South Kinsman Mountain

Trail: Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail

Conditions: Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts

“I know BOR and Andrea were out recently and Andrea even texted me with a great trip report. Mother Nature obliterated everything they did. Even right from the parking lot, the tracks were gone and there wasn't even the remains of a snowshoe trench. I crossed Lonesome Lake which was windy and super fun and then headed up Fishin' Jimmy. The drifts began here and just increased in height. Easily 3 to 4 feet in places and there was one taller than me. It was slow going but I got it done and saw no one until I was on my way back to North and then bumped into Adrian, aka, Frosty Beard who had already broken out Cannon and was now packing down my work. Even with the 2 of us in snowshoes, it looked like a moose had broken the trail. There is just so much snow. By the time I was back on Lonesome Lake trail things were better packed out and it made it easy to cruise out on my shoes. That part of the trail is shaping up nicely and may be ready for spikes by the end of the weekend but you will absolutely, 100%, need snowshoes for anything beyond the lake. And be prepared to re-break sections of it due to the wind today. Mother Nature is making us work for these peaks right now.”

Trail: Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts

“Thanks to the human and dog crew who broke the wind drifted snow yesterday. Also thanks to the 3 gents who broke trail to lonesome lake. That definitely made my day easier. Had the golden ticket for the rest of the day with anywhere from 3-6 inches of new snow from last night . Fishin Jimmy was good to me even if mildly annoying with the “ups” on the way back. KRT had a Little remnants of drifted snow but those areas were pretty supportive for me. Trench over to south was easy to discern even with new snow. As I was heading out snow started again and was continuing to fall as I drove away. Maybe another 2 inches accumulating on lonesome lake trail during the day today. Happy to get these peaks today even with no views the snow on trees is gorgeous (and waiting to start dropping!!)”

Trail: Lonesome Lake Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts

“the parking lot to lonesome lake is hard packed. I wore snowshoes from the start but took them off when I returned to the hut to fly down the last mile in just bareboots. felt good to be bare. fishin' jimmy had a solid base with a few inches of fresh snow on top with some big chunks of hard snow in the way that had fallen off trees. I tried to stomp them all out. heavy snow covered branches made for a maze at times. kinsman ridge trail had some deep drifting. at times my dogs were swimming in snow. the worst drifting was between the peaks, more so heading to south kinsman. our three tiny bodies did our best to break out the drifts but snowshoes will still be needed up high for a bit. no wind, blue skies, didn't see anyone else heading past the hut.”