Sunday, May 5
Summits: North and South Kinsman, Cannon
Start/Finish: Lafayette Place TH
Miles: 11.96
Elevation gain/loss: 5784′
After sleeping at Big Rock campground last night, I rewarded myself with some Dunkin’ coffee for breakfast on my way to the trailhead. I parked, grabbed my gear, and headed out by 5:45am. I started in a t-shirt, light long sleeve shirt, and shorts without gloves, and the temps were in the mid 40s. I warmed up nicely and removed the long sleeve. I added my exospikes to my trail runners once I made it to the lake. The trail around the lake was relatively stable monorail or consolidating snow. Past the hut, there was a mix of open ground, rock, and snow. The rock slabs were a mix of ice, deteriorating snow, moving water, and bare rock. I was glad to be using the exospikes since I was switching between surfaces so frequently. At the trail intersection with Kinsman Pond campsite, I added my winter rain shell and gloves because I was getting cold. The wind was gusting around 30-35 MPH and the clouds had socked the mountains in with damp cold with windchill around 20-25 on the summits. Everything was getting soaked by the moisture. I hunkered down inside my jacket, and made good time up and over the two mountains. I took some video of the wind and roiling clouds and headed back.
Once back at the hut, I used their bathroom and then kept heading back. I was on the fence about summiting Cannon until I arrived at the Hi-Cannon trail. I did a time estimate, and decided to go for it, keeping to a methodical climbing pace. Rain started in earnest on my way up. I had the right gear to protect me from evaporation, so I felt safe continuing in cold, windy, and very wet conditions. The views were socked in, though sometimes I got a brief outline of the highway through the clouds, but I enjoyed seeing the Cannon summit tower swaying in the wind before heading back down.
