Mount Cabot (4,170), The Bulge and The Horn

HARBINGER OF SPRING (Mourning Cloak)

On a jagged edge of a stump

reemerging under dappled light

her velvety wings

spread open in a whisper

oh, to watch her feel the sun again

to know she’ll feed

on wild roses and oak sap

after a shadowy winter tucked below bark

yes, she’s lived a long life, as butterflies go

all body, then and now

among the trillium and lady slippers

again, everything twice, only one more time

last summer, feeling the leaves on her stomach

on her underbelly, which was all of her

could she have known

the wings would come?

could she have known she’d return?

her delicate feet now hovering just above

as her mate spots her beauty like me

and even towards death, they spiral upwards. 

 

Summit of Mount Cabot (sign credits Rose Kiok-Kirshenbaum)

 

 

Hike level: Moderate

Location: Berlin, NH

Driving distance from Boston: About 3 1/2 hours

Cost: FREE to hike

Description:  We hiked a loop covering Mount Cabot, The Bulge and The Horn, starting and ending near the Berlin Fish Hatchery off Bog Dam Road. Although Mount Cabot doesn't have a much of a view, the view from The Horn is 360 degrees (on the 52 with a view list). Spring flowers were in full bloom and we enjoyed the lady slippers, trillium and hobblebush flowers. The total mileage was 11.5 with approximately 3,000 ft. elevation gain.