BIGEarl
Well-known member
August 24, 2008: Cannon – Cannonballs - N & S Kinsman Loop
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail
Summits: Cannon, Northeast Cannonball, N. Kinsman, S. Kinsman
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
Sunday was planned for one of our shorter hikes since Sue also hiked on Saturday. The last “short” one we had on our August list was a loop of Cannon, the Cannonballs, and North and South Kinsman from Lafayette Place. As planned, we arrived at Lafayette Place around 7:15am and were heading across the bridge at 7:30am toward the Lonesome Lake Trail.
The conditions were pretty nice with warm temps, no wind, and lots of sun. It didn’t take long to come up to temperature with those conditions. We quickly made our way to the Hi Cannon Trail junction and turned right. Cannon is one of the interesting “little” Four Thousand Footers. It starts kicking your butt right at the parking area and never stops. There are a few small breaks in the action, but not many. Before long we were at the Dodge Cutoff junction and headed for the ladders. The Hi Cannon Trail is in great shape with no blowdowns and only a small amount of mud in the upper section before the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail. We came to the base of some ledges and I knew the ladders were just around the corner. These things are a lot more solid than they appear. After a leap of faith to actually start climbing everything is fine – they just don’t look safe (can’t judge a book by its cover, I guess). Above the ladders we worked our way around the mountain to the southwest and enjoyed some very nice viewpoints along the way that provided good shots of Lonesome Lake and the hut. Soon we hit the Kinsman Ridge Trail, turned right, and made the short climb to the Cannon Tower. When we arrived we had the place to ourselves but another pair arrived before we left and provided some photographic assistance. After a few minutes on the tower it was time for a quick stop at the snack shack for some water and to make up a quart of Gatorade.
Now, we’re off for the Kinsmans on the Kinsman Ridge Trail (KRT). The first piece of work is to climb off Cannon, which is pretty much what is done. The KRT leading south from the summit of Cannon is very steep and rough for most of the distance to Coppermine Col. Roughly half way there we met three children that must have all been less than twelve years old with a couple Golden Retrievers. I’m not a dog expert but this particular trail doesn’t seem dog-friendly to me. The place where we met these kids was impossible for the dogs to pass. One of the kids grabbed a dog by the front paws, another kid grabbed the back paws, and with the legs pretty much extended straight out lifted and dragged the animal over the obstacle. They repeated this with the second dog. Both yelped in the process. The kids needed adult supervision and the poor dogs needed protection. I can’t imagine the thought process that allowed these kids and dogs out loose on the KRT alone.
Before long we were at Coppermine Col and preparing to cruise through the Cannonballs. The initial climb of the Northeast Cannonball is steep but has a great set of stone stairs to start off and the continuing trail has great footing. Between the initial climb and the summit is an area of scrambles that are fun, but too short. Soon, we were approaching the summit looking back to Cannon and preparing to work through a section of mud pits in the area. By now it was clear this section of the hike was probably going to be a little unpleasant. The trail is sheltered, the day was very warm, and there was no wind. The conditions and endless PUDs of the Cannonballs can be a real drain on energy. We cleared the Northeast Cannonball, hiked around the Middle Cannonball, and enjoyed the small scrambles up to the summit of the West Cannonball. All that was left was a few more PUDs and we reached Kinsman Junction. Here, we were able to think the hike was pretty well under control. The remaining hike out to the Kinsmans was short and then we were on the easy hike back to the trailhead.
First, we headed for North Kinsman. This was the greatest single amount of elevation remaining in the hike. We worked our way through the steep ledge sections leading to the summit passing the Mount Kinsman Trail along the way and soon stepped onto the summit area. We didn’t stop at the view outlook and simply continued on to South Kinsman. The hike to the South peak is clear and generally dry but there are a couple mud pits which are easy to pass. We quickly covered the distance and broke above the trees at the false summit. A short walk and we were at the summit cairn. Here we stopped for a quick break, some pictures, and to enjoy the views. While we were there a couple gliders in the area provided additional entertainment. I noticed a memorial that had been left on the summit cairn. It was an engraved stone with “DC, 10/6/56 – 5/1/07”.
After the break we were headed for our re-climb of North Kinsman, which was much less elevation than the initial climb. On this pass through we paid a visit to the outlook ledge for the views and some pictures. With that out of the way all we had left to look forward to was the Fishin’ Jimmy Trail. We cruised back to Kinsman Junction and headed out. The Fishin’ Jimmy Trail is generally in great shape. No real mud problems to deal with, no blowdowns, just a good clear trail. We worked our way down from the ridge to the crossing of the small cascade and made the final ~1 mile walk to the hut. I was looking forward to a quick stop at the hut to make a quart of cold Gatorade and re-charge. That didn’t take long and it worked as expected. Soon, we were heading out for the trailhead. The hike around the east side of Lonesome Lake and back to Lafayette Place took thirty minutes. We made a quick stop to clean up a little and headed for the car.
A few minutes to change into comfortable footwear and to pack our things away and we were on the highway south. Contrary to general reports, Trail Trotter isn’t at all scary to ride with. In no time she had us at the Exit 6 Park & Ride.
