Kinsman question

Hello my name is Eric Ruffin, new member here; I'm 32 yrs old, live in Claremont NH but I'm originally from all over lol. I spend a lot of time on the local trails year around and frequent the Whites every few weeks or so. Landscape photography and hiking are my passions but I also run, kayak, snowboard and snowshoe. I have attached a picture I took yesterday evening while hiking the Brownsville Trail to the summit of Mt.Ascutney, let me know if you cant see the image.

The rest of my pictures are here:
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/124085028@N06/

As for my question, its multifaceted; Currently the weather forecast for the 26th in Lincoln is pretty nice and I've been waiting for a good day up there to bag Cannon, North Kinsman and South Kinsman all in one 11 mile loop around Lonesome Lake; so heres mainly what im wondering:
- Im bringing some light traction but how much ice flow should I expect on the High Trail and Cannonball sections..
-should I be planning to bring snowshoes for trail breaking on the Kinsman ridge section of the AT..

Basically, I'm just not sure how popular this loop is this time of year. Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Ruff,

Welcome aboard! You are probably already aware of newenglandtrailconditions.com, but I checked for any recent trail reports anyways. The last TR I saw was from 12-14-14, so a lot may have changed since then.

I don't have any new intel, but I would encourage you to bring snowshoes. There is a chance that despite being well established and broken out at down low that you may encounter serious drifts at higher elevations. I am guessing the areas between the cannon balls may have significant drifts and the final ascent to Cannon (if you plan on checking of the NE Cannonball) is very steep.

I apologize if you are already aware of all this, but this is my two cents (for what it is worth).


Good luck and have fun,

Z

Very appreciated; kind of expected this response the deeper drifts were present even at 3000 feet yesterday evening on Ascutney. I'll bring them.

Ruff said:

let me know if you cant see the image.

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Great pic

Ruff said:

A
- Im bringing some light traction but how much ice flow should I expect on the High Trail and Canonball sections..
-should I be planning to bring snowshoes for trail breaking on the Kinsman ridge section of the AT..

Basically, I'm just not sure how popular this loop is this time of year. Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Kinsmans and Canon separately are popular but the Canonballs, not so much. That section may not be broken.
Plenty of "PUDs" all over up in there, with ice flow, but some light traction or smaller snowshoes should be fine.

All 3 are a little longer day than you might think, with doubling back and the Canonballs. I made that mistake...once.

I'd recommend http://trailsnh.com/ which aggregates trail conditions from the site mentioned above, this site, and dozens of other sources, blogs, etc.

Tim

The forecast between now and the 26th is calling for a lot of rain too. That can make ice flows more prevetlent. While I would be surprised if you needed full crampons, the snowshoe crampon may be a huge help.

Chip said:

Great pic




Kinsmans and Canon separately are popular but the Canonballs, not so much. That section may not be broken.
Plenty of "PUDs" all over up in there, with ice flow, but some light traction or smaller snowshoes should be fine.

All 3 are a little longer day than you might think, with doubling back and the Canonballs. I made that mistake...once.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Im prepared for a long day, planning the start of my ascent for 7am and will hoof it to the Canon summit so that I can take my time with the rest..

TJsName said:

The forecast between now and the 26th is calling for a lot of rain too. That can make ice flows more prevetlent. While I would be surprised if you needed full crampons, the snowshoe crampon may be a huge help.

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I don't own any, have to look into some; I'll probably take my chances with the micros, my little snowshoes dig pretty well.

Thanks for the input everyone, I'll keep watching the forecast hopefully it holds for that day anyways. I'll be sure to post some pictures for yal after the trek.

Ruff said:

I don't own any, have to look into some; I'll probably take my chances with the micros, my little snowshoes dig pretty well.

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Microspikes are great, but there are times and trails that really require more traction than they can offer. An icy Kinsman Ridge trail from Cannon to Kinsmans may one such time and trail. If there is good snow cover then your snowshoes may well be fine; but if it's icy the trail is rough and steep enough that I don't think the Microspikes would give you a firm grip.

The section going down Cannon can be a bear and the Cannon Balls could require snowshoes for sure.

This is a "bring everything you've got" kind of route. On snowy days you may need snowshoes and a large party to break out the trail; on icy days full crampons are a very, very good idea (and an axe wouldn't hurt); and sometimes both can happen on the same day - the same wind that builds head-high drifts in the PUDs along the cannonballs, can also scour the steep, exposed slopes near Cannon's summit.

To Ruff:

If you intend to go down the Fishin Jimmy on your loop, just know that that trail's a bear in the warm half of the year. Its upper mile would likely be very nasty in places. I could see, easily, several ice sheets of dozens of feet in length and height and have heard that can be the case. The Lonesome Lake Trail is nice and easy, and for views, I recommend taking the western shore option on the loop around the lake.

I'd bring crampons for any winter visit to the FJT Good luck and hope you enjoy.

the forecast for Friday keeps improving and though I'll be expecting a fair amount of ice due to the rain expected through christmas, I think the warmer temps and clear skies will allow me to focus on the terrain and my photography. Wish me luck.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Had an awesome day yesterday, what an amazing trek. Trail conditions were nearly perfect even in the cannon balls although I was glad that I had brought my snowshoes because the snowpack was getting pretty soft midday. basically used the micro spikes all day until one of them broke on the fishin Jimmy Trail just before the hut. I was so exhausted when I left the hut I'd forgotten that I didn't put them back on and did a nice little butt slide down the staircase just before the lake. At least the yuppie blonde standing there with her boyfriend got a good laugh out of it. The gentleman asked me if I was ok, which I was other than a slightly bruised ego. was glad to see the car it was a longer day than I had expected, views were pretty decent other than the Franconia ridge being socked in all day. should I post pictures in this thread or somewhere else..

fix for spikes

Ruff said:

basically used the micro spikes all day until one of them broke on the fishin Jimmy Trail just before the hut. ..

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Ruff: FYI Someone on this site once suggested carrying zip ties for quick temporary repair of micro spikes. I've carried them ever since and got to use them several hikes ago when a link opened.

1SlowHiker said:

Ruff: FYI Someone on this site once suggested carrying zip ties for quick temporary repair of micro spikes. I've carried them ever since and got to use them several hikes ago when a link opened.

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Good idea, got a ton of em in the garage I think. thank you.

okay well here's the pics I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post them here if not let me know and I'll remove them. Thanks.

the last shot is of Beaver Pond, taken on the way home

Nice shots. It's OK to post some pictures here, but it's probably better to post them elsewhere and post a link for us to view them if you have a lot.