| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cannon Mountain, Northeast Cannonball, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Kinsman Ridge Trail, Rim Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, Basin-Cascades Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, August 14, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at the northbound Basin parking area, and at the hiker lot at the base of Kinsman Ridge Trail next to the Tramway parking lot. No issues. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only crossings were the two of Cascade Brook while descending from the Hut down to the Basin. Both had plenty of exposed rocks on which to cross. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few scattered blowdowns, but overall not an issue. Plenty of mud between the east summit of Cannon and the main summit, and on the Southwest Cannonball - there are herd paths around it, but they're frequently not much better. Lots of erosion on Kinsman Ridge Trail going up and over Cannon, and on Fishin' Jimmy Trail. All signs are in place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few. They'd probably do fine, but long stretches of Kinsman Ridge Trail over Cannon and the Cannonballs have very little water. |
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 | Bugs: |
Very few. Some right at the junction of Kinsman Ridge and Lonesome Lake trails, though maybe because we were having a snack there. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
This is a very rough and strenuous, but highly rewarding, hike. From the bottom of Kinsman Ridge Trail, the steep climb begins immediately - there's no warm-up. The trail soon reaches a whole bunch of steep, deeply eroded sections with gravelly footing that requires caution. Some of these sections are so eroded that only your head is sticking out above the side of the trail. There are also a few mild rock scrambles in this section. Above that section, the trail continues to climb steeply, sometimes on slabs that are wet in places, and sometimes up very rough rocky sections. Eventually the grade moderates and then becomes flat. Soon, at an unmarked junction, the main trail turns right while a spur path continues straight to an incredible viewpoint looking at the Franconias across the notch. Highly recommend that. The trail from there to the summit of Cannon has gradual to moderate grades, but is still rough and has some mudpits. Views from the summit of Cannon were outstanding, and the wind made it nice and cool there.
Kinsman Ridge Trail down from the summit of Cannon (southbound) starts off fairly gradual but still quite rough in spots. Nothing is too bad though until Hi-Cannon Trail peels off to the left. The descent on Kinsman Ridge Trail from there is EXTREMELY steep, and very rough, and requires major caution. There was one pitch that was almost literally vertical - we took that very carefully. That pitch has to be one of the steepest pitches I have ever hiked in my life, and I've completed the NH48 and 52WAV, I'm >90% complete with the T25, and I'm 72% complete with redlining. Going up that would involve practically vertical rock scrambling. Take your time and be very careful on that section. The WMG mentions how there's a bypass around a large rock that fell onto the trail in this section - it is quite clear which rock this is, and it's a major testament to just how insanely steep this section is. It was nice to talk with Donna and her friend at the base of the steep section.
The climb up Northeast Cannonball was steep and rough but not as technical as the descent off Cannon. The Northeast Cannonball, the Southwest Cannonball, and the hump just north of Kinsman Junction all involve significant ups and downs; the trail contours around the Middle Cannonball. This section of trail is quite rough, with a lot of ledges. It reminded me in some parts of Mahoosuc Trail, but it wasn't quite as bad here since the ledges weren't as steep and most of them were dry. Not a lot of mud until the Southwest Cannonball, which featured a bunch of large mudpits that required agility to traverse. Don't be fooled by this stretch of trail being only 2.4 miles - it's rugged and will take longer than you expect.
We descended Fishin' Jimmy Trail to Lonesome Lake Hut. I'd heard of this trail's terrible reputation (and its nickname of the F***in' Jimmy Trail), but overall it wasn't terrible. Maybe it was because we had been hiking rough, rugged trails the whole day so far, but it was no worse than Kinsman Ridge Trail, and in places actually somewhat better. The ladders and wooden steps (and one iron rung) helped, but their placement was inconsistent - a few of them were on ledges that could've been done without them, while there were several steep ledges that had no traction aids at all. Some ledges had small stone steps carved into the rock, however those were honestly not of much use to descending hikers - they would've been much more useful if we had been climbing the trail instead. The bog bridges were nice - way better than the ones on Kinsman Ridge Trail - and the ups and downs on the lower part of the trail were mildly annoying but really not horrible. I can imagine that this trail would be quite a bit more difficult in wet weather if the rocks and ledges were slippery, but most of them were dry today. The descent on Cascade Brook and Basin-Cascades trails was the easiest part of the day.
This whole hike ended up taking about 10 hours, averaging roughly a mile an hour. The weather was perfect, and we met a whole bunch of nice people. Thanks so much Ben and Sarah for joining me, and congratulations Sarah on your first NH 4000-footer - what a way to start! |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-08-14 |
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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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