Thanks Sue, it was another fun day in the mountains.
Pictures to follow.
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail
Summits: Cannon, Northeast Cannonball, N. Kinsman, S. Kinsman
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
Sunday was planned for one of our shorter hikes since Sue also hiked on Saturday. The last “short” one we had on our August list was a loop of Cannon, the Cannonballs, and North and South Kinsman from Lafayette Place. As planned, we arrived at Lafayette Place around 7:15am and were heading across the bridge at 7:30am toward the Lonesome Lake Trail.
The conditions were pretty nice with warm temps, no wind, and lots of sun. It didn’t take long to come up to temperature with those conditions. We quickly made our way to the Hi Cannon Trail junction and turned right. Cannon is one of the interesting “little” Four Thousand Footers. It starts kicking your butt right at the parking area and never stops. There are a few small breaks in the action, but not many. Before long we were at the Dodge Cutoff junction and headed for the ladders. The Hi Cannon Trail is in great shape with no blowdowns and only a small amount of mud in the upper section before the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail. We came to the base of some ledges and I knew the ladders were just around the corner. These things are a lot more solid than they appear. After a leap of faith to actually start climbing everything is fine – they just don’t look safe (can’t judge a book by its cover, I guess). Above the ladders we worked our way around the mountain to the southwest and enjoyed some very nice viewpoints along the way that provided good shots of Lonesome Lake and the hut. Soon we hit the Kinsman Ridge Trail, turned right, and made the short climb to the Cannon Tower. When we arrived we had the place to ourselves but another pair arrived before we left and provided some photographic assistance. After a few minutes on the tower it was time for a quick stop at the snack shack for some water and to make up a quart of Gatorade.
Now, we’re off for the Kinsmans on the Kinsman Ridge Trail (KRT). The first piece of work is to climb off Cannon, which is pretty much what is done. The KRT leading south from the summit of Cannon is very steep and rough for most of the distance to Coppermine Col. Roughly half way there we met three children that must have all been less than twelve years old with a couple Golden Retrievers. I’m not a dog expert but this particular trail doesn’t seem dog-friendly to me. The place where we met these kids was impossible for the dogs to pass. One of the kids grabbed a dog by the front paws, another kid grabbed the back paws, and with the legs pretty much extended straight out lifted and dragged the animal over the obstacle. They repeated this with the second dog. Both yelped in the process. The kids needed adult supervision and the poor dogs needed protection. I can’t imagine the thought process that allowed these kids and dogs out loose on the KRT alone.
Before long we were at Coppermine Col and preparing to cruise through the Cannonballs. The initial climb of the Northeast Cannonball is steep but has a great set of stone stairs to start off and the continuing trail has great footing. Between the initial climb and the summit is an area of scrambles that are fun, but too short. Soon, we were approaching the summit looking back to Cannon and preparing to work through a section of mud pits in the area. By now it was clear this section of the hike was probably going to be a little unpleasant. The trail is sheltered, the day was very warm, and there was no wind. The conditions and endless PUDs of the Cannonballs can be a real drain on energy. We cleared the Northeast Cannonball, hiked around the Middle Cannonball, and enjoyed the small scrambles up to the summit of the West Cannonball. All that was left was a few more PUDs and we reached Kinsman Junction. Here, we were able to think the hike was pretty well under control. The remaining hike out to the Kinsmans was short and then we were on the easy hike back to the trailhead.
First, we headed for North Kinsman. This was the greatest single amount of elevation remaining in the hike. We worked our way through the steep ledge sections leading to the summit passing the Mount Kinsman Trail along the way and soon stepped onto the summit area. We didn’t stop at the view outlook and simply continued on to South Kinsman. The hike to the South peak is clear and generally dry but there are a couple mud pits which are easy to pass. We quickly covered the distance and broke above the trees at the false summit. A short walk and we were at the summit cairn. Here we stopped for a quick break, some pictures, and to enjoy the views. While we were there a couple gliders in the area provided additional entertainment. I noticed a memorial that had been left on the summit cairn. It was an engraved stone with “DC, 10/6/56 – 5/1/07”.
After the break we were headed for our re-climb of North Kinsman, which was much less elevation than the initial climb. On this pass through we paid a visit to the outlook ledge for the views and some pictures. With that out of the way all we had left to look forward to was the Fishin’ Jimmy Trail. We cruised back to Kinsman Junction and headed out. The Fishin’ Jimmy Trail is generally in great shape. No real mud problems to deal with, no blowdowns, just a good clear trail. We worked our way down from the ridge to the crossing of the small cascade and made the final ~1 mile walk to the hut. I was looking forward to a quick stop at the hut to make a quart of cold Gatorade and re-charge. That didn’t take long and it worked as expected. Soon, we were heading out for the trailhead. The hike around the east side of Lonesome Lake and back to Lafayette Place took thirty minutes. We made a quick stop to clean up a little and headed for the car.
A few minutes to change into comfortable footwear and to pack our things away and we were on the highway south. Contrary to general reports, Trail Trotter isn’t at all scary to ride with. In no time she had us at the Exit 6 Park & Ride.
Thanks Sue, it was another fun day in the mountains.
Pictures to follow.
