Raven
Well-known member
North and South Kinsman via Mount Kinsman Trail and Kinsman Ridge Trails
20 February 2015
Trail Conditions: trailhead lot was not plowed. I had a high clearance 4wd and was fine plowing through it to park. There is not available street parking and a car is probably not getting in there until plowed. All trails unbroken. Mount Kinsman Trail had 6-12 inches of consistent powder to push through. After the first two miles there were deeper sections, 18 inches here and there. The Kinsman Ridge trail was very drifted and wind sculpted. Sections of deep drifting obscured the trail bed and beautiful wind carved fins of snow 6-8 feet high were dotted along the trail. Depth ranged from a foot to over two feet in depth with local very deep sections. No blow downs of note. Mount Kinsman Trail is very well blazed with particularly good blazing at turns.
Special Equipment: full winter gear needed due to bitter cold temperatures. The temp at the start was -7 and it felt as though it only got colder for the first few hours of ascent. I hiked in winter fleece, full winter parka all day as well as water/wind proof pants. I rarely do, but I wore two hats today, wore glove liners under very warm expedition mitts which helped when I needed to remove the mitts, and I wore a face mask for the few miles over and between summits. I carried two full down jackets in my pack as well as down booties, an emergency bivy sack, sleeping bag, two headlamps, and other gear needed for unplanned overnights in cold weather. Snowshoes came on and off in the parking lot and I didn't bother carrying other traction.
Comments: one of the colder days I have hiked in a few years. Quite sure it was below -10 for a good part of the day. It was also the first time I've had the opportunity to legitimately break out a trail on a 4,000 footer in a long time. Although spending the day breaking trail solo through beautiful, pristine powder is hard to match for its beauty, solitude, and spirituality, my legs are dead today and my body feels pretty much done. No hiking today. At one point, I felt a stinger on my cheek, so I added the face mask to avoid frost nip. Breaks were short and it was a day I constantly assessed my warmth, hydration level, and muscle fatigue before continuing on, especially at the summit of North Kinsman where I only opted to continue on to South because I felt good and had the gear and daylight for the slow trip back. Clouds cleared and the views were wide open from both South and well as the viewpoint on North but the open areas were bitingly cold.
20 February 2015
Trail Conditions: trailhead lot was not plowed. I had a high clearance 4wd and was fine plowing through it to park. There is not available street parking and a car is probably not getting in there until plowed. All trails unbroken. Mount Kinsman Trail had 6-12 inches of consistent powder to push through. After the first two miles there were deeper sections, 18 inches here and there. The Kinsman Ridge trail was very drifted and wind sculpted. Sections of deep drifting obscured the trail bed and beautiful wind carved fins of snow 6-8 feet high were dotted along the trail. Depth ranged from a foot to over two feet in depth with local very deep sections. No blow downs of note. Mount Kinsman Trail is very well blazed with particularly good blazing at turns.
Special Equipment: full winter gear needed due to bitter cold temperatures. The temp at the start was -7 and it felt as though it only got colder for the first few hours of ascent. I hiked in winter fleece, full winter parka all day as well as water/wind proof pants. I rarely do, but I wore two hats today, wore glove liners under very warm expedition mitts which helped when I needed to remove the mitts, and I wore a face mask for the few miles over and between summits. I carried two full down jackets in my pack as well as down booties, an emergency bivy sack, sleeping bag, two headlamps, and other gear needed for unplanned overnights in cold weather. Snowshoes came on and off in the parking lot and I didn't bother carrying other traction.
Comments: one of the colder days I have hiked in a few years. Quite sure it was below -10 for a good part of the day. It was also the first time I've had the opportunity to legitimately break out a trail on a 4,000 footer in a long time. Although spending the day breaking trail solo through beautiful, pristine powder is hard to match for its beauty, solitude, and spirituality, my legs are dead today and my body feels pretty much done. No hiking today. At one point, I felt a stinger on my cheek, so I added the face mask to avoid frost nip. Breaks were short and it was a day I constantly assessed my warmth, hydration level, and muscle fatigue before continuing on, especially at the summit of North Kinsman where I only opted to continue on to South because I felt good and had the gear and daylight for the slow trip back. Clouds cleared and the views were wide open from both South and well as the viewpoint on North but the open areas were bitingly cold.
