Stash
Active member
It’s been a while since I was in the Kinsman/Cannon area. The thing I remembered most was the mix of pines and birches and how they make the area seem very open and airy while still being quite well grown in.
I spent a day hiking up to North and South Kinsman via the Lonesome Lake, Fishin’ Jimmy and Kinsman Ridge trails. Seems the thing I forgot was the variety of hiking terrain on these trails. There are even some sections where there’s no gravity. Lonesome Lake trail up to the hut is a well worn path with a few somewhat steep sections to it but nothing overly so. It approaches the hut as a nice, flat walk through the pines along the lake.
Fishin’ Jimmy starts out somewhat like Lonesome Lake. But then it get’s a bit more challenging.
I hike almost exclusively when there’s snow on the ground and mostly solo. I’m a big fan of traction for the energy savings you get from the reduced slipping and from less of chance of a fall that can be more of a problem if you’re alone. If the snow is deep enough to cover all the rocks I’ve got snow shoes on. Else it’s MicroSpikes or crampons.
Today was no exception and so far it’s unfortunately a MicroSpike winter. The ‘Spikes worked well on Lonesome Lake and I took them all the way to the top of South Kinsman. There were sections, though, where I was pushing them to the limit. Fishin’ Jimmy has a lot of ups and down along the way and quite a few of the ups get pretty steep. I assume there’s a lot of rock but, having never been on it in other than winter, I see only the ice that has built up on those rocks. This day, going up Fishin’ Jimmy, I was working hard to keep my feet as flat on that ice as possible for maximum traction while thinking to my self “I really should switch to crampons”. I said that on just about every ice covered steep section. Including a few on Kinsman Ridge.
Well on the way back I stopped in the low area between South and North Kinsman and switched to crampons. I then did those few little trips I do when I first put those long spikes on and started to work my way down. What a difference. Yes, the quads were burning from simply walking down a steep with my feet firmly planted but the body was much more relaxed and comfortable. As I got to the ice flows that are in a few places on Kinsman Ridge and plentiful on Fishin’ Jimmy it was a lot more reassuring to have that solid footing. While still working to make sure I had as many points as possible in contact with the ice I was able to move much more quickly and easily down (and sometimes up) as I headed back.
I took the crampons as far as Lonesome Lake hut, where I switched back to my ‘Spikes, and was able to continue the quad burn with the ‘Spikes down the switchbacks to Lafayette campground.
A nice hike. A good workout. An appreciation of the right tool for the job.
The weather wasn't ideal for my little camera but I managed so snap a few shots of the day...
I spent a day hiking up to North and South Kinsman via the Lonesome Lake, Fishin’ Jimmy and Kinsman Ridge trails. Seems the thing I forgot was the variety of hiking terrain on these trails. There are even some sections where there’s no gravity. Lonesome Lake trail up to the hut is a well worn path with a few somewhat steep sections to it but nothing overly so. It approaches the hut as a nice, flat walk through the pines along the lake.
Fishin’ Jimmy starts out somewhat like Lonesome Lake. But then it get’s a bit more challenging.
I hike almost exclusively when there’s snow on the ground and mostly solo. I’m a big fan of traction for the energy savings you get from the reduced slipping and from less of chance of a fall that can be more of a problem if you’re alone. If the snow is deep enough to cover all the rocks I’ve got snow shoes on. Else it’s MicroSpikes or crampons.
Today was no exception and so far it’s unfortunately a MicroSpike winter. The ‘Spikes worked well on Lonesome Lake and I took them all the way to the top of South Kinsman. There were sections, though, where I was pushing them to the limit. Fishin’ Jimmy has a lot of ups and down along the way and quite a few of the ups get pretty steep. I assume there’s a lot of rock but, having never been on it in other than winter, I see only the ice that has built up on those rocks. This day, going up Fishin’ Jimmy, I was working hard to keep my feet as flat on that ice as possible for maximum traction while thinking to my self “I really should switch to crampons”. I said that on just about every ice covered steep section. Including a few on Kinsman Ridge.
Well on the way back I stopped in the low area between South and North Kinsman and switched to crampons. I then did those few little trips I do when I first put those long spikes on and started to work my way down. What a difference. Yes, the quads were burning from simply walking down a steep with my feet firmly planted but the body was much more relaxed and comfortable. As I got to the ice flows that are in a few places on Kinsman Ridge and plentiful on Fishin’ Jimmy it was a lot more reassuring to have that solid footing. While still working to make sure I had as many points as possible in contact with the ice I was able to move much more quickly and easily down (and sometimes up) as I headed back.
I took the crampons as far as Lonesome Lake hut, where I switched back to my ‘Spikes, and was able to continue the quad burn with the ‘Spikes down the switchbacks to Lafayette campground.
A nice hike. A good workout. An appreciation of the right tool for the job.
The weather wasn't ideal for my little camera but I managed so snap a few shots of the day...
