February 16, 2008
We met at the trailhead at 8:00. There were 8 in our group: Ed, Dave, Audrey, Becca, Jim, Sarah, Victoria, and myself. Pete Crane was also leading a hike to the Kinsmans. We met his group of six in the parking lot. I hiked with Pete once before. There were 3 hikers in his group that I didn't know, but there was also Patty and Darcy who I have had the pleasure of hiking with before. Darcy had an Appalachian Trail Workshop a couple weeks ago. Being a 2005 thru hiker, she was definitely qualified.
"How did your workshop go?" I asked Darcy.
"It went great! They said they learned a lot and that it was helpful. Either that or they were being very polite." she said.
With Darcy's successful workshop, I'm sure there will be several more well equipped AT Thru Hikers for the 2008 season.
Today's Track
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After cutting through the campground, we headed up to Lonesome Lake.
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After a short but steep climb we reached the lake where Audrey took my picture.
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Our group on the edge of Lonesome Lake
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We could have cut across the lake, but it was cold and windy, so we remained on the trail.
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We made the short hike around to the other side of the lake where we got a nice view
of Mounts Lafayette and Lincoln which were trying to break free of the clouds.
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Now we were on the Fishin' Jimmy Trail which is also the Appalachian Trail.
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Lonesome Lake Hut
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Jim on the Fishin' Jimmy Trail. I already asked, Jim doesn't fish.
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My turn to break trail
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Audrey and Dave
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We played leap frog with Pete Crane's group on the way up. Near the top of North Kinsman our two groups more or less merged into one group. Here's both groups on the 4293' summit.
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I shared the Little Debbie's oatmeal pies I had brought, and we were off to South Kinsman.
Our blue skies were now gone.
South Kinsman is out there somewhere.
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It was a tough mile. With heavy snowfall on the trees there were a lot of bend overs, causing us to push, crawl, and claw our way through. I felt like I was on a bushwhack.
"I feel like I just had football practice," said Audrey. "Banging into all the branches coated with blocks of ice has rubbed my shoulders raw. When I get home I'm going to have to put ice on my shoulders. How ironic is that?"
"That is ironic," I said. "The very thing that is causing you pain will help relieve the pain later on."
Our group spread out a bit as we neared the summit.
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Dwarf size trees on South Kinsman
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Our group(s) on the 4358' summit of South Kinsman.
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These were both new winter peaks for me, #20 and #21 respectively.
South Kinsman also marked my 100 peak towards 'The Grid'. The grid is completing each of the 48 peaks in each of the 12 months for a total of 576 peaks. Yes, I have a long way to go.
"Time to head back through the car wash," said Jim.
It was like being in a car wash, only instead of soft brushes we were being whacked in the face with ice covered branches. By the time we resummited North Kinsman we were met by lots of other hikers who thanked us for breaking trail. The weather partially cleared as we headed down North Kinsman.
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We returned over the same route with the exception of taking a shortcut across Lonesome Lake.
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The last mile or two of the day we could see a rescue helicopter across the notch searching Mount Lafayette. From what I gathered later, someone had been hurt. Fortunately they had a sleeping bag with them and a cellphone which they used to text message for help.
We got back to our vehicles about 4:00. For the first time on a hike with Dave, I didn't hear him say "Too Easy". I must have just missed him saying it, because it was too easy.
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