The Hikers
New member
We'd been doing flat, mapping bushwacks lately , breaking trail with the snowshoes. With the disappearance of any deep snow down here, we decided we'd have a go at Cannon by the High Cannon Trail.We figured the trails would be hard-packed, so it was to be traction by YakTrax. Tuesday was forecast as a warm day with less wind than we've been having, so at
8:00 in the morning we arrived at the trailhead at Lafayette Campground.
We spent some time regarding the 15 degree temperature, and listening to the wind gusting outside the car.The tops of the mountains were in clouds, and snow was swirling about. We considered a change of plans to a lower, warmer climb, when another car arrived and its driver began getting ready.
We stepped outside, decided it wasn't as bad as it looked and decided it was a go. The other hiker was headed out to collect the Kinsmans, so we hiked along the same route as he was on until we got to Lonesome Lake where we took the Dodge Cutoff to the High Cannon.
Traction was good with the YakTrax until we started to hit the steeper parts of the trail. Crampons would have been nice at this point as it took careful foot-planting to avoid long backwards slides.The High Cannon was just as hard as I had remembered, and harder than Joyce remembered. At 3000 feet we found 3-4 inches of fresh snow over the hard-packed, and continuous snow showers from the snow-covered spruce.
The Trail?
Time Out
We had some great views through the Spruce on the way up. Clouds were still passing over and in front of Franconia Ridge
Lafayette
Franconia Ridge
Reaching the top, we found deep drifting and cold wind. We plowed through
some drifts, and trails could not be recognized. The observation tower was locked up, so after some head scratching we located the Tramway and managed to get inside to have some lunch and warm up. That rest stop made ALL the difference, giving us the courage to go back out in the cold.
The climb had been very hard, mostly due to traction, but also perhaps cause we were a little out of shape for climbing.We were a little apprehensive about the trip down, seeing ourselves sliding down the trail and then sailing off the cliff towards I 93, but it all turned out good. The wind died down, and we skated and skied down the steep parts, making good time.We didn't take the cut-off this time, staying on the High Cannon all the way down. My toes got very painful from this exercise, but no permanent injuries were sustained.
All in all we had a great day and were very glad we didn't let a little cold and wind cheat us of a beautiful hike.
8:00 in the morning we arrived at the trailhead at Lafayette Campground.
We spent some time regarding the 15 degree temperature, and listening to the wind gusting outside the car.The tops of the mountains were in clouds, and snow was swirling about. We considered a change of plans to a lower, warmer climb, when another car arrived and its driver began getting ready.
We stepped outside, decided it wasn't as bad as it looked and decided it was a go. The other hiker was headed out to collect the Kinsmans, so we hiked along the same route as he was on until we got to Lonesome Lake where we took the Dodge Cutoff to the High Cannon.
Traction was good with the YakTrax until we started to hit the steeper parts of the trail. Crampons would have been nice at this point as it took careful foot-planting to avoid long backwards slides.The High Cannon was just as hard as I had remembered, and harder than Joyce remembered. At 3000 feet we found 3-4 inches of fresh snow over the hard-packed, and continuous snow showers from the snow-covered spruce.
The Trail?
Time Out
We had some great views through the Spruce on the way up. Clouds were still passing over and in front of Franconia Ridge
Lafayette
Franconia Ridge
Reaching the top, we found deep drifting and cold wind. We plowed through
some drifts, and trails could not be recognized. The observation tower was locked up, so after some head scratching we located the Tramway and managed to get inside to have some lunch and warm up. That rest stop made ALL the difference, giving us the courage to go back out in the cold.
The climb had been very hard, mostly due to traction, but also perhaps cause we were a little out of shape for climbing.We were a little apprehensive about the trip down, seeing ourselves sliding down the trail and then sailing off the cliff towards I 93, but it all turned out good. The wind died down, and we skated and skied down the steep parts, making good time.We didn't take the cut-off this time, staying on the High Cannon all the way down. My toes got very painful from this exercise, but no permanent injuries were sustained.
All in all we had a great day and were very glad we didn't let a little cold and wind cheat us of a beautiful hike.
