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.

The trail is steep from the start

One large wet slab to climb up

A rest at the view point

Getting one of our flags ready

Multiple flags are up

Zeppelin has the names of the rescue dogs involved on his vest

Other flags were visible with the nice weather

We brought the big flag out today

View down through the notch

The Kinsmans

Franconia Ridge

After hike barbecue

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug

Cannon Mtn (4,100 ft) 9-14-19

Distance: 5.26 mi.
Elevation: 2,149 ft (overall) 2,644 ft (total)
Time: 2:07 (Summit) 3:44 (Total)
Trails: Kinsman Ridge Trail

This year for Flags on the 48 our group had picked to hike Cannon Mountain. Our group leader's father has helped out with our flag pole setup, but isn't much for hiking big peaks. The idea was he could come see it in action using the tram. Of course the weather ended up being cool, windy, cloudy, and a bit rainy. So not many of the non-hiking crowd ended up coming along as it wasn't going to be as enjoyable with the weather and lack of views.

We met in the dirt parking lot near the tramway parking lot. Shortly after I got there, everyone was there and ready to go. So we gathered together and headed up the Kinsman Ridge Trail. It was cloudy and a little breezy, but wasn't raining so a wind breaker was good enough to keep me warm until we got further up the mountain and my body warmed up. The trail today would be a mix of a big eroded ditch, some wet potentially slippery rock slabs, and rocky sections following ski glades.

Very eroded lower section of the Kinsman Ridge Trail

Wet rock slab section of trail

The trail following the ski glades

It's been 12 years I think since I have been on this trail, but it was rockier than I remembered it being. It wasn't bad with big rocks, just more rocks than I remembered. As we were getting to the spur that goes to the lookout above the old profile we started to run into a little bit of mud as well. The wind was also picking up by this point, so I decided it was time to put my rain jacket on to stay dry and warmer. As we came out of the trees more above this it was certainly windier.

Coming up towards the top

We made such good time hiking up that we were at the top of the tram with plenty of time before noon and we needed the flag up. So we all went into the building to stay out of the wind and warm up a bit before taking the short walk to the summit tower. Given the summit conditions, we got our flag up pretty quick. With the wind we needed to tie and clamp the pole a bit more to the railing at the top of the tower. With all of the wind, we also had a brief failure where our flag counter weight blew off and fell to the ground below the tower. Luckily no one was down there and got hurt. We had to adjust how it was attached after so that it wouldn't come off again. We flew our flag most of the two hour time frame we ask flags to fly, but with our crew getting cold and at least one dog in our group shivering, we packed up a bit early. Some of our gear was brought down by a helper on the tramway, but almost all of us hiked back down afterwards.

The flag flying in the clouds

The flag flying in the clouds

No views today

Visibility was about 200 feet

The tram was running, and people were taking it

Wires from the tram going off into nothingness

The trek back down went smoothly for everyone. It didn't rain any more and as we got further down the wind got lighter. We never did have any views, but we always find things to talk about instead. Everyone made it down safely even with damp rock slabs to come down on sections of the trail. We all went at our own pace and everything worked out fine. After the hike and more talking in the parking lot, we decided on a place to eat supper and went and told more stories while checking online to see how many other peaks we could confirm.

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug

Cannon Mtn (4,100 ft) 3-18-14

Distance: 3.70 mi.
Elevation: 2,143 ft. (overall) 2,320 ft. (total)
Time: 2:22 (Summit) 4:01 (Total)
Trails: Kinsman Ridge Trail, Rim Trail

With most of this winters few hikes being peaks I have already done in winter, I wanted to make sure to get at least one more new winter peak. I scheduled this day off from work since I would be up north all weekend snowmobiling. As it got closer, the forecast kept getting better.

With the forecast for clear skies and knowing some of my future hikes I want to do, I decided that a nice few of Franconia Ridge was what I would be looking for today. Having hiked up Cannon Mountain twice from the Lonesome Lake side, I decided to hike from the tramway side today (although I have come down this way once). Being a Tuesday and having the tram closed, there were hardly any cars in the parking lot and most seemed to be employees. I headed up the trail on snowshoes and was reminded that it starts climbing from the very beginning. It was 17 degrees when I left the car, but the immediate climb and the sun through the hardwoods was warming me up some already. But entering the softwoods soon after cooled things back down. The trail here is eroded so you are down in the ground some so to speak and there was snow slopping up both sides of me. This made the air quite cool as you hiked through.

