BIGEarl
Well-known member
September 24, 2009: Cannon, Northeast Cannonball, and The Kinsmans
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail
Summits: Cannon, Northeast Cannonball, North Kinsman, South Kinsman
Hikers: Solo
My plan for the day was to hike a loop of Cannon and The Kinsmans with an early start and early finish. I had a full hiking day planned for the next day and wanted to get home early for a good night’s sleep. The next day of hiking never happened.
I set off from the trailhead lot at Lafayette Place with the help of a headlight. The initial hike along the Lonesome Lake Trail to the junction with Hi Cannon was a quick one. I made the turn onto Hi Cannon and the climb started. Usually, the hike from the trailhead lot to the Hi Cannon junction is usually a nice warm-up for the climb. Unfortunately, not today. I was having a tough time getting into the hike but stayed with it knowing eventually everything would drop into place. As the day got light I noticed the overcast that was forecast to clear out by 8:00am. Franconia Notch was completely socked in with no views. I became skeptical of the forecast for the day.
At Dodge Cutoff I stopped to pack my headlight. Here I also noticed the cloud cover was a short distance above and I would be hiking into it very soon. I continued the climb past the small blowdown field above Dodge Cutoff and on to the Cannon Ladder. Roughly half way to the ladder I stopped to add by rain jacket. The trail is becoming grown in and everything was still soaked from the overnight rain. I rounded the large boulder and climbed the Cannon Ladder. It’s a good idea to keep your head up while climbing the ladder. At the top, the ladder leads straight to a large rock situated at head-level when climbing. I stumbled off the ladder and started the contour around the mountain.
From the top of the ladder to the junction with Kinsman Ridge Trail the trail is very tight. Along this section I started thinking about the North Twin Spur and the terrific job Dave (and Coco) did brushing it out. The tight spruce loaded with rain from the night before and no views had Dave and Coco hiking with me in my thoughts. You two really had a good time! Finally, I reached the trail junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail and the trail conditions opened up for the day. I was still in clouds and the wind also came up but my rain jacket was doing the job of keeping me comfortable.
I made the turn and headed for the summit of Cannon. At the summit there were no views and no reason to climb the tower. I got a few summit pictures, made the u-turn, and set off for the Cannonballs and points south. Once I got off the summit and into a sheltered area below the Hi Cannon junction I stopped for a quick snack. I was still working to get into the hike and decided a hit of energy might help. I had my usual Monster drink with a Cliff Bar. That did the trick. By the time I reached the Kinsman Ridge – Lonesome Lake junction I was feeling pretty good. I was also still waiting for the conditions to open up as advertised.
The first time I hiked this loop the trail section passing over the Cannonballs was a huge test. I didn’t enjoy it at all and couldn’t wait to get through it. Things have changed. This is really an interesting area with a nice variety of hiking on the way through. It’s only ~2.4 miles from the Lonesome Lake Trail to Kinsman Junction with roughly 1000 feet of elevation along the way. The mud pits are all relatively dry and solid. There was no problem reaching Kinsman Junction with clean boots. A short distance before Kinsman Junction there is an open area with a view toward Littleton. Here I enjoyed my first view for the day – the clouds were starting to open up.
After passing through Kinsman Junction I started to feel really good. Probably, the sun had something to do with the change. There was still a pretty good breeze but the sun had warmed things up quite a bit in a short period. The rocky climb to N. Kinsman is clear and dry. I had no problems at all on the way to N. Kinsman. The summit boulder was clear of the small cairn that was on it earlier in July when I did this same hike with Sue and Bryan. The clouds were breaking up nut there was still a lot of clearing to happen. My decision was to visit the viewpoint on my return hike when headed out. I wasted little time on N. Kinsman and headed straight to S. Kinsman.
The hike to S. Kinsman was quick, clean, and dry. There was no standing water or mud at all. The trail is in great shape. I made my way up the gradual climb to the false summit, then across to the summit cairn. The clearing arrived! There were beautiful views in all directions. I hung around to enjoy the place for a while, got some summit and distance pictures, made the u-turn and started my exit hike.
Back on N. Kinsman I wandered to the viewpoint where I found the first of only four other people that I saw all day. They were a couple sitting in the sun on the warm ledge enjoying the day. We visited for a couple minutes; I got some pictures, and continued my exit hike. At Kinsman Junction I made the turn onto the Fishin’ Jimmy Trail. Here’s another trail that left a very bad first impression but now I enjoy it quite a bit. The PUDs aren’t that bad and the descent from the ridge is supported with steps in all of the really tough places. Along the way I made another refreshment stop and soon after passed by the Lonesome Lake Hut.
After passing the hut I found the trail closed. The bridge across the end of the lake is being rebuilt and it was necessary to use the trail around the west side of the lake. This is a very nice trail – mainly a series of endless bog bridges, but very nice. This may become my normal route around Lonesome Lake – there is no mud to deal with as there is on the east side.
