The Feathered Hat
Active member
Tuckerman's legs are too short, his arms aren't really arms, there's that amusing but funky habit of sticking his head out the window, and there's the problem, too, of no opposing thumbs -- Tuck will never, I fear, master a stick shift. Since he and I generally hike as a pair without other company, this means most of our walks are loops or out-and-backs, returning us to the same spot where we began so I can drive us home again.
With Cindy's driving help, last week's southern crossing of Kinsman Ridge, east to west, was an exception, and the trip reminded me of how enjoyable traverses can be. Everyone who has made a Bonds traverse, a Presi traverse, a Franconia Ridge traverse, knows the sense of journey that a good traverse brings, the feeling of having walked from one world through another to another world on the other side. So this weekend I decided Tuck and I would cross Kinsman again, this time on the northern end of the ridge.
There are more choices in the north than in the south to come over the ridge. To more or less match last week's experience, which included a three-mile stretch along the Kinsman Ridge Trail, I chose a route that would take us from The Flume in Franconia Notch, on the east side of Kinsman Ridge, up to Lonesome Lake, then climbing up to Kinsman Ridge, then humping over the Cannonballs on the ridge to North Kinsman, then a short retrace back to the Mt. Kinsman Trail and down to the new Mt. Kinsman trailhead on the west side.
After the usual morning delays, procrastinations and equipment semi-organization, Tuckerman and I finally took our first steps on the trail at 9:40 a.m. after Cindy dropped us off in a quiet, nearly empty parking lot at The Flume. In a few minutes we turned left on the Cascade Brook Trail, crossed under the freeway bridges, and began a gentle climb toward the brook and then a steeper, rockier climb up to Lonesome Lake. Along the way we met a north-bound AT hiker; the young thin fellow, wearing what looked like the first beard he'd ever grown, had begun his long journey down in Georgia in mid-February.
At the lake Tuckerman took a swim, we found a big pile of wood and logs set aside for trail repair, we met several people, and then we made the steep-ish climb on the Lonesome Lake Trail up to the top of Kinsman Ridge, where we junctioned with the trail of the same name and turned left (south).
Hiking over the Cannonballs is a chore. The climb up the first, and highest (3,769 elev.), Cannonball, the northern one, is especially steep, and the descent down into the sag between the north and middle Cannonballs is nearly as rugged. The climb up south Cannonball isn't much fun either, and then there's a bunch more up and down before Kinsman Junction finally appears. Tuck and I needed an hour and 45 minutes just to cover this 2.5-mile stretch, although Tuckerman on his own, with four-leg drive and a puppy's boundless energy, probably could've covered the distance in less than hour. Over and over he looked down at me from the top of one steep pitch or another with that expression unique to dogs, the expression that says, "For godsake hurry up, there's stuff to sniff up here!"
We had a sweet moment up near the summit of North Kinsman. Tuckerman was bounding ahead of me as usual and had disappeared around a corner. Suddenly I heard a voice up-trail: "That looks like Tuckerman!" In a moment I caught up to my dog, who was jumping and enjoying the attentions and head-pats from LoneShark, a new VFTT member, and his wife, who were coming back down after bagging North and South Kinsman. Really nice meeting both of you -- thanks for your patience with my puppy and welcome to VFTT!
The newly re-routed Mt. Kinsman Trail, after the sugarhouse near the bottom of the route, is a winner, I think. It winds nicely and even softly through a lovely woods. It is not yet blazed, however. There are yellow and orange plastic streamers tied to trees to show the way, but there are some gaps. Until blazing, this could be a difficult stretch to follow in winter.
There's one blowdown on the Mt. Kinsman Trail, which LoneShark noted in his Trail Conditions report. On the various trails we covered, Tuck and I encountered a few mud pits, all of which are easily got around. With no rain over the past week, all of the rocky stretches and pitches were dry. The bog bridges around Lonesome Lake are all in great shape, but most of the bog-bridges on the Kinsman Ridge Trail over the Cannonballs are rotting into disintegration -- after a big rain, expect to find some challenging puddles and mud bogs. Before we started I creamed up with bug repellent and had no trouble with mosquitoes or black flies all day. (This year I've been using a Picaridin-containing repellent cream from New Zealand rather than DEET; I'm sold on Picaridin, which is much, much more skin- and environment-friendly than DEET.)
Cindy met us at the new trailhead parking lot and we returned home to a cold beer, some chips, and then a fine steak dinner and a terrific bottle of seven-year-old Bordeaux-style red wine called "Frederick" that's made by Spring Valley Vineyards in Washington state. Tuckerman crawled on to his bed within minutes of arriving home, however. In fact, he's still there, snoring the snore of a happily sleeping mountain dog.
Miles covered: 11.8
Time: Seven hours
No. of people encountered: 25
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157619430931130/
Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
______________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:
Not enough mud for my taste, but: swimming in Lonesome Lake!
Kind of dry along the Kinsman Ridge Trail; I found a few muddy pools to whet my snout.
For a dog, some steep ascents (easy) and descents (sometimes difficult) over the Cannonballs.
