Distance: 10 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: North Kinsman #37 (4,293 feet), South Kinsman #38 (4,358 feet)
Today's hike began at the Lonesome Lake trail parking lot at Lafayette Place Campground. We followed these trails to South Kinsman and back: Lonesome Lake trail > Cascade Brook trail > Fishin' Jimmy trail > Kinsman Ridge trail [North Kinsman] > Kinsman Ridge trail [South Kinsman] (and then back across North Kinsman and down using the same trails).
The weather was looking iffy during the days leading up to the hike but as we traveled north into the mountains, the weather just kept getting better and better. We were all psyched up and ready to go!
The first part of the trail was moderately steep and rocky. In no time at all we arrived at Lonesome Lake.
It was fairly early in the morning and we had the place to ourselves. The views as we walked around the lake were absolutely spectacular!
We really needed to apply our will power to keep from jumping in for a swim. It was so quiet and the lake and surroundings were pristine.
Since the weather was currently perfect and there were chances of passing thunderstorms, we decided to make for the summit but pulling ourselves away from the lake and the hut wasn't easy!
Off we go. The infamous Fishin' Jimmy trail! The trail had a lot to offer with plenty of Beast Mode terrain for Quinn. That said, it didn't turn out to be as difficult as we had been led to believe.
Havin' some good times!
Today we really scored on the "boardwalks." Quinn loves these things and a couple of new planks had recently been built. There were still fresh wood chips all around from the work that was done.
In contrast, here are some planks that have really served some time. Quinn claims to have seen 233 "boardwalks" on this trip. We haven't seen nearly that many boardwalks on any of our other hikes. After the recent rain, they were super-handy today!
Fishin' Jimmy was tamed by all kinds of different staircases that were deployed along the trail.
The views from the lookout at Kinsman North were sublime. We enjoyed fantastic views of Lincoln and Lafayette!
There were great views of all the surrounding mountains from South Kinsman. We hung out for a while and enjoyed a well earned lunch.
Here's a view of Quinn with North Kinsman in the background on the way back from the South peak.
Wow, the weather today was unexpectedly excellent. What a great day to be in the Whites!
Here's Quinn enjoying some bouldering on the way down!
We had intended to go for a dip at Lonesome Lake on our return trip. However, we hadn't anticipated the crowds packed in at the lake. Considering we virtually had the trail to ourselves, it was a bit of a shock to see all the people on the Lonesome Lake trail as we descended. We were able to cool off in the Pemigewasset River and it was a great alternative to the lake. The weather and the views made for a very enjoyable day on the trails. It's hard to believe that we only have ten peaks remaining. I continue to deeply enjoy these trips with my buddy Quinn. We're looking forward to our upcoming adventures!
Quinn's Take
On Saturday my dad and I hiked North and South Kinsman. We hiked the Lonesome Lake trail. We started up the trail, crossed a bridge and came across Lonesome Lake. The Lonesome Lake hut was across the lake and we hiked around to it. It was really cool! We kept going and we went over a new boardwalk that was just built. Just past the boardwalk, the trail got very steep and it required Beast Mode! There were wooden stairs nailed into the rocks. There was an intersection and we continued straight. We finally got to the top of North Kinsman. I met a bird friend that I named Hopper. We shared some pretzels! The views up top were awesome. We started to make our way to South Kinsman. We ate lunch at the peak of South Kinsman. It was very peaceful up there! There was a big cairn on top. On the way down we were thankful that we came early because the clouds were rolling in and there were a lot of people on the trail. We didn't swim at the lake because there were too many people. We hit a record number of boardwalks on this hike. We got to the car and dunked in the river to cool off! I really enjoyed this hike.
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