North and South Kinsman

[hardyb]

I was planning on doing North and South Kinsman tomorrow (Saturday) starting from Franconia Notch and was wondering what the conditions are. My concern is the warm weather, is it going to soften up the snow cover enough to warrant snow shoes? How much snow is there in this area?

 

[HockeyPuck]

Hi Hardyb

I hiked Kinsman from the West (rt 116) last Saturday (3/4) and the trail to the summit ridge was on packed snow with solid footing. The Ridge to North Kinsman was more difficult due to the occasional snow drift. The col over to South Kinsman was a nightmare. Knee deep to waist deep snow.

I encountered about 10 other hikers on my descent and the trail got packed and easier to walk.

I usually hike pretty fast 2 to 2.5 MPH but the conditions slowed me down to 1 MPH on ascent. Overall the 10 miles took 7.5 hours.

It should be a great day to be in the woods. (aren't they all).

 

[hardyb]

Thanks for the info, I wasn't concerned about myself and my other 2 usual hiking partners, but we were possibly bringing someone along that I have no idea what experiance and equipment they have, I was told they were OK, but I don't want to take a chance.

 

[HockeyPuck]

You will get a good idea of your companions capabilities on the hike to lonesome lake. I've hiked it from Franconia several years ago and if I remember correctly, the trail starts off pretty aggressively then levels off.

The hut is a nice waiting spot should someone not want to continue and took about an hour (plus or minus).