Last weekend I attended my fourth Fool Scouts' Ball.
As usual, I came up from the Basin. There was probably more snow than for any previous FSB I'd been to. It was packed down, and only a little soft from the fairly warm weather. There was about an inch of new snow, with two bareboot tracks, headed up, on it. The brook crossings were the easiest I've ever seen them on those trails. If someone didn't know the trail and wasn't paying attention they might not even know they were crossing a brook. Right after the first brook crossing I picked up a water bottle someone had dropped, thinking the tracks I was following were headed to the ball. I left it with the caretaker, but as far as I know it was never claimed.
That night was operatically foolish.
The next day it was raining. Not hard, but still rain. The other fools who had planned to hike the Kinsmen with me changed their minds, and I considered doing the same, but I hated the idea of driving all the way up to the Whites and not climbing something. So I decided to climb Northeast Cannonball.
It was drizzling on and off during the hike, especially early on, but never hard, and it wasn't cold at all. Around-the-Lake Trail was pretty chopped up with postholing, but soon I got onto Lonesome Lake Trail and that was fine. When I got to Kinsman Ridge Trail I decided to hike Cannon instead, and turned right.
The KRT between Lonesome Lake Trail and Hi-Cannon Trail is very steep, and there were a few difficult sections. There was one point where the trail split, and in the branch I took I ended up having to bring my snowshoe up to chest level while pulling myself up holding onto an ice coated tree. It was tricky but I managed. After the intersection with HCT the KRT is an easy ridge walk to the summit, which is under a tower. I noticed along the way that the Hi-Cannon Trail was broken out but the Rim Trail was not. I didn't bother going up the tower, since I had entered the clouds at about 3500 feet. I went from there to the ski resort cafeteria, where I had some good chowder and some bad tea for a lot of money.
Then I went back down to the hut, taking a different branch where the trail split, to avoid the bad spot. Much of my descent on both the Kinsman Ridge Trail and the Lonesome Lake Trail was made on my butt.
At the hut I picked up the stuff I had stashed as well as various items the caretaker had found which we fools had left behind. Then I headed back to the Basin. Unfortunately, with the rain softened snow and the very heavy pack I started snowshoe postholing, often enough that I lost track of how many times it happened. Sometimes it would pitch me forward and my hands would sink into the snow and I'd have to extract myself with a foot and a hand or two deep in the snow and an especially heavy pack on my back. I made it OK, though. Near the Basin I met a couple hiking up, the only other people I met on the trails both days other than right by the hut.
Here are my pictures of the hike.
Here are my pictures of the ball.
--
Cumulus
NE111: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2); Cat35: 25/39; WNH4K: 32/48; NEFF: 35/50
LT NB 2009
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
As usual, I came up from the Basin. There was probably more snow than for any previous FSB I'd been to. It was packed down, and only a little soft from the fairly warm weather. There was about an inch of new snow, with two bareboot tracks, headed up, on it. The brook crossings were the easiest I've ever seen them on those trails. If someone didn't know the trail and wasn't paying attention they might not even know they were crossing a brook. Right after the first brook crossing I picked up a water bottle someone had dropped, thinking the tracks I was following were headed to the ball. I left it with the caretaker, but as far as I know it was never claimed.
That night was operatically foolish.
The next day it was raining. Not hard, but still rain. The other fools who had planned to hike the Kinsmen with me changed their minds, and I considered doing the same, but I hated the idea of driving all the way up to the Whites and not climbing something. So I decided to climb Northeast Cannonball.
It was drizzling on and off during the hike, especially early on, but never hard, and it wasn't cold at all. Around-the-Lake Trail was pretty chopped up with postholing, but soon I got onto Lonesome Lake Trail and that was fine. When I got to Kinsman Ridge Trail I decided to hike Cannon instead, and turned right.
The KRT between Lonesome Lake Trail and Hi-Cannon Trail is very steep, and there were a few difficult sections. There was one point where the trail split, and in the branch I took I ended up having to bring my snowshoe up to chest level while pulling myself up holding onto an ice coated tree. It was tricky but I managed. After the intersection with HCT the KRT is an easy ridge walk to the summit, which is under a tower. I noticed along the way that the Hi-Cannon Trail was broken out but the Rim Trail was not. I didn't bother going up the tower, since I had entered the clouds at about 3500 feet. I went from there to the ski resort cafeteria, where I had some good chowder and some bad tea for a lot of money.
Then I went back down to the hut, taking a different branch where the trail split, to avoid the bad spot. Much of my descent on both the Kinsman Ridge Trail and the Lonesome Lake Trail was made on my butt.
At the hut I picked up the stuff I had stashed as well as various items the caretaker had found which we fools had left behind. Then I headed back to the Basin. Unfortunately, with the rain softened snow and the very heavy pack I started snowshoe postholing, often enough that I lost track of how many times it happened. Sometimes it would pitch me forward and my hands would sink into the snow and I'd have to extract myself with a foot and a hand or two deep in the snow and an especially heavy pack on my back. I made it OK, though. Near the Basin I met a couple hiking up, the only other people I met on the trails both days other than right by the hut.
Here are my pictures of the hike.
Here are my pictures of the ball.
--
Cumulus
NE111: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2); Cat35: 25/39; WNH4K: 32/48; NEFF: 35/50
LT NB 2009
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
