BIGEarl
Well-known member
April 1, 2013: Cannon
Trails: Kinsman Ridge Trail
Summits: Cannon
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Our plan for the day included two hikes, Cannon and Jackson. We intended an early start on Cannon and then hike Jackson with a late morning start there. The timing for the day was pretty tight and needed to be back to Nashua by 6:00 to 7:00pm. We ended up losing a lot of time at the start to the weather. The NWS and Weather.com hourly forecasts showed overnight rain stopping between 5:00 and 6:00am. We planned a 6:30am start. When we arrived to the trailhead lot at the Cannon Tram the rain was still falling. We felt the forecasts were good but just off a little with the timing and decided to wait. We finally got started at 8:00am.
Overnight, the area was hit by heavy, wet snow. At the base of Cannon was roughly one inch of new snow. As we climbed to the summit the snow amount increased to 3 to 4 inches. Cannon Ski Area was reporting 4 to 6 inches, but they’re still trying to sell tickets. The only places where there were more than 4 inches were in the occasional drifts that we encountered.
We made our way to the trailhead and found soft snow/trail conditions. Right from the start we were on our MSR’s (Sue on Lightening Ascent and mine are EVO Ascent). From the trailhead to the area above Cannon Cliff is mostly a steep climb and the Televators (heel lifts) would definitely get a lot of use along the way.
The trail under the fresh snow was soft but offered good traction. We were able to generally just climb through the early part. As new snow depth increased the climb became more difficult. Getting through the new heavy, wet snow on top to the underlying trail for a solid bite took extra effort on every step. The climb became real work by the time we reached the Kinsman Glade section. Each step required a firm kick placement. The Kinsman Glade section is very steep with lots of ice under the new snow. It was a short but tough climb and I was a little concerned about the descent. When we finally reached the top of the Kinsman Glade section I think we were both ready for the turn away from the ski trail.
Above Kinsman Glade and on the way to the outlook spur to Cannon Cliff we were climbing an open trail corridor that was much milder than the trail to this point. The trees were loaded with the overnight snow. Even though the rain had stopped the overnight snow was melting from the trees and making for pretty wet conditions on the upper part of the climb. This section changes fast and we were soon hiking in much smaller trees with nothing overhead, and no melting snow problem.
A short distance before the viewpoint spur the terrain pitches over and we’re on the ridge leading to the final short climb to the summit tower. Unfortunately we were experiencing low cloud cover and there were no views, in fact visibility was quite limited at times. We made our way through the scrub to the final climb. On the way to the tower we took off on one of the several apparent trails that split to the right. In a short time we landed on a ski trail near the top of the tram. Oops – we went left, and near the tram building we picked up the short trail to the tower. No harm – no foul.
The summit conditions were generally calm with an occasional breeze and we decided to climb the tower. The upper structure was loaded with rime and it was falling as the wind blew. We needed to watch for falling ice. While we were on the tower a couple holes in the clouds came through and we enjoyed brief sun and some 360 degree views including Lafayette, The Kinsmans. After a few usual summit pictures we were on our exit hike. Leaving the tower we headed to Rim Trail and departed using the route we intended for our ascent. At the Rim Trail – Kinsman Ridge Trail junction we stopped for a while and Sue built a snowman at the coin-operated binoculars. Once that distraction was done we were again descending.
The steep descent went better than expected. Between the time we climbed Kinsman Glade and the descent some snowboarders had passed through. I would have enjoyed watching that show. We slowly worked our way down the steep, icy terrain. Along the way each of us managed to lose it once, but only once – not bad considering the conditions. Eventually we left Kinsman Glade and the trail moderated, a little. Descending became easier, but still not easy. Both of us continued to watch for ice and work to find good traction on each step. The lower we descended, the friendlier the trail conditions became. Eventually we were able to just walk.
