Revenge Hi-Cannon Style and some meteors

8/10/13  - Lonesome Lake, Hi-Cannon, Kinsman Ridge

Wet trail, dry trail, granite slabs, slick slabs, bouldering, ladder, mud, erosion

Hello. My name is Karen Washington.  You killed my pride.  Prepare to be summited.

One month ago, I thought I bagged Cannon.  Yeah, not so much.  Between the fog and roping off so I don’t touch the precious ski trails, I never made it to the true summit.  I did make it to a false cairn. Why is it there?  Who knows.  

I am convinced that Cannon is the spawn of the Devil.  No trail I have taken has been nice.  Heck, I had an easier time on Lafayette with foggy goggles and being blown into snow drifts by gusts up to 70mph.  I would do that again in a second.  Cannon, never again.  And I mean it.  

This was a Meetup with the Fellowship of the Tortoise, but true to it’s evil nature, I missed them, parked in the wrong lot, had a minor anxiety attack and started 30 minutes later than usual.  BUT, I found out there are showers at Lafayette Place.  Four quarter for a glorious 5 minute shower.  Two minutes more than Joe Dodge.  Mike parked in front of me, he was doing the Kinsmans.

So I make my way up Lonesome Lake trail.  It’s OK.  There is a cool tree with exposed roots. Several of us took our picture in it.  Then on to Hi-Cannon.  It has a well defined trail sign.  Not too bad, but steep, few views in the beginning, but there are plenty later on.  There are a few tricky areas and others by the ladder that are, well, they require way too much thinking.  Part of the problem is the erosion.  I have to admit hiking does cause erosion.  And this side of Franconia Notch has lots of erosion.  It has the exfoliating granite.  Not just are part of it flaking off, but the resulting gravel becomes BBs when dry.  One careless move and you’re on your butt.  It is better when wet.  

Cool tree

What I think of getting to Cannon Mountain

I talked to another hiker, Jay, and we heard some kids yelling. A group of kids from Paris were also climbing Cannon.  They were a nice group of kids, but they were not well prepared for this hike.  I am sure it was a language barrier issue, but I felt bad for some of them.  It has made me realize that I should have taken French instead of Spanish in school.  One girl got a bee sting, another had her shoes fall apart.  Their shouts helped me know I was going the right way.  One girl gave me a butt boost.  Welcome to America.  Please push my big butt up.  They even cheered me when I FINALLY made it to the true summit.  They camped at Lafayette Place (very fitting for French kids) and were off to Boston and the Cape afterward.

Hi-Cannon gets interesting.  There are some weird water crossings.  Weird in that there was nothing preventing you from going down a little decline.  Doable, but you need to have faith in your skills.  There is a slab further up like that.  You become a true tree hugger on this trail.  The trail turns and offers awesome views of Franconia Ridge.  It is confusing because you are going over boulders.  Jay called it an old school trail.  Finally I saw some blazes and felt a bit better.  Trail is steep, and then you get to the infamous ladder.  Yes, it is a bit stetchy.  It is easier to climb up than descend, but it is not that bad.  I would have prefered a scramble.  After the ladder, there is a little wooden plank at the bottom of a slab to prevent you from falling.  People make it seem like the hard part is over after the ladder.  WRONG.  You have slabs, some steep and wet.  Being a tree hugger is important.  Everytime you think you are at the Kinsman Ridge Trail, nope, still Hi-Cannon.  Woods and slabs.  Woods and slabs.  Slabs and woods.  I started to doubt myself.  Then finally, Kinsman Ridge.  This section is much nicer than the other section leading up to Cannon.  

Victory is mine

Finally, I made it to the summit.  The windy summit.  I guess there are nice views, but I got my picture and left.  I met up with the rest of the Tortoises.  We ate at the top of the Tramway.  There was beer, but no pizza.  I longed for a good scotch.  I was rewarded later with a taste of Highland Park.  Magnificent.  We all comments on how we thought the mileage was off and it was much harder than people claimed.  There was lots of butt surfing and watching what other people were doing.  If they survived, so could we.  We had lunch at a nice look out.  Slowly, but steadily, we made it out.  Alive.  I danced for everyone.  I am glad I met up with them.  We had some great discussions.  I will see some on Saturday as we do the Moose.  

Junction of the Dodge Cutoff

Junction sign

NOTE:  If you want Elvio’s, call before you take your shower or when you are still on the trail.  It was an hour for a small pizza.  Wednesday is kids night.  It is better in the winter and spring.  

For some, this is just another hike in NH, for me, it was not.  It was harder than I expected.  It took longer than I expected.  One of the guys I hiked with was a surveyor.  Of course, I asked if he know a better way to calculate mileage.  I mean they have laser and all.  

After that, I went up to Dolly Copp to spend my first night in a tent.  We stayed up and watched the Leonids.  We saw some great meteors before we finally went to sleep.  Dolly Copp is a really nice campground.  Real nice.  I would camp there again.  We may not have been the oldest group, but we stayed up the latest.  It was a great group of people having a great time.  And several trailheads are on the property.  Who could ask for anything more?