North and South Kinsman Hike

TRIP DATE  8/23/14

TRIP LOCATION:          North And South Kinsman

MEETING TIME:   8:00 AM                

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 8        

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):       9

LENGTH IN MILES:      10.0

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    3575 feet

DIFFICULTY:       B                      (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Walt Granda  

CO-LEADER NAME(S):  Paul Brookes

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    RTE 93 South Parking lot at Lafayette Campground

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:          no                TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS:

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?              YES

IF YES TO ABOVE, DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED: Lonesome lake Trail, Cascade Brook, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail and the Kinsman Ridge Trail out and back. Some wet spots on the Fishin’ Jimmy trail made it slow going.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:    sunny with passing clouds

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.) 

Great views on South summit.  One of the participants requested to turn back after one mile on the Lonesome Lake Trail.  He said he was not having any medical issues but felt the elevation gain was too much for him.  I suggested he hike to the Lonesome Lake Hut but he declined.   He left the group and called to let me know that he was safely back at his car.

2014 Winter Hike #4 - Lonesome Lake Overnight

TRIP DATE:  Friday - Sunday, 2/28 – 3/2, 2014  
                                
TRIP LOCATION:  Lonesome Lake Hut in NH (with Sat. hike options for Cannon Mtn. or North Kinsman Loop hike)                       

MEETING TIME:  10:00 am on Friday, 2/28              

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 15       

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):
Trailhead to AMC Lonesome Lake Hut = app. 1.25 hours (Lonesome Lake to trailhead return trip only took less than an hour!)
Cannon Hike = app. 4.5 hours via Lonesome Lake, and Kinsman Ridge Trails (including leisurely lunch in cafeteria at top of Cannon Mtn.)
Kinsman Loop Hike = app. 7.0 hours via Fishin Jimmy, Kinsman Pond, and Cascade Brook Trails (including numerous stops for photos)   

LENGTH IN MILES:     Lafayette Campground trailhead to AMC Lonesome Lake Hut = app. 1.5 miles each way; Cannon Hike = 4.2 miles round trip/Kinsman loop hike = 7.4 miles round trip

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET): Trailhead to Lonesome Lake = app. 1,000 feet; Cannon Hike = 1,398 feet; Kinsman loop hike = 2,879 feet   

DIFFICULTY:      B                         (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Leslie Carson, Maureen Kelly, Wayne Anderson, Paul Miller

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: Hiker’s parking lot at Lafayette Campground in Franconia Notch (ample parking available in morning, not so ample later in day…) 

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:    No                 

WAS TRIP WITHING WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?  Yes   

IF YES TO ABOVE, DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED: Packed snow on all trails hiked.  Lonesome Lake Pond frozen and crossable with microspikes.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  Very cold (minus 6 degrees F.) and clear Friday night; mostly clear and cold (teens?) during day on Saturday, only windy on summits; not so cold Saturday night (6 degrees F.) with light dusting of snow.  Cold with light snow Sunday morning.

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.):  No problems.  Good winter hiking conditions, cold but generally nice weather, nice views across Lake to Franconia Ridge and from summits of Cannon and North Kinsman.  For the Cannon hike on Saturday, based on the caretaker's recommendation, we only wore our microspikes.  However, in retrospect, it may have been better to wear full crampons, particularly on several particularly steep sections of trail.  Snowshoes not needed on well-packed trail.