Whites - Lonesome Lake

[ALGonquin Bob]

Making the very long drive to NH on Jan. 15 to spend 3 nights at the Lonesome Lake AMC hut. Don't really know anything about the Whites except what I read in the hut guidebook. Am open to suggestions for day hikes we can do from the hut on Sat. and Sun.. Anyone else going to be near the hut that weekend?

 

[Waumbek]

Anyone else going to be near the hut that weekend?

Yes, as the crow flies, under three miles (in my house).

LL hut is a good launch pad for Kinsman Pond and N. Kinsman via Fishin' Jimmy, also for Cannon, a steep but shorter hike, if you want to see lots of skiers on MLK weekend.

 

[DougPaul]

LL hut is a good launch pad for Kinsman Pond and N. Kinsman via Fishin' Jimmy, also for Cannon, a steep but shorter hike, if you want to see lots of skiers on MLK weekend.

While you are hiking N. Kinsman, you might as well continue a bit farther and get S. Kinsman too.

Hmm. About 117 miles from my house...

Doug

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Yes, as the crow flies, under three miles (in my house).

Not quite what I meant. Really don't want to see lots of skiers; maybe my friend picked the wrong hut, but that's the only one that was available for us. I'm interested in good mountain scenery and some challenging snowshoeing, and don't care about bagging the max number of peaks.

 

[peakbagger]

Lonesome Lake is somewhat isolated from the main mass of the whites but there are plenty of trails to keep you interested. Cannon Mtn does have lots of skiers but the trails are on the opposite side of the mountain from Lonesome Lake. If you want to go grab a bowl of chili at the top of Tram, go for it and see lots of skiers but if you want to avoid the skiers just stop at the summit.

Using the hut as a base, there are three loops that cover the ridgeline (South Kinsman, North Kinsman, the Cannon Balls and Cannon). All three have some very steep sections that can be challenging on snowshoes. Nearby, but not very convienient if you are staying at the hut is the Lafayette Lincoln loop with Mt Liberty and Flume also close by. All four are on the other side of the the parkway. The trailhead for the Lafayette Lincoln loop is in the same parking lot as the Lonesome lake trailhead, if you get great weather(low winds), try to do this loop its spectacular and beats anything you can find on the Kinsman Ridge.

 

[Waumbek]

I'm interested in good mountain scenery and some challenging snowshoeing, and don't care about bagging the max number of peaks.

You will have one of the most spectacular views in the Whites from the lake east to Franconia ridge. The snowshoeing most likely will be challenging, and you'll probably bag peaks in the course of one or more of the loops PB describes, not as a goal per se. I don't think you're going to be disappointed.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Thank you! That's what I was looking for.

 

[Quietman]

Without heading all the way to the top, there are nice ledges on the High Canon trail that have great views East to Franconia Ridge and to the South and Southwest.

 

[DougPaul]

FWIW, it is possible to start at Lafayette Place, hike to N. Kinsman, S. Kinsman, the Cannon Balls, Cannon, and back down to Lafayette Place in a (summer conditions) dayhike. It might be a bit much (even from the hut) in winter depending on the travel conditions. However, broken into two or three days it should all be doable from the hut unless travel is particularly difficult.

Warning: the Kinsman Ridge Tr from Coppermine Col to the junction with Hi-Cannon Tr (on Cannon) is very steep and could be difficult in winter conditions. (The drop from the Cannon Balls into Coppermine Col is also quite steep.) Hi-Cannon is generally significantly easier.

As others have noted, the view from the west shore of the lake is very nice. There are also nice views from all of the above-mentioned summits and/or viewpoints close to the summits. (N Kinsman, best viewpoint is from a slab just E of summit. There is also a loop trail from Cannon summit that has nice views into Franconia Notch.)

Doug

 

[BobC]

The best suggestion I can give (since everyone has covered everything else above) is the route you take to the hut. I much prefer parking at the Basin and taking the Basin-Cascades & Cascade Brook trails to get to the hut. This adds about 1 mile over the standard route (from Lafayette Campground) of the Lonesome Lake trail, but only adds about 200' of elevation gain. In return, you'll get a much more scenic trail without all of the highway noise that you can hear on the Lonesome Lake trail. The downside might be that it's not always as well broken-out as the Lonesome Lake trail.

