This hike was the first of the year and i hadn't really conditioned myself for it. I knew what to expect but still forgto some essentail day-of prep work like popping Advil in the morning to help control the swelling I have after I'm done. This trip was with BishopX and we intended to grab both Kinsman peaks. The Forecast had some possible rain in the morning and a big storm system coming up in the afternoon. Expecting to be able to get both peaks we proceeded with this plan.
History: Kinsman Mountain is named after an early resident of the area, Nathan Kinsman. The Fishin’ Jimmy trail is named after James Whitcher, a man who once lived in Franconia. I imagine he tried fishing once.
Peak Elevation: 4293 ft
Elevation Gain: 2526 ft
Trails: Lonesome Lake Tr., Cascade Brook Tr., Fishin' Jimmy Tr., Kinsman Ridge Tr.
Length: 8.8 mi
Time on Trail : 0920
Time off Trail: 1640
As previously stated in this post, the intent was get both Kinsman peaks. We got a bit later of a start than planned, but once going it got warm and humid fast, which did not help my poor conditioning. On the way up, the terrain up to the Lonesome Lake Hut was pretty steady and easy going. We took a moment for photos but kept moving on because of the forecast. The Fishin' Jimmy trail, as advised by BishopX, had lots of pointless up and downs for a good portion of it. On the return hike we tried to go from memory for how many there were and laughed when wrong. Once we made it to the Kinsman Ridge trail, my trail pains had subsided and we plowed onward to the north peak in spite of the ominous clouds to our southwest. Not long after we found the high point, we visited the viewpoint not far from there and began hearing thunder booms at increasing succession and perceived closeness. We opted to skip the South Peak, 0.9 miles away, in anticipation of potential lightning strikes. By the time we made it to the junction where you can go to the Kinsman Pond area, it had started misting a bit. We spoke to the caretaker and she kindly pointed us to the shelter, where we had lunch and chatted up 3 other hikers and the caretaker while the storm downpouring went on. we lost about an hour waiting that out but i'm glad we did so we could stay dry at that point. Navigating the trail went well after that in spite of the rain. Not long after we saw some hikers from Europe going up who marveled at our dryness, it started raining some more and we just kept pressing onwards so we could get home and dry. Intermittent downpours later and we were back at Lafayette Campground. For losing time to a storm our time was not terrible.
Photos:
https://imgur.com/a/q2ePmMF
I plan to go get the South Peak this year, probably will take another route, maybe the Mt Kinsman Trail.
