Saturday, March 16, 2019
Start/End: Lafayette Campground parking
Mileage: 12.8
Elevation gain/loss: 4554′
GaiaGPS track
I parked around 7am at Lafayette Place, and scrambled to the only open toilets in the area, under the bridge and by the other parking area. I was very grateful for their timely existence. I then booted up with my microspikes and headed towards the Lonesome Lake hut. It was moderately cold and very overcast, with snow forecast for the afternoon.
I arrived at the hut as most people were eating breakfast; I took a quick break and then headed up towards the summits. There was one particular section where the ice was treacherous but overall, it wasn’t bad. As I was nearing the completely open South Kinsman summit, it began to snow in earnest, socking in the summit and reducing visibility to maybe 100 yards. I was the first summit of the day and had it all to myself.
I then headed back the way I’d come; maybe 20 minutes later, I passed by the next group of people looking to summit. On my way down, I passed by at least 2 dozen people and managed to lose one of my water bottles. I got back to the hut and went inside for a snack and a rest. The caretaker was offering baked goods, soup, mac and cheese, and nachos for purchase. I had a nice bowl of soup and food I had brought with me, while also drinking a lot of water. I watched the snow fall and relaxed for half an hour, before new guests started to fill the common area. By the time I headed out, the snow had mostly stopped.
I headed out from the hut and took the 0.3 cut-off trail to Hi-Canon. I then hiked up towards the summit of Cannon. The section with the stairs was treacherously slippery and steep, and on a drop-off for good measure. I had to be very, very careful but I got up the section with no trouble. The summit was quiet and I headed back down. On my way down, I saw some blue sky for the first time that day. The stairs section was even worse on the way back down; I had to turn around and do it going backwards so I could plant my toes firmly in the previous steps.
