1HappyHiker
Well-known member
Date Hiked: 11-Mar-2008
Conditions: Looking ahead at the upcoming weather forecast, the trail conditions experienced today will probably be irrelevant by tomorrow. But anyway, today there were no issues with brook crossings, and the few blowdowns were all easy to work around in one manner or another.
Mt. Kinsman Trail: From the trailhead to the Bald Peak spur, the trail was well-used and was mostly hard-packed snow with some icy sections. But, the trail showed no evidence of recent traffic from the Bald Peak spur up to the Kinsman Ridge Trail. This section of trail consisted mainly of unbroken, firm, hard-crusted snow. But there were enough soft-spots deep enough to warrant snowshoes. At higher elevations, there was some moderate “pushing your way through the canopy”, and some moderate ducking and crawling. But, overall, it’s quite manageable.
Kinsman Ridge Trail: Can report that this trail was well broken out from the intersection of the Mt Kinsman Trail all the way to South Kinsman summit. Some sections were icy, some were hard-packed snow, and some were soft snow . . . take your pick!!
Special Equipment: Regardless of what the weather brings over the next few days, you’ll probably still need some sort of foot-traction. Today, I made a couple of switches between my Kahtoolas and MSR snowshoes.
Comments: Today was one of those rare days this winter when the skies were clear, temperatures were mild, and the winds were calm.
A few photos from this trek are HERE.
1HappyHiker
Conditions: Looking ahead at the upcoming weather forecast, the trail conditions experienced today will probably be irrelevant by tomorrow. But anyway, today there were no issues with brook crossings, and the few blowdowns were all easy to work around in one manner or another.
Mt. Kinsman Trail: From the trailhead to the Bald Peak spur, the trail was well-used and was mostly hard-packed snow with some icy sections. But, the trail showed no evidence of recent traffic from the Bald Peak spur up to the Kinsman Ridge Trail. This section of trail consisted mainly of unbroken, firm, hard-crusted snow. But there were enough soft-spots deep enough to warrant snowshoes. At higher elevations, there was some moderate “pushing your way through the canopy”, and some moderate ducking and crawling. But, overall, it’s quite manageable.
Kinsman Ridge Trail: Can report that this trail was well broken out from the intersection of the Mt Kinsman Trail all the way to South Kinsman summit. Some sections were icy, some were hard-packed snow, and some were soft snow . . . take your pick!!
Special Equipment: Regardless of what the weather brings over the next few days, you’ll probably still need some sort of foot-traction. Today, I made a couple of switches between my Kahtoolas and MSR snowshoes.
Comments: Today was one of those rare days this winter when the skies were clear, temperatures were mild, and the winds were calm.
A few photos from this trek are HERE.
1HappyHiker
