| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cannon Mountain, Northeast Cannonball, North Kinsman, South Kinsman, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 14, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lafayette Campground parking was plowed and clear. The trailhead parking wasn't plowed after the last storm and is now an icy rutted mess, but still fine for all but the lowest clearance vehicles. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Easily stepped over |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One duck under on Hi Cannon, 3 stepovers on KRT |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Trails didn't change too much with the recent storm. Spikes went on at the car. Hi Cannon was well packed with a couple ice flows, but they were easily navigated with spikes. At the top it was completely socked in with no views. The steep section of the KRT coming down from Cannon required some careful footwork due to the ice, but managed fine with sharp spikes. Snowshoes went on at the junction of the KRT and Lonesome Lake trails and stayed on until South Kinsman. The Cannonballs section of the ridge hasn't seen as much traffic and snowshoes were definitely the right tool for the job. N & S Kinsman were well traveled, but I kept snowshoes on anyway and think it was the right decision. Switched back to spikes at S Kinsman and wore them all the way back to the car. However, I regretted the decision and should have kept the snowshoes on until ~3200' on Fishin Jimmy. As for snowshoes vs. spikes I'd seriously consider snowshoes for the traction aspect alone. The snow isn't deep, but is very granular and you tend to slip a little on every step with spikes or even crampons. It's a bit of a tradeoff of wearing snowshoes on a too narrow footpath, vs loosing the energy to that slight slipping every step - I'll take the snowshoes please! |
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 | Name: |
Ben |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-01-15 |
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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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