| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cannon Mountain, North Kinsman, South Kinsman, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lonesome Lake Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Cascade Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, March 18, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of space at Lafayette Place (southbound) at 8:15 AM and 2:45 PM. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All bridged or easy step-overs. Many tracks across Lonesome Lake, though I went around. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Two of the trail signs at Kinsman Junction are completely buried by snow. Trails in pretty good shape, with occasional blowdowns on the Kinsman Ridge Trail between Coppermine Col and Kinsman Junction. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
There is an RFID card for Wachusett Mountain just off the upper Lonesome Lake Trail maybe 0.3 miles of climbing above the lake- I left it in its place. |
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 | Comments: |
Aggressive snowshoes (Flex ALP) car to car. Lower Lonesome Lake Trail was a packed-powder sidewalk; upper Lonesome Lake Trail still packed powder and perfect for snowshoes. Most of the Kinsman Ridge Trail from there to Cannon was a steep but secure ascent on packed powder in snowshoes. However, there was one sketchy section (in the steep 0.3 miles below Hi-Cannon Trail) on the descent- the trail bifurcates here, and I strongly suggest going right (I went left, and encountered a section of steep ice; had ascended the other fork). Some people would still be more comfortable with crampons here, and one more melt-freeze cycle will probably make crampons mandatory for this approach to Cannon. Saw a single set of boot prints going across Kinsman Ridge Trail towards the Kinsmans, and that was enough to convince me to have a go at it. Narrow track at times, with plenty of evergreen branches to fight, but the snowshoes provided plenty of flotation and traction. Now there's one set of snowshoe tracks through to Kinsman Junction. Remainder of the Kinsman Ridge Trail to/from North and South Kinsman, and Fishin' Jimmy back down, was well-packed, and could be done in either snowshoes or microspikes. Several feet of snow on the ridge, with beautiful (and extra) views. A few patches of easily avoidable ice on Fishin' Jimmy, though this again might worsen with the predicted warmer weather. |
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 | Name: |
Jason |
|
 | E-Mail: |
kurlando7@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-03-18 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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