| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Kinsman, South Kinsman, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lonesome Lake Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Pond Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, May 4, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lot mostly empty |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
A few small brooks to rock hop |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Lotta blowdowns around the Kinsman Pond Shelter and Campsite |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Bugs: |
N/A |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
A winter hat is hanging on a tree next to the Lonesome Lake Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, and Dodge Cutoff junction |
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 | Comments: |
Hadn't been up to Lonesome lake in awhile and based upon my observations of the river crossings when I went up to Bald Peak for sunset last month, I had no desire to do 6 river crossings and the extra 1000' of vert from that yawnfest slog of a climb known as the Mount Kinsman Trail. A lotta y'all hate fishing jimmy trail and like many other trails and peaks, over the course of my redline, grid, backpacking and thru hike journeys, I've learned to tolerate it by accepting that its the tradeoff for getting two trips to Lonesome Lake and a visit to Kinsman Pond. Had lunch at the Kinsman Pond shelter, and the logbook desperately needs a new pen. Patchy monorail starts around 2500' on knob just east of the lake and is patchy up to about 3000', spikes went on/off between 3000'-3100' on both ascent and descent. All ledge scrambles are snow/ice free up to about 3300', then theres a couple icy ones that will involve some good footwork and committing to hand/footholds to cleanly get up and down. Monorail is pretty consistently stable from the ledges up to Kinsman junction, and is a bit dicey over to the shelter. Stable for the trip over North Peak to South summit, however its wicked slippery on descent and theres a couple inches of fresh snow on south peak so I had some issues with my spikes balling up descending back down into the col between the peaks. Down Fishin jimmy is tedious but very doable by staying on monorail and navigating around patches of ice. Didn't see anyone on the ridge so no knowledge of current conditions on the Mount Kinsman Trail side |
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 | Name: |
Heat Lightning |
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 | E-Mail: |
ecs@mountainlogworks.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-04 |
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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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