loanshark
Active member
After an aborted attempt at the Kinsmans early in December, James and I decided to try again today. We pulled into the parking lot at the Mt Kinsman trail only to get stuck in the unplowed lot. What a way to start our day. We got lucky as a couple of nice people driving by helped push us out. We decided to park on the side of the road. It didn't take long to get geared up and we were on the trail only a few minutes behind schedule. By the time we hit the sugar shack we had settled into a comfortable pace. The day was shaping up to be special as the sky was cloudless and no wind. The trail all the way to the ridge is in terrific shape. We encountered 2 blowdowns before the Bald Knob spur that were walkovers. And 2 more blowdowns after the spur, one a walk under and one a crawl under. About a quarter of a mile after the bald peak spur we noticed an area where a love sick moose had rubbed about 15 trees. We reached the junction of the Kinsman Ridge Trail, then dropped down about 20 yards to the viewpoint and got our first look at Franconia Ridge. It took our breath away. It seemed so close you could reach out and touch it. Every time we had a differant view point I took more ridge shots. The views seemed to go on forever. We could see the mountains in Vermont very clearly. The trip to both the peaks went by quickly. We took the usual summit photos and headed back down. We ended the hike at around book time. I can't wait to see the trip reports from everyone's hikes today.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/576459661rMaITg?vhost=outdoors
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/576459661rMaITg?vhost=outdoors
