BIGEarl
Well-known member
November 27, 2010: Cannon, Cannonballs, The Kinsmans
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail
Summits: Cannon, Northeast Cannonball, North Kinsman, South Kinsman
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
We got started a little earlier than planned. On the drive north we were cruising I-93 a little north of the Meredith exit and spotted a celebrity hiker. We were passing a truck with familiar plates. It was Hiker Ed on his way to hike The Hancocks. As we passed I turned on the interior lights, hit the horn, and we waved. A while later, we made a stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Lincoln and Ed pulled in beside us. After briefly visiting we were all on our way to our planned hikes for the day.
The trailhead lot at Lafayette Place had quite a few vehicles. It looked like all of them were parked overnight suggesting the Lonesome Lake Hut was a busy place. After taking care of our final prep were set off. Everything was snow and ice covered and I believe both of us knew it was just a matter of time before we would pull out the MicroSpikes. When we were talking with Hiker Ed he made some comments that indicated it might be better to ascend Hi Cannon instead of planning to descend it at the end of the day. We decided to hike the loop counterclockwise and hit Cannon first. Roughly half-way to the Dodge Cutoff junction we stopped for the MicroSpikes.
Hi Cannon is getting loaded with ice. In fact, the full route was iced-up except for the Lonesome Lake Trail from the hut to the trailhead. We needed to move carefully since much of the ice was hard and probably beyond the intended capabilities of MicroSpikes. We picked our route carefully over all of the icy sections and managed to reach the summit without any problems. Because of the ice we were running a little slower than usual but generally within the time plan we had for the day. The Cannon summit tower had a couple inches of rime. The views from the tower were limited and the westerly wind was uncomfortable. Soon we took off for our next target.
Descending from Cannon on Kinsman Ridge Trail (KRT) is always a slow process but throw in the ice and it’s a very slow process. We carefully made our way down and reached Coppermine Col and the junction with Lonesome Lake Trail without any mishaps. After a very short stop we continued south on KRT for the climb of Northeast Cannonball. Earlier in the hike it was only cloudy and windy; now it’s also snowing. C’mon winter! A short distance below the summit of Northeast Cannonball Sue created a snowman. This could be the only one for the hike or one of several; I never know.
We cruised over Northeast Cannonball and continued south toward Kinsman Junction. Along the way we passed a group of ~8 people planning to stay at Kinsman Shelter for the night. They were all on crampons. That might have been overkill for the conditions; but we also met quite a few others in the course of the day also on crampons. Considering the amount of exposed rocks on the trail now is an ideal time to really beat up a perfectly good pair of crampons. The place where we passed this large group was at a stream crossing; half of the group was on one side of the stream waiting to cross, and half was on the other side of the stream with wet feet. As we approached, Sue was in the lead and we were both moving well. The group simply stood back and Sue flew across without any hesitation at all. Of course, I followed. Neither of us had an issue with the stream. On the far side we were stopped and a comment was made about the problems experienced by the others breaking through the ice. They were surprised to see us simply bounce across the stream. We have been through this crossing quite a few times and know where the rocks are under the ice. Funny!
The remainder of the hike to Kinsman Junction was nothing different; lots of ice plus the usual ups and downs of The Cannonballs. Hiking KRT from Coppermine Col to Kinsman Junction; over Northeast Cannonball, around Middle Cannonball, over West Cannonball, and finally over a couple more PUDs for good measure. That’s a lot of work for such a short section of trail.
At Kinsman Junction we stopped for a quick snack and to pull out some warmer gear in anticipation of the conditions we would experience on the Kinsmans. The climb to North Kinsman was more of the same on the slabs; lots of ice and slow-going because of it. We were careful, picked our routes carefully, and the MicroSpikes managed to get us through the climb. We paused briefly on North Kinsman but generally kept moving to South Kinsman and our u-turn. A short distance south of the summit we met the final other hikers for the day. That brought the total for the day to over thirty humans and a couple dogs.
