Fumbling Around In The Woods: Cannon Mtn (4,100 ft) 9-11-21

Distance: 4.75 mi.
Elevation: 2,147 ft (overall) 2,421 ft (total)
Time: 1:41 (View Above Old Man Site) 2:13 (Summit) 3:50 (Total)
Trails: Kinsman Ridge Trail

Just like we did two years ago, today we hike Cannon Mountain for Flags on the 48. Being the 20th anniversary, our group leader Jim wanted to bring out his big flag, so we needed a peak that had somewhere to use it. Drapping it over the side of the building on Cannon Mtn has worked before, so that was the peak we picked for this year. We also had our normal size flag again, and a couple others to honor paramedics and firefighters as well as a soldier that was killed overseas in the war that followed 9-11.

We had quite a few people in our group this year and luckily we had enough people taking the tram up that we could send most of the poles, flags, and hardware needed up with them so the hike up would be easier. Some of the slower hikers in the group decided to get and earlier headstart so that we could catch up to them later on in the hike.

Two years ago someone that is working on a documentary about the american flag and what it means to people got some footage of us during the event. With the wind and clouds that day, some of the audio wasn't as good as he liked and there were no views to incorporate, so this year he had another photographer/videographer hike with us to get some more footage. It was interesting having someone document the hike as he didn't know much about the event before tagging along. He also got some great footage of the flags and the hike that should be good to use in the documentary and for their own personal uses.

We had all of our flags up by noon with 3 on poles and the big one draped down over the side of the building on the summit. Lots of people were out to enjoy the event and the views today. It made for a great atmosphere at the summit while we were up there. After packing up the gear after 2pm, the non hikers helped bring it all down in the trams again while we hiked down. Once they were down at the bottom of the mountain they started getting a big barbecue ready so as soon as we finished the hike down we could all have something good to eat. We offered food and drinks to everyone that was hiking down today with many other hikers taking us up on the deal. It made for a great end to the day.