I reached the junction with the Lonesome Lake Trail and made the final cruise back down to the trailhead lot. I quickly packed things away, changed into comfortable footwear, pulled out a couple cold drinks for the drive south, and headed home. The day had a rough start on Cannon but it really came around on The Kinsmans.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail
Summits: Cannon, Northeast Cannonball, North Kinsman, South Kinsman
Hikers: Solo
My plan for the day was to hike a loop of Cannon and The Kinsmans with an early start and early finish. I had a full hiking day planned for the next day and wanted to get home early for a good night’s sleep. The next day of hiking never happened.
I set off from the trailhead lot at Lafayette Place with the help of a headlight. The initial hike along the Lonesome Lake Trail to the junction with Hi Cannon was a quick one. I made the turn onto Hi Cannon and the climb started. Usually, the hike from the trailhead lot to the Hi Cannon junction is usually a nice warm-up for the climb. Unfortunately, not today. I was having a tough time getting into the hike but stayed with it knowing eventually everything would drop into place. As the day got light I noticed the overcast that was forecast to clear out by 8:00am. Franconia Notch was completely socked in with no views. I became skeptical of the forecast for the day.
At Dodge Cutoff I stopped to pack my headlight. Here I also noticed the cloud cover was a short distance above and I would be hiking into it very soon. I continued the climb past the small blowdown field above Dodge Cutoff and on to the Cannon Ladder. Roughly half way to the ladder I stopped to add by rain jacket. The trail is becoming grown in and everything was still soaked from the overnight rain. I rounded the large boulder and climbed the Cannon Ladder. It’s a good idea to keep your head up while climbing the ladder. At the top, the ladder leads straight to a large rock situated at head-level when climbing. I stumbled off the ladder and started the contour around the mountain.
From the top of the ladder to the junction with Kinsman Ridge Trail the trail is very tight. Along this section I started thinking about the North Twin Spur and the terrific job Dave (and Coco) did brushing it out. The tight spruce loaded with rain from the night before and no views had Dave and Coco hiking with me in my thoughts. You two really had a good time! Finally, I reached the trail junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail and the trail conditions opened up for the day. I was still in clouds and the wind also came up but my rain jacket was doing the job of keeping me comfortable.
I made the turn and headed for the summit of Cannon. At the summit there were no views and no reason to climb the tower. I got a few summit pictures, made the u-turn, and set off for the Cannonballs and points south. Once I got off the summit and into a sheltered area below the Hi Cannon junction I stopped for a quick snack. I was still working to get into the hike and decided a hit of energy might help. I had my usual Monster drink with a Cliff Bar. That did the trick. By the time I reached the Kinsman Ridge – Lonesome Lake junction I was feeling pretty good. I was also still waiting for the conditions to open up as advertised.
The first time I hiked this loop the trail section passing over the Cannonballs was a huge test. I didn’t enjoy it at all and couldn’t wait to get through it. Things have changed. This is really an interesting area with a nice variety of hiking on the way through. It’s only ~2.4 miles from the Lonesome Lake Trail to Kinsman Junction with roughly 1000 feet of elevation along the way. The mud pits are all relatively dry and solid. There was no problem reaching Kinsman Junction with clean boots. A short distance before Kinsman Junction there is an open area with a view toward Littleton. Here I enjoyed my first view for the day – the clouds were starting to open up.
After passing through Kinsman Junction I started to feel really good. Probably, the sun had something to do with the change. There was still a pretty good breeze but the sun had warmed things up quite a bit in a short period. The rocky climb to N. Kinsman is clear and dry. I had no problems at all on the way to N. Kinsman. The summit boulder was clear of the small cairn that was on it earlier in July when I did this same hike with Sue and Bryan. The clouds were breaking up nut there was still a lot of clearing to happen. My decision was to visit the viewpoint on my return hike when headed out. I wasted little time on N. Kinsman and headed straight to S. Kinsman.
The hike to S. Kinsman was quick, clean, and dry. There was no standing water or mud at all. The trail is in great shape. I made my way up the gradual climb to the false summit, then across to the summit cairn. The clearing arrived! There were beautiful views in all directions. I hung around to enjoy the place for a while, got some summit and distance pictures, made the u-turn and started my exit hike.
Back on N. Kinsman I wandered to the viewpoint where I found the first of only four other people that I saw all day. They were a couple sitting in the sun on the warm ledge enjoying the day. We visited for a couple minutes; I got some pictures, and continued my exit hike. At Kinsman Junction I made the turn onto the Fishin’ Jimmy Trail. Here’s another trail that left a very bad first impression but now I enjoy it quite a bit. The PUDs aren’t that bad and the descent from the ridge is supported with steps in all of the really tough places. Along the way I made another refreshment stop and soon after passed by the Lonesome Lake Hut.
After passing the hut I found the trail closed. The bridge across the end of the lake is being rebuilt and it was necessary to use the trail around the west side of the lake. This is a very nice trail – mainly a series of endless bog bridges, but very nice. This may become my normal route around Lonesome Lake – there is no mud to deal with as there is on the east side.
I reached the junction with the Lonesome Lake Trail and made the final cruise back down to the trailhead lot. I quickly packed things away, changed into comfortable footwear, pulled out a couple cold drinks for the drive south, and headed home. The day had a rough start on Cannon but it really came around on The Kinsmans.
Pictures will follow.