Between two walls of snow

In what seemed like very little time, I was at the first crossing of the Kinsman Glade ski trail. The hiking trail heads right across, but is also blazed quite well through here with blue blazes. The hiking trail crosses the ski trail 4 times while switch backing up the mountain before finally following along the left edge briefly before turning left and back into the woods. Traction was good when crossing the ski trail, but I still took care since it was packed well from the skiers and didn't offer much in ways to slow yourself down right off if you did slip. Just looking ahead to pick the best route to cross was enough.

Ski slope crossing

Once turning back into the woods, the trail was still well packed from snowshoers and also skiers/snowboarders that had come down the trail as well. At this point, you are also past the steepest parts of the climb. The trail was easy to follow through here, but some branches were getting low and near face level with the increasing base of snow on the ground. Soon I was at the side path to the viewpoint and had my first view of the summit. I decided to do the viewpoint on the way down and headed back into the trees. One section of trail through here had some old drifts that seemed deep and had added lots of snow to the trees. While they looked neat, the path through one was only wide enough for one snowshoe. This meant I either had to lift the other one high and over the drift or shuffle my feet to get through.

First view of the summit

Narrow path

Coming back out of the trees to the rocky area before the summit, you could easily make out the trail ahead and also see some people on the observation deck. The trail was nice and hard through here and followed a good path. From comparing my GPS tracks, this path is a little off from the actual trail, but I'm guessing the skiers tend to make the path here based on what works for coming off the ski trails. After coming out onto the ski trails briefly, I decided I would try to take the Rim Trail around to the left and come up to the summit that way. This was definitely the less traveled route I would find. While it was solid enough to hold me, it was pretty choppy from the few snowshoes that had been through. Like most others, I also bailed off of this and went directly up to the summit tower rather than follow it all the way around.

Following the Rim Trail

The stairs up to the observation deck were mostly filled with snow meaning I could snowshoe up them easily. On the deck were two others that had taken a break from skiing to enjoy the views. I talked with them for a while before they headed back off for some more runs. I then had the top to myself the rest of the time I was up there. Views were great in all directions with clear skies. I spend almost a full hour taking in the views and taking pictures. It was certainly a great day. The temp on the summit was 13 degrees with a wind blowing around 7-10 mph. This made for a wind chill of 1. All I put on for this was a partial face mask and I was comfortable since it was so sunny.

Panoramic views today

The Kinsmans

Quite a few skiers for a Tuesday

I kept thinking I saw hikers on Lafayette, but the spots I was looking at never moved

Finally it was time to head back down taking the same route. The sun hadn't softened anything up and skiers had kept things packed well as I had noticed from the summit that a group of about 6-8 had ventured down the trail. Before going back into the trees before the viewpoint, I had a nice conversation with another hiker named Frank. Of course we talked about the great day for a hike and some other things before we both continued on our journeys. The hike back down the mountain went smooth and I didn't run into any other hikers or skiers after this.

From the view point

Back down onto the ski trail briefly

This hike ended up going great with perfect weather for the day and my last winter peak of the season. With two nice weather hikes in a row, I'm looking forward to (and anxious for) the rest of the hikes while trying to hit my goal of all 67 New England 4Ks this year.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Cannon Mtn. (4,100 ft) 6-15-13

Distance: 5.491 mi.
Elevation: 2,359 ft.
Time: 5:07
Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Hi-Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Around Lonesome Lake Trail

With Cannon Mtn. being the first 4,000 footer I hiked, it had been a while since I was here. Today my plan was to hike a similar route as last time to start, but then a different route down that would hopefully include the Northeast Cannonball on the way.

I started up the Lonesome Lake Trail from Lafayette Place Campground like I did last time. This time I turned off at the start of the Hi-Cannon Trail though as opposed to going to Lonesome Lake first. The trail gets a bit steep in places from here, but includes some small switchbacks to make it easier. There is also some interesting terrain and boulders that you go past.

After passing the Dodge Cut Off, it was familiar trail again. The trail passes by a tree I didn't notice my last time here. It appears to have been partially blown over, but is still alive and doing well. The roots that pulled up partially formed a small jail cell like hole under the tree. The trail soon starts to work across the side hill over more rocky terrain. Before long though, the trail turns uphill and comes to the wooden ladder. Just after the ladder is a great view down over Lonesome Lake from a rocky outcropping. After this, the trail gets a little bit easier before leveling off quite a bit as it works to the summit.