The short hike to South Kinsman went fast. The wind was blowing, it was snowing, and this was our final target for the day. We also knew this was the easiest of the bunch with its mild ascent. We passed through the col between North and South and started the climb. The wind was coming from the west-northwest and generally hitting us on our backs. Unfortunately, we had wind-driven snow in our face to look forward to on our return hike. C’mon winter! We made the final turn and could see the opening to the false summit. From there it’s a short walk across to the actual South Kinsman summit. The wind on the open summit area wasn’t as bad as expected. We got the usual pictures, made our u-turn, and started our exit hike.
After leaving the South summit, we were moving well and had descended to the lower ridge when I managed to hit a patch of hard ice hidden by the snow. My left foot flew out from under me and my right foot suddenly grabbed the trail surface. I recall thinking as I fell, this wasn’t going to end well. My right leg was folded under my back as I landed. I slowly rolled onto my left side to release my right leg and to my surprise was able to straighten it. I slowly made my way onto my knees and then to my feet. Everything seemed operational but I was pretty sure a number of things were stretched well beyond where they normally go and if we stood around too long things would start to tighten up. We got moving and generally kept moving.
After re-climbing North Kinsman we stopped to pull out the headlights. The remainder of our hike would be under the lights. Initially, I was a little concerned with hiking Fishin’ Jimmy after dark under the conditions we had but it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, descending from North Kinsman to Kinsman Junction was more of a test than descending Fishin’ Jimmy from the ridge. That doesn’t mean we just flew through. It’s interesting how much a fall can slow things down. We carefully descended from the ridge with no mishaps along the way. The bonus we received was after dropping off the ridge; we were out of the westerly wind. We had a very enjoyable nighttime walk in the woods. Headlight hiking on a snow-covered trail with mild conditions is very pleasant.
Once we made it off the steeps all we had left was a fairly mild walk past the Lonesome Lake Hut, around Lonesome Lake, and back down to the trailhead. We made a quick stop at the hut on the way through but generally kept moving since I was still unsure of my right leg and when it would go crazy on me. A couple hours after leaving Kinsman Junction we were loading our things into the truck.
As usual, a strong wind was coming through Franconia Notch and we wasted no time at loading up and hitting the highway south. A couple hours later we were at the Park & Ride saying goodbye until our next time out – can’t wait.
Thanks Sue, it was a nice winter warm-up. C’mon winter!
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: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
We got started a little earlier than planned. On the drive north we were cruising I-93 a little north of the Meredith exit and spotted a celebrity hiker. We were passing a truck with familiar plates. It was Hiker Ed on his way to hike The Hancocks. As we passed I turned on the interior lights, hit the horn, and we waved. A while later, we made a stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Lincoln and Ed pulled in beside us. After briefly visiting we were all on our way to our planned hikes for the day.
The trailhead lot at Lafayette Place had quite a few vehicles. It looked like all of them were parked overnight suggesting the Lonesome Lake Hut was a busy place. After taking care of our final prep were set off. Everything was snow and ice covered and I believe both of us knew it was just a matter of time before we would pull out the MicroSpikes. When we were talking with Hiker Ed he made some comments that indicated it might be better to ascend Hi Cannon instead of planning to descend it at the end of the day. We decided to hike the loop counterclockwise and hit Cannon first. Roughly half-way to the Dodge Cutoff junction we stopped for the MicroSpikes.
Hi Cannon is getting loaded with ice. In fact, the full route was iced-up except for the Lonesome Lake Trail from the hut to the trailhead. We needed to move carefully since much of the ice was hard and probably beyond the intended capabilities of MicroSpikes. We picked our route carefully over all of the icy sections and managed to reach the summit without any problems. Because of the ice we were running a little slower than usual but generally within the time plan we had for the day. The Cannon summit tower had a couple inches of rime. The views from the tower were limited and the westerly wind was uncomfortable. Soon we took off for our next target.
Descending from Cannon on Kinsman Ridge Trail (KRT) is always a slow process but throw in the ice and it’s a very slow process. We carefully made our way down and reached Coppermine Col and the junction with Lonesome Lake Trail without any mishaps. After a very short stop we continued south on KRT for the climb of Northeast Cannonball. Earlier in the hike it was only cloudy and windy; now it’s also snowing. C’mon winter! A short distance below the summit of Northeast Cannonball Sue created a snowman. This could be the only one for the hike or one of several; I never know.