 

[DougPaul]

The best suggestion I can give (since everyone has covered everything else above) is the route you take to the hut. I much prefer parking at the Basin and taking the Basin-Cascades & Cascade Brook trails to get to the hut. This adds about 1 mile over the standard route (from Lafayette Campground) of the Lonesome Lake trail, but only adds about 200' of elevation gain. In return, you'll get a much more scenic trail without all of the highway noise that you can hear on the Lonesome Lake trail. The downside might be that it's not always as well broken-out as the Lonesome Lake trail.

The Cascade Brook Trail can also be fairly rough.

However, either will get you there...

Doug

 

[Dave Bear]

The Cascade Brook Trail can also be fairly rough.

However, either will get you there...

Doug

Then again it can also avoid the crowds headed for the hut if its heavily booked. Sometimes a plus!

First time I used self-service I brought more utensil etc than I needed. Later I learned to just bring my stove and light mess kit for the trail. Then again many folks know me from taking a 25lb grill up Cannon with 15lb of meat, go figure! Hope you have nice weather because there is a great view of Franconia Ridge from the upper bunkhouse porch! Enjoy NH and your stay!

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Thanks to all for the info. Regarding the hut, I haven't read much about it. The bunk houses are separate buildings from the kitchen/dining area? Is there a kitchen/dining area? Are all buildings heated? Do I need to bring my own stove, and where do I set it up? There is very little info about huts in winter on the AMC website.

 

[Juniper]

At LL there is a common dining and cooking room, and all the sleeping quarters are in separate buildings (and can be very cold!). The common area will be cold during the day, but warms up nicely in the evening when everyone is there hanging out, cooking, etc. They also will light the wood stove in the evenings if it is cold enough, and there is overhead lighting until "lights out". For cooking, you have access to the hut's gas stovetops, oven, cookware, dishes and hot water. On crowded weekends, the caretaker will organize groups and assign a cooking time slot to help manage the cooking area (so no need to bring your own stoves).

I've only done the hut thing a couple of times in winter, but I think this is generally the way they all work.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Sounds like there isn't much chance of drying out wet clothes. We booked 3 nights at the hut. With no, or little heat, it could be a very long 3 days up there. I'm thinking my friend should have booked a motel, and we could do day hikes anywhere.

 

[DougPaul]

Sounds like there isn't much chance of drying out wet clothes. We booked 3 nights at the hut. With no, or little heat, it could be a very long 3 days up there. I'm thinking my friend should have booked a motel, and we could do day hikes anywhere.

Just think of the bunk rooms as oversize tents and use standard winter camping technique: dry mittens and socks etc with body heat while sleeping (ie on your belly inside your sleeping bag).

Doug

 

[Waumbek]

You're right, ALG-Bob, it probably will be difficult to dry a lot of wet clothing if you don't want to sleep with it. The separate, smaller bunk houses are nice in the respect that they are quieter, but they are detached from the kitchen quarters, which is where some heat is generated from the propane cooking stove and, when lit, the woodstove. But don't plan on 70-degrees or 60 or even 50, depending, of course, on outside temps. Some people have been known to take bags of apples to winter huts and do a slow bake of apple crisp or whatever for 60 minutes.....

 

[Brambor]

it can be done.

I have successfully dried my clothes in the huts in the past. Even though the stove time is short I left it hanging there overnight and the combined time was enough.

I am not talking about wet clothes as if I jumped into the lake but instead of moderately damp clothes from winter hiking. Also, I am talking about hydrophobic fabrics and not cotton.

The stove time is also relative to how motivated the caretaker is.

3 days in the same AMC hut is kinda pushing it for my taste. The trail to Lonesome lake is good for hiking and snowshoeing but not cross country skis. If I had 3 days in the winter I would probably spend the first night at Lonesome lake and then hike down in the morning and drive to the Zealand trail and ski to Zealland Falls hut for the second and third night and then ski back out.

 

[naturegirl]

I second BobC's suggestion of the Cascade trails.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Just looked into the cancellation policy. AMC keeps ALL your money if you cancel less than 14 days prior to a trip. Looks like we'll be freezing our assets off in a hut for 3 nights.