| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Kinsman Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Mt. Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Friday, February 7, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking, but the lot is unplowed. My FWD hatchback had quite the adventure trying to get out of there- seemed fitting given the nature of the hike. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All brook crossings frozen. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Easily followed trail corridor, even with invisible white blazes (snow covered almost everything). Blue blazes on the Mt. Kinsman Trail are abundant and well-placed. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Unexpectedly beautiful views, especially from Kinsman Ridge- the forecast of higher summits in the clouds did not materialize, at least late morning when I was up there! Snowshoes absolutely mandatory. I was breaking trail the entire way, with decreasing evidence of a prior snowshoe trench as the elevation got higher. Snow was very powdery, and nowhere close to consolidated- hopefully my one set of tracks to/from North Kinsman made a difference. Only an inch or two down low, but this increased to a steady 4-12" (plus the occasional drift) above the Bald Peak spur. It then got even more arduous in the last mile to the summit, where the drifts were nearly constant and sometimes thigh-deep. Winds were less than expected, and surprisingly calm at the North Kinsman view ledges- could enjoy clear views to Franconia Ridge, Cannon, and Moosilauke, along with a brief respite from fighting the snow drifts. After the 0.4 miles on the Kinsman Ridge Trail to North Kinsman took me 30 minutes, I was finished- no progress toward South Kinsman today. There were no tracks toward Kinsman Junction (and Fishin' Jimmy). The only other person I saw was a fit and ambitious snowshoer ascending around 1PM, when I was less than mile from returning to the car. |
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 | Name: |
Jason |
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 | E-Mail: |
kurlando7@hotmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-02-07 |
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 | Link: |
 https://unnecessaryclimb.wordpress.com/ |
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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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