We reached the end of the trail, pulled our snowshoes, and made the short walk to the truck, a couple hours later than originally planned. As we packed our things into the back of the truck as the rain once again started. Considering the time of day, deteriorating conditions, and our target return we decided Jackson would wait for another day.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Kinsman Ridge Trail
Summits: Cannon
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Our plan for the day included two hikes, Cannon and Jackson. We intended an early start on Cannon and then hike Jackson with a late morning start there. The timing for the day was pretty tight and needed to be back to Nashua by 6:00 to 7:00pm. We ended up losing a lot of time at the start to the weather. The NWS and Weather.com hourly forecasts showed overnight rain stopping between 5:00 and 6:00am. We planned a 6:30am start. When we arrived to the trailhead lot at the Cannon Tram the rain was still falling. We felt the forecasts were good but just off a little with the timing and decided to wait. We finally got started at 8:00am.
Overnight, the area was hit by heavy, wet snow. At the base of Cannon was roughly one inch of new snow. As we climbed to the summit the snow amount increased to 3 to 4 inches. Cannon Ski Area was reporting 4 to 6 inches, but they’re still trying to sell tickets. The only places where there were more than 4 inches were in the occasional drifts that we encountered.
We made our way to the trailhead and found soft snow/trail conditions. Right from the start we were on our MSR’s (Sue on Lightening Ascent and mine are EVO Ascent). From the trailhead to the area above Cannon Cliff is mostly a steep climb and the Televators (heel lifts) would definitely get a lot of use along the way.
The trail under the fresh snow was soft but offered good traction. We were able to generally just climb through the early part. As new snow depth increased the climb became more difficult. Getting through the new heavy, wet snow on top to the underlying trail for a solid bite took extra effort on every step. The climb became real work by the time we reached the Kinsman Glade section. Each step required a firm kick placement. The Kinsman Glade section is very steep with lots of ice under the new snow. It was a short but tough climb and I was a little concerned about the descent. When we finally reached the top of the Kinsman Glade section I think we were both ready for the turn away from the ski trail.
Above Kinsman Glade and on the way to the outlook spur to Cannon Cliff we were climbing an open trail corridor that was much milder than the trail to this point. The trees were loaded with the overnight snow. Even though the rain had stopped the overnight snow was melting from the trees and making for pretty wet conditions on the upper part of the climb. This section changes fast and we were soon hiking in much smaller trees with nothing overhead, and no melting snow problem.
A short distance before the viewpoint spur the terrain pitches over and we’re on the ridge leading to the final short climb to the summit tower. Unfortunately we were experiencing low cloud cover and there were no views, in fact visibility was quite limited at times. We made our way through the scrub to the final climb. On the way to the tower we took off on one of the several apparent trails that split to the right. In a short time we landed on a ski trail near the top of the tram. Oops – we went left, and near the tram building we picked up the short trail to the tower. No harm – no foul.
The summit conditions were generally calm with an occasional breeze and we decided to climb the tower. The upper structure was loaded with rime and it was falling as the wind blew. We needed to watch for falling ice. While we were on the tower a couple holes in the clouds came through and we enjoyed brief sun and some 360 degree views including Lafayette, The Kinsmans. After a few usual summit pictures we were on our exit hike. Leaving the tower we headed to Rim Trail and departed using the route we intended for our ascent. At the Rim Trail – Kinsman Ridge Trail junction we stopped for a while and Sue built a snowman at the coin-operated binoculars. Once that distraction was done we were again descending.
The steep descent went better than expected. Between the time we climbed Kinsman Glade and the descent some snowboarders had passed through. I would have enjoyed watching that show. We slowly worked our way down the steep, icy terrain. Along the way each of us managed to lose it once, but only once – not bad considering the conditions. Eventually we left Kinsman Glade and the trail moderated, a little. Descending became easier, but still not easy. Both of us continued to watch for ice and work to find good traction on each step. The lower we descended, the friendlier the trail conditions became. Eventually we were able to just walk.
We reached the end of the trail, pulled our snowshoes, and made the short walk to the truck, a couple hours later than originally planned. As we packed our things into the back of the truck as the rain once again started. Considering the time of day, deteriorating conditions, and our target return we decided Jackson would wait for another day.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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