Jail cell tree base

Ladder

View over Lonesome Lake

Summit view

After taking in the views and talking with some other people, it was time to head back down the trail. I headed down the Kinsman Ridge Trail towards the Cannonballs. This trail is steep as others have said, but wasn't too difficult. One side hill section over a narrow section of large rocks looks like it would be tricky with snow or ice on the ground.

Rocky side hill section of trail

Once I got to the intersection with the Lonesome Lake Trail, I checked the time. I had to be home at a certain time for father's day supper at my parents. I didn't look like I would quite have the time to climb the short distance to the Northeast Cannonball. So instead I headed down towards Lonesome lake and would just have a bit more time there to enjoy the loop around the back and the hut. The hike down went smooth and quick with quite a few other people headed up.

View from Lonesome Lake

For all pictures from the hike, click HERE

Cannon Mtn (4,100 ft) 8-27-09

Distance: 4.637 mi. (mtn) 7.552 mi. (w/ bike path)
Elevation: 2350 ft.
Time: 4:29 (mtn) 5:42 (w/ bike path) Trails: Lonesome Lake Trail, Dodge Cutoff Trail, Hi-Cannon Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Bike Path

I parked in the parking area on the Northbound side of 93 across from the Lafeyette Place Campground. Walked through the tunnel under the road and through the campground to the start of the trail. I tried to start off at an easy pace as I tend to go too fast too quick and therefore get tired quicker. As this was going to be my longest hike in some time, I didn't want that to happen. The Lonesome Lake trail was a good trail that wasn't too steep as it has a couple switchbacks in it. As it levels off before the lake, I was given a nice break in the hiking effort in the middle of the climb.

Switchback in the trail

As I took pictures at the lake, I wondered how I had never known it was there even though I had been up the tram to the summit as a kid. I would find out later that it is because you can't see it from the summit. This makes me wonder how many non-hikers take the tram up and down don't even know about this little gem.

Lonesome Lake

The Dodge Cuttoff trail was a short and pleasant trail. While the wooden walkways in the muddy areas could use some work, I enjoyed this trail. It is just worn enough to follow and has a couple narrow passages through some thick spruce trees.

Narrow path through the spruce

The Hi-Cannon trail provides varied and interesting terrain. After the Dodge Cutoff trail joins it, it isn't overly steep and goes quick. It then gets steeper and soon turns towards the right following the edge of the mountain more. The first lookout on the trail wasn't quite what I expected. There is a small opening in the trees and you are looking over other trees due to how steep the side is at this point. After this you follow the edge a bit more before turning up the mountain. You quickly come to the ladder on the trail followed by the second lookout. This lookout has a great overlook of Lonesome Lake and you can walk right out onto the rock. From here it isn't a bad walk to the Kinsman Ridge trail.

First lookout

Ladder

Second lookout

The Kinsman Ridge trail isn't very steep after you join up with it. This makes for a gentle stroll up to the summit and the observation deck. This trail has been used so much over the years that the walking path of it is worn down a few inches compared to the surrounding ground.

I think the hardest point of this part of the climb was the three flights of stairs up to the observation deck. But they were well worth it as it was now noon and it was a beautiful day out. The sun was shinning, the skies were blue, and there were almost no clouds at all to get in the way of the 360 degree view. After taking a bunch of pictures and soaking in the view, I went to the tram station to sit for a bit and watch the tram cars come and go a couple times. I then headed back along the Ridge trail and down the other side of the mountain.

View from the observation deck - Lafeyette, Lincoln, Little Haystack

View from the observation deck - Can't see Lonesome Lake

View from the observation deck - Tram car coming in

On the way down I made the side trek to the lookout over where the Old Man of the Mtn had been. This trail descending was certainly rockier than the climb up and and was often slopping to the side. It certainly looks like it would have been a more difficult ascent. And while you aren't too far from the tram line, there is only a couple places where you can see the cars going up and down. The most interesting thing I found on this trail, was towards the bottom when you start to walk through a deep trench in the trail. The rock here isn't overly strong and seems to have crumbled. On the ground it almost looks like you are walking on rice krispies or something.

Tram through the trees

Trench

I stopped at a picnic table in the parking area once at the bottom to get the dirt (rice krispies mostly) out of my boots. Just before heading back to the truck though I got some major cramps in my legs (the first of the day). Walking around made them go away, but the cramps made walking hard and painful. After getting the cramps taken care of, I got on the bike path and walked back to the truck. I was going to take the Pemi trail here, but missed the start of it (I think I know where it is now) and thought the bike path might be a little quicker being paved as I was running a little late for getting home for supper at a friend's house.

To view the rest of the pictures from the hike, just click here.