We cruised over Northeast Cannonball and continued south toward Kinsman Junction. Along the way we passed a group of ~8 people planning to stay at Kinsman Shelter for the night. They were all on crampons. That might have been overkill for the conditions; but we also met quite a few others in the course of the day also on crampons. Considering the amount of exposed rocks on the trail now is an ideal time to really beat up a perfectly good pair of crampons. The place where we passed this large group was at a stream crossing; half of the group was on one side of the stream waiting to cross, and half was on the other side of the stream with wet feet. As we approached, Sue was in the lead and we were both moving well. The group simply stood back and Sue flew across without any hesitation at all. Of course, I followed. Neither of us had an issue with the stream. On the far side we were stopped and a comment was made about the problems experienced by the others breaking through the ice. They were surprised to see us simply bounce across the stream. We have been through this crossing quite a few times and know where the rocks are under the ice. Funny!
The remainder of the hike to Kinsman Junction was nothing different; lots of ice plus the usual ups and downs of The Cannonballs. Hiking KRT from Coppermine Col to Kinsman Junction; over Northeast Cannonball, around Middle Cannonball, over West Cannonball, and finally over a couple more PUDs for good measure. That’s a lot of work for such a short section of trail.
At Kinsman Junction we stopped for a quick snack and to pull out some warmer gear in anticipation of the conditions we would experience on the Kinsmans. The climb to North Kinsman was more of the same on the slabs; lots of ice and slow-going because of it. We were careful, picked our routes carefully, and the MicroSpikes managed to get us through the climb. We paused briefly on North Kinsman but generally kept moving to South Kinsman and our u-turn. A short distance south of the summit we met the final other hikers for the day. That brought the total for the day to over thirty humans and a couple dogs.
The short hike to South Kinsman went fast. The wind was blowing, it was snowing, and this was our final target for the day. We also knew this was the easiest of the bunch with its mild ascent. We passed through the col between North and South and started the climb. The wind was coming from the west-northwest and generally hitting us on our backs. Unfortunately, we had wind-driven snow in our face to look forward to on our return hike. C’mon winter! We made the final turn and could see the opening to the false summit. From there it’s a short walk across to the actual South Kinsman summit. The wind on the open summit area wasn’t as bad as expected. We got the usual pictures, made our u-turn, and started our exit hike.
After leaving the South summit, we were moving well and had descended to the lower ridge when I managed to hit a patch of hard ice hidden by the snow. My left foot flew out from under me and my right foot suddenly grabbed the trail surface. I recall thinking as I fell, this wasn’t going to end well. My right leg was folded under my back as I landed. I slowly rolled onto my left side to release my right leg and to my surprise was able to straighten it. I slowly made my way onto my knees and then to my feet. Everything seemed operational but I was pretty sure a number of things were stretched well beyond where they normally go and if we stood around too long things would start to tighten up. We got moving and generally kept moving.
After re-climbing North Kinsman we stopped to pull out the headlights. The remainder of our hike would be under the lights. Initially, I was a little concerned with hiking Fishin’ Jimmy after dark under the conditions we had but it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, descending from North Kinsman to Kinsman Junction was more of a test than descending Fishin’ Jimmy from the ridge. That doesn’t mean we just flew through. It’s interesting how much a fall can slow things down. We carefully descended from the ridge with no mishaps along the way. The bonus we received was after dropping off the ridge; we were out of the westerly wind. We had a very enjoyable nighttime walk in the woods. Headlight hiking on a snow-covered trail with mild conditions is very pleasant.
Once we made it off the steeps all we had left was a fairly mild walk past the Lonesome Lake Hut, around Lonesome Lake, and back down to the trailhead. We made a quick stop at the hut on the way through but generally kept moving since I was still unsure of my right leg and when it would go crazy on me. A couple hours after leaving Kinsman Junction we were loading our things into the truck.
As usual, a strong wind was coming through Franconia Notch and we wasted no time at loading up and hitting the highway south. A couple hours later we were at the Park & Ride saying goodbye until our next time out – can’t wait.
Thanks Sue, it was a nice winter warm-up. C’mon winter!
Pictures will follow.
