The Feathered Hat
Active member
After several training hikes, the time had come to test six-month-old Tuckerman on a summit climb. He's going to be my mountain companion for the next many years, I hope, but only if he proves capable of handling big hikes.
I chose the Kinsmans for Tuck's first big mountain adventure for several reasons: one, we had previously climbed the Mt. Kinsman Trail together up to Bald Peak, so I knew he could make it at least that far without a problem; two, I know these peaks and the Mt. Kinsman Trail well, so if we got into any sort of trouble I knew I could get us down quickly; three, the trailhead is just a couple miles from my house -- Tuckerman, like a lot of puppies, still sometimes gets carsick. He's not yet up for an hour's drive to Pinkham Notch.
My only worries were the three brook crossings on the bottom half of the Mt. Kinsman Trail and one short steep pitch near the peak of North Kinsman that's often very icy. The Ham Branch behind my house in Franconia is swollen with spring-melt, and with the warm weather we've been enjoying lately I wondered if the three brooks, which normally are easily crossed by either snow bridges (winter) or rock-hopping (summer), might be similarly full and tumbling. In the past I've had to wade these crossings in the spring and after extended rains in the summer.
Turned out the crossings were no problem whatsoever. The first is easily rock-hopped and the second and third are still covered with sturdy snow bridges:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3394376331/in/set-72157616073498602/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395187592/in/set-72157616073498602/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395188616/in/set-72157616073498602/
The pitch near the summit of North Kinsman was no problem either -- there's still plenty of snow covering the rocks and no evidence of ice.
But the first mile of the Mt. Kinsman Trail includes several extended stretches of hard ice, so traction is a must. Then, after post-holing a couple of times in softening, deeper snow, I switched to snowshoes a little above the half-way point of the route, where the spur goes over to Bald Peak, and kept them on for nearly the rest of our walk, switching back to Microspikes only for the last mile again back to the trailhead.
Tuck and I hadn't gone a mile before we caught up with a friendly group of seven friends led by <AKFuzzyJones>. We leapfrogged with these folks for much of the day -- they were headed to the Kinsmans too -- and to my relief they were all extremely patient with a leaping, enthusiastic puppy. (Usually I've got Tuckerman on a leash when we meet people on the trail; he still leaps.)
We couldn't have asked for a prettier day. Up at the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail there wasn't a breath of wind -- the whole day, I never put on a jacket; fleece was plenty warm enough, sometimes even a little too much so. The views of Franconia Ridge and south toward the Osceloas and the Tri-Pyramids were clear and stunning.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395196330/sizes/l/in/set-72157616073498602/
After the junction, we were at the North Kinsman summit in short order -- and, how-de-do!, Tuckerman had achieved his first NH 4K:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395197380/sizes/l/in/set-72157616073498602/
We snacked in the warm sun. The last time I was on this peak, back in January, I met an entertaining group that included <rocket21>, <Cath>, <Tim Seaver>, <LRiz>, <drewski> and a few other comedian-snowshoers, but this time it was just Tuckerman and me. He decided to entertain me himself by pushing my sunglasses case off the ledge of the little viewpoint area with his nose, then he ran after it and I thought, great, the mutt's got some retriever in him, but all he returned with was the cleansing cloth from inside the case. So our departure for South Kinsman was delayed a few minutes while I scrambled beneath the ledge to retrieve the case and chased Tuck for the cloth -- he's still a puppy, so I suppose more "Marley and Me" experiences are in store even on the tops of mountains. In any event, 35 minutes later Tuck had his second NH 4K:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3394393367/sizes/l/in/set-72157616073498602/
The snow on the KRT between the Kinsmans is very soft in places, and I postholed a couple of times even with snowshoes. There's a glaze of ice on top of the snow too, which had softened in the sun by the time we were on the trail.
Coming back from South Kinsman, we ran into <AKFuzzyJones>'s group again, and then just below North Kinsman we met <Lost Hiker> and her husband Kevin, fellow dog-lovers. We swapped a few stories -- keep that toothpaste hidden! -- then Tuck and I got underway on the big walk downhill.
The 10-mile up-and-back trip took us six-and-a-half hours. Back at home Tuckerman crashed within minutes and slept for hours while I described the wondrous day's adventures to my girlfriend Cindy over a bottle of fine Anderson Valley gewurztraminer. I'm not sure Tuck realizes there are still 46 NH peaks ahead for him, though this morning he chewed up the feathers on my hiking hat. Revenge?
More photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157616073498602/
Steve B
The Feathered Hat (well, it used to be)
[email protected]
_______________________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:
Lots of running water on the bottom part of the Mt. Kinsman Trail, so plenty of chances to drink. Also, good ice on the trail for sliding. Up higher, excellent soft soft for digging and burrowing -- let me tell you, there's good stuff for smelling under all that snow. Soft snow is also ideal for squirming around in to cool off.
Found some rabbit poop, coyote poop too. Saw a few moose tracks.
