Thursday, 26 July 2007 Cannon Mtn and the Kinsmen, New Hampshire
BIGEarl had posted on viewfromthetop.com that he wanted to hike a loop up Cannon, along the Kinsman Ridge to South Kinsman, and then backtrack slightly to descend via the Fishin' Jimmy Trail. I had climbed Cannon in winter but not yet in summer, and I've developed a liking for South Kinsman so I signed up. We met at Lafayette Place in Franconia Notch for 7:30. Sweeper met us there as well. It turned out to be a birthday hike as Sweeper's was that day and mine the next. We passed trailhead signs as we left the campground. The Lonesome Lake Trail climbs gradually and soon we were at the Hi-Cannon Trail, which does not. Actually, the HiCannon Trail is well graded considering the steep slope it is climbing. Many switchbacks meant that the climb was not too bad although we took a lot of breaks anyway due to the heat and humidity. Along the climb BIGEarl and Sweeper were talking about the infamous ladder coming up. When we finally arrived I found it to be somewhat rickety but not terribly intimidating as its exposure was minimal. From the top of the Ladder Ledge there was a good view of the Franconia Ridge, the first of many we would have this day. A few minutes later we came to another open ledge with views to the opposite ridge and down to Lonesome Lake, which we would pass near the end of our day. The grade eased as we hiked through semi-open trail and soon arrived at the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail. We would be spending much of the day on this trail.
Not long before reaching the top of Cannon we came to a split at one end of a short summit loop. Sweeper favours the Rim Trail so he took that to the summit, while BIGEarl and I followed the ridge. We climbed the summit tower which provided views in all directions, including a view that covered most of our remaining itinerary. I found that view to be rather overwhelming so I moved on. A view over Northwest Cannon showed a clear trail that was not on the map. We wondered if it was a trail created by and for the ski area or if it was just a herd path that developed from numbers of bushwhackers wanting to reach that summit. We gathered at the tram station just below the summit for lunch and took our time. When we set off we all took the Rim Trail for its views. At one nice spot was a memorial bench from which we enjoyed more good views of the entire Franconia Ridge. We continued along the Rim Trail back to the KRT and then the junction with the Hi-Cannon Trail that we'd come up. Our route kept us on the KRT and its descent from this point was knee-spanking steep. It was a relief to finally reach the col between Cannon and Northeast Cannonball where the Lonesome Lake Trail descends. We were looking forward to another climb, however and after a short break we began our ascent of Northeast Cannonball. The climb was neither particularly steep nor long but it was near 30C and quite muggy so the going was rather slow. In less than 30 minutes we gained the minor peak where we...took another short break and enjoyed the limited view. For the next few miles the trail followed the crest of the ridge or nearly so, with alternating short climbs and descents. We were elated to finally reach Kinsman Junction where we knew that we had less to do than we had done. We celebrated this milestone by taking a break before making the climb up North Kinsman.
We didn't linger long on the north peak knowing it was nearly a mile to the south peak. South Kinsman is a beautiful summit with interesting low vegetation that allows for views in all directions. The thick haze obscured distant features but the Franconia Ridge showed up nicely, including Mts. Liberty and Flume. We ate and drank and rested a bit before heading back the way we'd come, pausing again on North Kinsman to admire the view. When we arrived again at Kinsman Junction we left the ridge by taking the Fishin' Jimmy Trail down. "Fishin'" wasn't quite the word I had in mind for Jimmy as we descended about a mile of steep ledges and treadway. Jimmy's trail did pass over some rather nice bog bridges however, and I took some pictures of them to send to trail maintainers in Vermont because they seem never to have heard of them. Once the steep stuff was over we crossed a small brook tumbling over mossy ledges and knew we had a mile to go until we reached the hut. That mile seemed endless but at last we reached the AMC hut and ducked in to refill our water, use the privies, and say hello to the resident snowshoe hare. Our stay was short as it was getting late but we did take a minute to admire the views of Franconia Ridge and Cannon over Lonesome Lake, and just before we departed the shore we had a last look at the Kinsmen. The remainder of the trip, a mile and a half of easy descent, took almost no time at all and we tramped into the car park almost exactly 12 hours after we'd begun our hike.
Not long before reaching the top of Cannon we came to a split at one end of a short summit loop. Sweeper favours the Rim Trail so he took that to the summit, while BIGEarl and I followed the ridge. We climbed the summit tower which provided views in all directions, including a view that covered most of our remaining itinerary. I found that view to be rather overwhelming so I moved on. A view over Northwest Cannon showed a clear trail that was not on the map. We wondered if it was a trail created by and for the ski area or if it was just a herd path that developed from numbers of bushwhackers wanting to reach that summit. We gathered at the tram station just below the summit for lunch and took our time. When we set off we all took the Rim Trail for its views. At one nice spot was a memorial bench from which we enjoyed more good views of the entire Franconia Ridge. We continued along the Rim Trail back to the KRT and then the junction with the Hi-Cannon Trail that we'd come up. Our route kept us on the KRT and its descent from this point was knee-spanking steep. It was a relief to finally reach the col between Cannon and Northeast Cannonball where the Lonesome Lake Trail descends. We were looking forward to another climb, however and after a short break we began our ascent of Northeast Cannonball. The climb was neither particularly steep nor long but it was near 30C and quite muggy so the going was rather slow. In less than 30 minutes we gained the minor peak where we...took another short break and enjoyed the limited view. For the next few miles the trail followed the crest of the ridge or nearly so, with alternating short climbs and descents. We were elated to finally reach Kinsman Junction where we knew that we had less to do than we had done. We celebrated this milestone by taking a break before making the climb up North Kinsman.
We didn't linger long on the north peak knowing it was nearly a mile to the south peak. South Kinsman is a beautiful summit with interesting low vegetation that allows for views in all directions. The thick haze obscured distant features but the Franconia Ridge showed up nicely, including Mts. Liberty and Flume. We ate and drank and rested a bit before heading back the way we'd come, pausing again on North Kinsman to admire the view. When we arrived again at Kinsman Junction we left the ridge by taking the Fishin' Jimmy Trail down. "Fishin'" wasn't quite the word I had in mind for Jimmy as we descended about a mile of steep ledges and treadway. Jimmy's trail did pass over some rather nice bog bridges however, and I took some pictures of them to send to trail maintainers in Vermont because they seem never to have heard of them. Once the steep stuff was over we crossed a small brook tumbling over mossy ledges and knew we had a mile to go until we reached the hut. That mile seemed endless but at last we reached the AMC hut and ducked in to refill our water, use the privies, and say hello to the resident snowshoe hare. Our stay was short as it was getting late but we did take a minute to admire the views of Franconia Ridge and Cannon over Lonesome Lake, and just before we departed the shore we had a last look at the Kinsmen. The remainder of the trip, a mile and a half of easy descent, took almost no time at all and we tramped into the car park almost exactly 12 hours after we'd begun our hike.
