NH 48 and two peaks on the NEHH.
Once parked in the parking lot on York Pond Road, you’ll start the ascent up the Unknown Pond Trail. This trail follows an old railroad grade for the first half mile or so, so it’s a very flat and gentle dirt path. The next two miles after that offers a gentle climb over a mostly dirt path with some rocks. Eventually though, the trail will become steeper and rockier, with lots of undergrowth. We found this really annoying because the thick plants made it hard to watch our steps. Soon, you’ll come to a side trail that leads to the Unknown Pond Tentsite. In another 70 yards or so, the Kilkenny Ridge Trail merges with the Unknown Pond Trail for about 0.1 miles. To this point, you’ve hiked 2.5 miles and gained 1,100 feet of elevation. Along this area, there is a really nice view of The Horn from the shore of Unknown Pond. The trails continue together for a bit before the Kilkenny Ridge Trail heads west (left) and the Unknown Pond Trail continues north (straight). At this point, you’ll want to go left and follow the Kilkenny Ridge Trail. This portion of the Kilkenny Ridge Trail crosses a wet area before ascending about 500 feet moderately over rocky terrain to a col between The Horn and The Bulge. You’ll come to a side path with a small sign indicating the way to the summit of The Horn. This path climbs 250 feet in 0.3 miles to the open ledges of The Horn, offering great views. Note that the ledges at the summit will require some fairly moderate scrambling to get to the top!
The trail starts out very gentle and flat
Sections of dense undergrowth are very common on this hike
Enjoying the views from Unknown Pond. That is The Horn in the background
Kilkenny Ridge Trail meanders easily as you make your way around the pond
The trail gets rockier and climbs more moderately as you approach The Horn
Keep an eye out for this junction with The Horn! From here it’s a quick 0.3 to the top
Enjoying the fantastic view from the top of The Horn
Looking towards The Bulge (front) and Mount Cabot (back)
After enjoying The Horn, head back down to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail and you’ll begin to ascend moderately to the wooded summit of The Bulge (about 230 feet of elevation gain). Keep an eye out for the cairn marking the summit on the side of the trail! The Kilkenny Ridge Trail then descends briefly before starting a steady steep and rocky climb up towards Mount Cabot (you’ll gain about 240 feet in elevation). Soon you’ll come to a clearing with a sign indicating the summit of Mount Cabot. The true summit is actually down a short side path to the right, so be sure to go and tag that summit cairn!
The main trail starts to descend from here, passing a side path to a spring and making its way to the lower summit of Mount Cabot where there are some decent views. You’ll also find the Mount Cabot cabin here, which is really cool to check out. After the cabin, the trail descends at moderate grades over rocky terrain via switchbacks until you reach Bunnell Rock on your left (which has a nice outlook). The trail makes a number of turns and soon passes the Mount Cabot Trail junction - be sure to not go down here by mistake as this trail has been closed due to landowner disputes and is no longer maintained! After this junction, the Kilkenny Ridge Trail continues with some ups and downs before it reaches a junction with the Bunnell Notch Trail. Here you will take the Bunnell Notch Trail back to York Pond Road. This is a nice trail as the descent is very moderate on typical terrain with great footing. As you near the bottom, you’ll find yourself on a smooth and grassy logging road until you come to a junction with the York Pond Trail in an overgrown area. From here, it’s 0.2 miles on the York Pond Trail until you get back to York Pond Road. Note that you will have a very short road walk back to your car - head down the road then take a left and you’ll be back at the Unknown Pond parking lot!
Heading through the woods on our way to The Bulge. Very moderate trails
Keep an eye out for the small summit cairn on the side of the trail!
Quick selfie at the summit of The Bulge. Not much to see here
The Kilkenny Ridge Trail gets steeper and rougher as you near the summit of Mount Cabot
There is a nice summit sign marking the top of Mount Cabot, but the actual summit cairn is off a short side path in the woods!
The Mount Cabot Cabin. It’s a bit run down, but it’s a good shelter
Alternative routes:
We have not yet done any alternative routes to the summit of The Bulge. This page will be updated once we have!
Hiking The Bulge in the winter
We have not yet climbed The Bulge in the winter, but once we do, we will update this page with our full report!
Questions? Comments? Want to share your take on this hike? Get in touch with us using the contact page!
As experienced hikers, we always make sure that we are hiking with The Ten Essentials which include navigation, a headlamp, sun protection, first aid, a knife, shelter, extra food, water and clothes. Overtime, we have discovered some items that we always bring on our hikes and consider them to be our personal, expanded ten essentials.