Big Boss Man was all excited about me making it to the tops of these mountains. He thought I wasn't gonna make it?
**** Four sniffs (out of four)
I chose the Kinsmans for Tuck's first big mountain adventure for several reasons: one, we had previously climbed the Mt. Kinsman Trail together up to Bald Peak, so I knew he could make it at least that far without a problem; two, I know these peaks and the Mt. Kinsman Trail well, so if we got into any sort of trouble I knew I could get us down quickly; three, the trailhead is just a couple miles from my house -- Tuckerman, like a lot of puppies, still sometimes gets carsick. He's not yet up for an hour's drive to Pinkham Notch.
My only worries were the three brook crossings on the bottom half of the Mt. Kinsman Trail and one short steep pitch near the peak of North Kinsman that's often very icy. The Ham Branch behind my house in Franconia is swollen with spring-melt, and with the warm weather we've been enjoying lately I wondered if the three brooks, which normally are easily crossed by either snow bridges (winter) or rock-hopping (summer), might be similarly full and tumbling. In the past I've had to wade these crossings in the spring and after extended rains in the summer.
Turned out the crossings were no problem whatsoever. The first is easily rock-hopped and the second and third are still covered with sturdy snow bridges:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3394376331/in/set-72157616073498602/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395187592/in/set-72157616073498602/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395188616/in/set-72157616073498602/
The pitch near the summit of North Kinsman was no problem either -- there's still plenty of snow covering the rocks and no evidence of ice.
But the first mile of the Mt. Kinsman Trail includes several extended stretches of hard ice, so traction is a must. Then, after post-holing a couple of times in softening, deeper snow, I switched to snowshoes a little above the half-way point of the route, where the spur goes over to Bald Peak, and kept them on for nearly the rest of our walk, switching back to Microspikes only for the last mile again back to the trailhead.
Tuck and I hadn't gone a mile before we caught up with a friendly group of seven friends led by <AKFuzzyJones>. We leapfrogged with these folks for much of the day -- they were headed to the Kinsmans too -- and to my relief they were all extremely patient with a leaping, enthusiastic puppy. (Usually I've got Tuckerman on a leash when we meet people on the trail; he still leaps.)
We couldn't have asked for a prettier day. Up at the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail there wasn't a breath of wind -- the whole day, I never put on a jacket; fleece was plenty warm enough, sometimes even a little too much so. The views of Franconia Ridge and south toward the Osceloas and the Tri-Pyramids were clear and stunning.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395196330/sizes/l/in/set-72157616073498602/
After the junction, we were at the North Kinsman summit in short order -- and, how-de-do!, Tuckerman had achieved his first NH 4K:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3395197380/sizes/l/in/set-72157616073498602/
We snacked in the warm sun. The last time I was on this peak, back in January, I met an entertaining group that included <rocket21>, <Cath>, <Tim Seaver>, <LRiz>, <drewski> and a few other comedian-snowshoers, but this time it was just Tuckerman and me. He decided to entertain me himself by pushing my sunglasses case off the ledge of the little viewpoint area with his nose, then he ran after it and I thought, great, the mutt's got some retriever in him, but all he returned with was the cleansing cloth from inside the case. So our departure for South Kinsman was delayed a few minutes while I scrambled beneath the ledge to retrieve the case and chased Tuck for the cloth -- he's still a puppy, so I suppose more "Marley and Me" experiences are in store even on the tops of mountains. In any event, 35 minutes later Tuck had his second NH 4K:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/3394393367/sizes/l/in/set-72157616073498602/
The snow on the KRT between the Kinsmans is very soft in places, and I postholed a couple of times even with snowshoes. There's a glaze of ice on top of the snow too, which had softened in the sun by the time we were on the trail.
Coming back from South Kinsman, we ran into <AKFuzzyJones>'s group again, and then just below North Kinsman we met <Lost Hiker> and her husband Kevin, fellow dog-lovers. We swapped a few stories -- keep that toothpaste hidden! -- then Tuck and I got underway on the big walk downhill.
The 10-mile up-and-back trip took us six-and-a-half hours. Back at home Tuckerman crashed within minutes and slept for hours while I described the wondrous day's adventures to my girlfriend Cindy over a bottle of fine Anderson Valley gewurztraminer. I'm not sure Tuck realizes there are still 46 NH peaks ahead for him, though this morning he chewed up the feathers on my hiking hat. Revenge?
More photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157616073498602/
Steve B
The Feathered Hat (well, it used to be)
[email protected]
_______________________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:
Lots of running water on the bottom part of the Mt. Kinsman Trail, so plenty of chances to drink. Also, good ice on the trail for sliding. Up higher, excellent soft soft for digging and burrowing -- let me tell you, there's good stuff for smelling under all that snow. Soft snow is also ideal for squirming around in to cool off.
Found some rabbit poop, coyote poop too. Saw a few moose tracks.
Big Boss Man was all excited about me making it to the tops of these mountains. He thought I wasn't gonna make it?
**** Four sniffs (out of four)
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