BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 11, 2011: The Kinsmans
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Summits: North Kinsman, South Kinsman
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Freighttrail48 (Jim McMurchy), and me
What a great day for a view hike! The weather experts were again a little off with their predictions. The temperature was probably close to expectations but the wind that was forecasted to be in the vicinity of 25 to 35mph never happened. We enjoyed generally calm conditions all day. Wrong in the right direction - I love it!.
Sue and I made a new friend today. Freighttrain48 (Jim McMurchy) joined us for the first time and we thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with him. Jim showed up completely prepared for the day based on the known and predicted conditions. We found him ready to go but patiently waiting for us when we finally arrived a few minutes late. Sorry Jim.
After the introduction formalities we wasted little time in grabbing our things and taking off. The conditions were outstanding with clear deep-blue sky, cold but comfortable temperature, and calm wind. I recall thinking to myself “I hope we’re able to enjoy these clear conditions on the summits – great pictures”.
We started the day bare booting the hike. There was no ice on the Lonesome Lake Trail and we were able to comfortably walk to the Lonesome Lake Hut. After last week’s experience with a very stiff back, I used my poles from the start and I’m sure they really helped. On the way past the lake we made a brief stop for pictures at the southwest end and then paid a visit to the hut. Soon, we were heading out Fishin’ Jimmy – still bare booting. I think we all knew the traction would come out at some point and once we got into the PUDs the ice became significant and the MicroSpikes joined the fun. After we solved the traction problem we enjoyed a nice climb to Kinsman Junction. As always, the ice is starting to get pretty significant in some places along the climb to the ridge. There are currently three bypasses that are tracked out and I expect more very soon.
As we walked along we enjoyed non-stop conversation with Jim and made the usual stops for me to idle back a little. Jim is an interesting guy and a complete pleasure to hike with. We reached Kinsman Junction and after a short break (long pause) we were on our way to North Kinsman.
The trail is in terrific shape and ideal for MicroSpikes. The ice along the way generally had a layer of packed snow on top offering plenty for the MicroSpikes to take a bite. We had no problems at all on the climb to North Kinsman. When we hit the summit the conditions I earlier daydreamed about were reality; we had no wind and clear blue sky. The views were outstanding. We stopped for the usual summit pictures and a couple view shots. Soon, we set off for South Kinsman.
Along the way we met a large group returning from South Kinsman. We stopped to visit for a while. The lead hiker recognized me and I admit, he looked familiar to me but I neglected to find out his name or where we previously met. Sorry. I further displayed bad social skills by neglecting to introduce Sue or Jim to the others. Sorry, again. A hiker that goes by the name “B the Hiker” on VFTT (Brian Glenn) was #2 in line complete with a new crop of facial hair in progress – we’ve met previously on the trail – good to see you again, Brian. It was a good sized group evidently having a great day.
We continued on our way to South Kinsman. It’s a relatively short walk and easy climb to the summit. The final ~100 yards leading to the false summit had us looking straight into the sun. On the false summit the scenery was beautiful. The scrub was loaded with rime and snow. There was a slight breeze and with the cold temperature we needed to keep moving or add layers – we kept moving. Soon we were at the large cairn on the summit, getting the usual summit pictures and pictures of the outstanding 360 degree views. After a short break we made the u-turn and were on our exit hike back over North Kinsman and out the way we hiked in.
From the summit of North Kinsman to the trailhead, except for a few Fishin’ Jimmy PUDs, the route is generally all downhill – some of it really steep. We worked our way through all of it on MicroSpikes without any problems at all. Again we had a short break at the hut and then it was a quick ~1.6 miles to the truck. Soon after leaving the hut the headlights came out and we finished the day under the lights.
Thanks Jim, glad you joined the hike. I really hope we get together for more soon. Again, sorry for being a little later than planned.
Thanks to Sue for another fun back-to-back weekend. More are on the way – I hope.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Summits: North Kinsman, South Kinsman
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Freighttrail48 (Jim McMurchy), and me
What a great day for a view hike! The weather experts were again a little off with their predictions. The temperature was probably close to expectations but the wind that was forecasted to be in the vicinity of 25 to 35mph never happened. We enjoyed generally calm conditions all day. Wrong in the right direction - I love it!.
Sue and I made a new friend today. Freighttrain48 (Jim McMurchy) joined us for the first time and we thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with him. Jim showed up completely prepared for the day based on the known and predicted conditions. We found him ready to go but patiently waiting for us when we finally arrived a few minutes late. Sorry Jim.
After the introduction formalities we wasted little time in grabbing our things and taking off. The conditions were outstanding with clear deep-blue sky, cold but comfortable temperature, and calm wind. I recall thinking to myself “I hope we’re able to enjoy these clear conditions on the summits – great pictures”.
We started the day bare booting the hike. There was no ice on the Lonesome Lake Trail and we were able to comfortably walk to the Lonesome Lake Hut. After last week’s experience with a very stiff back, I used my poles from the start and I’m sure they really helped. On the way past the lake we made a brief stop for pictures at the southwest end and then paid a visit to the hut. Soon, we were heading out Fishin’ Jimmy – still bare booting. I think we all knew the traction would come out at some point and once we got into the PUDs the ice became significant and the MicroSpikes joined the fun. After we solved the traction problem we enjoyed a nice climb to Kinsman Junction. As always, the ice is starting to get pretty significant in some places along the climb to the ridge. There are currently three bypasses that are tracked out and I expect more very soon.
As we walked along we enjoyed non-stop conversation with Jim and made the usual stops for me to idle back a little. Jim is an interesting guy and a complete pleasure to hike with. We reached Kinsman Junction and after a short break (long pause) we were on our way to North Kinsman.
The trail is in terrific shape and ideal for MicroSpikes. The ice along the way generally had a layer of packed snow on top offering plenty for the MicroSpikes to take a bite. We had no problems at all on the climb to North Kinsman. When we hit the summit the conditions I earlier daydreamed about were reality; we had no wind and clear blue sky. The views were outstanding. We stopped for the usual summit pictures and a couple view shots. Soon, we set off for South Kinsman.
Along the way we met a large group returning from South Kinsman. We stopped to visit for a while. The lead hiker recognized me and I admit, he looked familiar to me but I neglected to find out his name or where we previously met. Sorry. I further displayed bad social skills by neglecting to introduce Sue or Jim to the others. Sorry, again. A hiker that goes by the name “B the Hiker” on VFTT (Brian Glenn) was #2 in line complete with a new crop of facial hair in progress – we’ve met previously on the trail – good to see you again, Brian. It was a good sized group evidently having a great day.
We continued on our way to South Kinsman. It’s a relatively short walk and easy climb to the summit. The final ~100 yards leading to the false summit had us looking straight into the sun. On the false summit the scenery was beautiful. The scrub was loaded with rime and snow. There was a slight breeze and with the cold temperature we needed to keep moving or add layers – we kept moving. Soon we were at the large cairn on the summit, getting the usual summit pictures and pictures of the outstanding 360 degree views. After a short break we made the u-turn and were on our exit hike back over North Kinsman and out the way we hiked in.
From the summit of North Kinsman to the trailhead, except for a few Fishin’ Jimmy PUDs, the route is generally all downhill – some of it really steep. We worked our way through all of it on MicroSpikes without any problems at all. Again we had a short break at the hut and then it was a quick ~1.6 miles to the truck. Soon after leaving the hut the headlights came out and we finished the day under the lights.
Thanks Jim, glad you joined the hike. I really hope we get together for more soon. Again, sorry for being a little later than planned.
Thanks to Sue for another fun back-to-back weekend. More are on the way – I hope.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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