Also on this trip
Trails Used
Mt Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
Kinsmans had every possible trail condition you can think of today. Dry leaves, mud, ice, well packed snow. But no post holing and an always creepy sugar shack were the highlights.
Photos
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Also on this trip
Trails Used
Mount Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
The first two miles to the Bald Peak spur is devoid of snow. But once you pass that junction you will need to have sharp micros on from there to the North and South summits. Not really that much time or effort from North to South. Definitely a must do.The snow is solid and I never post holed because I stayed in the center on the trail. I carried my snowshoes on my pack the whole time, but I didn’t need them. Great trail to hike very well maintained. Several tree and limbs on the trail, but nothing required too much effort to avoid. The four streams crossings were easily managed, but as I was told by hiker Chad who was on his way down to be careful of the black ice on the tops of the rocks. Great advice and nice to talk about the trail conditions and hiking too. Thanks. Easy to park, but you need to pay with envelope. Unfortunately no views from the summits or outlooks because of the clouds. Either way it was an excellent day to hike these peaks.
Parking
Easy parking when I got there at 8:30. You need to put money in an envelope and deposit in the box.
Water Crossings
The water crossing were all manageable. Rock hopping, but several rock sticking out of the water were covered in black. Be cautious choosing.
Wildlife
None
Also on this trip
Trails Used
Mt Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
Far better conditions than expected for edge season hiking. Bareboots up to the Bald spur, then spikes for the rest of the hike. The trail is a mix of dry, mud, ice, packed snow, but no post holing today, although someone wasn't so lucky a few days ago. My recommendation - bring the snowshoes and hope you don't need them. As the ridge softens they might be helpful.
Parking
Plenty of parking before sunrise. 7 cars around 11am, with room for 4-5 more.
Water Crossings
Black ice alert! All can be crossed, but black ice is hiding on top of dry looking rocks. Take some care on choosing what to step on and you'll be fine.
Also on this trip
Trails Used
Lonesome Lake, Fishin’ Jimmy, Kinsman Ridge
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
Beautiful bluebird day! Was going to camp at Kinsman’s Shelter but the rain was moving in on me so I bailed out before the bad weather. Perfect day. The trail conditions are going to change rapidly and may be quite bad by tomorrow.
Water Crossings
Ice bridges on Fishin’ Jimmy trail are getting sketchy.everythingstill in tact though.the snow got much softer in the sun all day and will probably be even worse after tomorrows rain.
Also on this trip
Trails Used
Lonesome Lake Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
Beautiful day, clear skies, and some windy gusts. Trail was a packed highway to Lonesome Lake. Fishin’ Jimmy and Kinsman Ridge trails were consolidated enough that I wore microspikes the whole way. I’d recommend planning on bringing snowshoes once warmer temps are forecasted. Shoutout to Steve—happy trails!
Water Crossings
Manageable. Test before stepping.
Also on this trip
Trails Used
Lonesome Lake Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Trail Conditions
Equipment
Notes
I started in bare boots on the Lonesome Lake trail but quickly switched to snowshoes. The trail was packed down but it still felt like walking in sand. Snowshoes were a huge improvement. The closer I got to the hut, the less consolidated the snow was. Fishin Jimmy had seen some traffic. It looked like a pair or 2 of snowshoes had initially tracked it out which were followed by one pair of bare boots. The snow was very unpacked so snowshoes are totally the way to go. Up higher, the usual open areas had drifted back in so I re-broke those. Rick came behind me rocking his orange MSR LAs and really helped pack things down. He opted to only tag the North peak so my tracks are the only ones packing down the South peak. Upon my return, the Lonesome Lake trail was much more packed down due to the warm temps and foot traffic. I kept my snowshoes on because I was lazy but that section could totally be bare booted or spiked. Fishin Jimmy will require snowshoes until things re-freeze - it's way too soft. It was great to bump into friends as I descended and catch up!
Parking
The right side of the lot was plowed and icy when I arrived. A lot of the ice had melted out upon my return.
Water Crossings
Snow bridges were intact. I checked them carefully before trusting them but they held fine.
Wildlife
I saw one flying creature. I may have imagined it.