Big Boss Man said the views were fantastic but c'mon, I'm a hound: my nose was on the ground where it belongs!
*** Three sniffs (out of four). Tuck-Dog says check it out.
With Cindy's driving help, last week's southern crossing of Kinsman Ridge, east to west, was an exception, and the trip reminded me of how enjoyable traverses can be. Everyone who has made a Bonds traverse, a Presi traverse, a Franconia Ridge traverse, knows the sense of journey that a good traverse brings, the feeling of having walked from one world through another to another world on the other side. So this weekend I decided Tuck and I would cross Kinsman again, this time on the northern end of the ridge.
There are more choices in the north than in the south to come over the ridge. To more or less match last week's experience, which included a three-mile stretch along the Kinsman Ridge Trail, I chose a route that would take us from The Flume in Franconia Notch, on the east side of Kinsman Ridge, up to Lonesome Lake, then climbing up to Kinsman Ridge, then humping over the Cannonballs on the ridge to North Kinsman, then a short retrace back to the Mt. Kinsman Trail and down to the new Mt. Kinsman trailhead on the west side.
After the usual morning delays, procrastinations and equipment semi-organization, Tuckerman and I finally took our first steps on the trail at 9:40 a.m. after Cindy dropped us off in a quiet, nearly empty parking lot at The Flume. In a few minutes we turned left on the Cascade Brook Trail, crossed under the freeway bridges, and began a gentle climb toward the brook and then a steeper, rockier climb up to Lonesome Lake. Along the way we met a north-bound AT hiker; the young thin fellow, wearing what looked like the first beard he'd ever grown, had begun his long journey down in Georgia in mid-February.
At the lake Tuckerman took a swim, we found a big pile of wood and logs set aside for trail repair, we met several people, and then we made the steep-ish climb on the Lonesome Lake Trail up to the top of Kinsman Ridge, where we junctioned with the trail of the same name and turned left (south).
Hiking over the Cannonballs is a chore. The climb up the first, and highest (3,769 elev.), Cannonball, the northern one, is especially steep, and the descent down into the sag between the north and middle Cannonballs is nearly as rugged. The climb up south Cannonball isn't much fun either, and then there's a bunch more up and down before Kinsman Junction finally appears. Tuck and I needed an hour and 45 minutes just to cover this 2.5-mile stretch, although Tuckerman on his own, with four-leg drive and a puppy's boundless energy, probably could've covered the distance in less than hour. Over and over he looked down at me from the top of one steep pitch or another with that expression unique to dogs, the expression that says, "For godsake hurry up, there's stuff to sniff up here!"
We had a sweet moment up near the summit of North Kinsman. Tuckerman was bounding ahead of me as usual and had disappeared around a corner. Suddenly I heard a voice up-trail: "That looks like Tuckerman!" In a moment I caught up to my dog, who was jumping and enjoying the attentions and head-pats from LoneShark, a new VFTT member, and his wife, who were coming back down after bagging North and South Kinsman. Really nice meeting both of you -- thanks for your patience with my puppy and welcome to VFTT!
The newly re-routed Mt. Kinsman Trail, after the sugarhouse near the bottom of the route, is a winner, I think. It winds nicely and even softly through a lovely woods. It is not yet blazed, however. There are yellow and orange plastic streamers tied to trees to show the way, but there are some gaps. Until blazing, this could be a difficult stretch to follow in winter.
There's one blowdown on the Mt. Kinsman Trail, which LoneShark noted in his Trail Conditions report. On the various trails we covered, Tuck and I encountered a few mud pits, all of which are easily got around. With no rain over the past week, all of the rocky stretches and pitches were dry. The bog bridges around Lonesome Lake are all in great shape, but most of the bog-bridges on the Kinsman Ridge Trail over the Cannonballs are rotting into disintegration -- after a big rain, expect to find some challenging puddles and mud bogs. Before we started I creamed up with bug repellent and had no trouble with mosquitoes or black flies all day. (This year I've been using a Picaridin-containing repellent cream from New Zealand rather than DEET; I'm sold on Picaridin, which is much, much more skin- and environment-friendly than DEET.)
Cindy met us at the new trailhead parking lot and we returned home to a cold beer, some chips, and then a fine steak dinner and a terrific bottle of seven-year-old Bordeaux-style red wine called "Frederick" that's made by Spring Valley Vineyards in Washington state. Tuckerman crawled on to his bed within minutes of arriving home, however. In fact, he's still there, snoring the snore of a happily sleeping mountain dog.
Miles covered: 11.8
Time: Seven hours
No. of people encountered: 25
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157619430931130/
Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
______________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:
Not enough mud for my taste, but: swimming in Lonesome Lake!
Kind of dry along the Kinsman Ridge Trail; I found a few muddy pools to whet my snout.
For a dog, some steep ascents (easy) and descents (sometimes difficult) over the Cannonballs.
Big Boss Man said the views were fantastic but c'mon, I'm a hound: my nose was on the ground where it belongs!
*** Three sniffs (out of four). Tuck-Dog says check it out.
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