| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Cannon Mountain, Northeast Cannonball, North Kinsman, South Kinsman, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Kinsman Ridge Trail, Kinsman Pond Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, Basin Cascades Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking both at the Tramway lot and at the Basin Cascades trailhead. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Drifts |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction, Ice Axe |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Cascade Brook was teetering on the line between sketchy and dangerous. I'd hold off unless you're ready to get your boots wet. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Lots of blowdowns descending via Kinsman Pond, Cascade Brook, and Basin Cascades trails. Luckily beautifully vibrantly & frequently blazed, though. Don't recall any major issues on the KRT, although some of the AT blazes may have been faded. Maybe one lower blowdown leaning over the trail heading up Cannon, but fine aside from that I think. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Hiking dogs should be fine |
|
 | Bugs: |
None |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
An interesting little frolic of an adventure on Tuesday for sure--
Headed up Canon via KRT, which by and large was in decent shape. Light dusting of powder towards the bottom over some glazed rocks, so spikes were perfect, till about a mile in where I swapped to snowshoes. While the snow depth didn't necessarily need it, the crampons and heel lifts were definitely quite welcome for easier going. Again, not necessary, but I'll take what help I can get ;P
Gorgeous views from the summit & observation tower, then opted to try heading over for the Kinsmans also via KRT. There had been a few others who'd done similarly from the looks of it, leaving a fairly broken out trail at this point. I'm sure that's changed after last night's snow and winds, though. Easy enough going at first as a result, but it did become pretty dodgy heading into Coppermine Col, with the deep snow and significant ice making staying upright next to impossible. Eventually had to admit defeat and opted for a slightly more controlled butt slide down, and am happy to say survived to tell the tale ;)
The rest of the way over the Cannon Balls and heading up North & South Kinsman was fairly easygoing, especially after passing the Lonesome Lake Trail jct. where everything became significantly more packed out and the trail was fairly nice & firm from there on.
A friend generously offered to make a long, impromptu drive to pick me up at the Basin Cascades trailhead to save me either a trek back up and over the Cannon Balls or a road walk, so down I went via Kinsman Pond Trail. Basically, nothing had been broken out since the last few storms past the Kinsman Pond campsite so that was... fun. The Cascade Brook crossings were obviously not great--to the best of my recollection, the upper crossing was definitely the dodgiest, and required going a bit upstream and involved a prayer of gratitude for waterproof boots and gaiters after a bit of a dunk. I think the middle crossing was manageable but again, required scouting around quite a bit and a full willingness to end up with wet boots. Lower crossing I recall just giving up and walking through the shallowest, gentlest section, but whether that was due to necessity or just having had it with trying to shimmy on icy rocks for the day, I can't quite recall ;) Could be off with the order of which were which, but basically they were doable, but not good in the least. I'd say it would be a while before I got anything close to warm and fuzzies dealing with those again, and much worse and I would've backtracked to head down Lonesome Lake instead. Gorgeous, though, all in all, after the fresh snow. |
|
 | Name: |
Amelie Crowe |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ameliecrowe22@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-03-21 |
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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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