North and South Kinsman, Franconia, NH. 2024-10-20 (Sunday.)
Via Mt Kinsman, and Kinsman Ridge trails. Around 10 miles round-trip. 6 hours.
Weather was clement for late October. Temps in the 60s for the daytime, dipping to the 50s back at the car; light breeze throughout. The skies were clear, and by the return, nothing obscuring the Milky Way — stars were visible in abundance, and the moon didn’t show up until I was well on the drive home.
Golden autumnal goodness, magic in light and night.
I was looking at my grid spreadsheet, and made the realization that the Hancocks broke me into a really magical number: 40. I wish I’d figured this out sooner, because now there are about 10 days left in the month. I gotta bust a move if I’m going to finish October for the grid. It’ll be my first single month 48. If the gods smile, I can do this, but I have Whiteface, Passaconaway, and Isolation to do. I also have Hale, Cannon, and Moriah, so it’s both hard and easy hikes. Today, I nailed down the Kinsmans for 41 and 42, which was nice. Even if I have to wait until next year to finish the month, it’ll be down to a couple outings at most.
Setting the lists aside, though, because the real magic is on the trails themselves. I’ve now done these two peaks seven times (that spreadsheet is invaluable!) and coming up the west side seems to be my preferred option. The opening is easy and familiar. The hard bits aren’t terrible, nor are they long. The views are spare, but spectacular. The only sticky bit is that it’s a fairly easy hike, and seems to get popular in summertime. Oh, and the views would be even better, except Franconia Ridge gets in the way. Eh…
There’s a golden lining to staying in bed sometimes.
Today, as seems to be the fashion, I couldn’t get out of bed. Eventually this did end up happening, but my boots didn’t hit the trail until half past one in the afternoon. The plus side to this was huge: I didn’t stick around on South Kinsman to watch the sun set in its entirety, and in fact, I wasted no time once I tagged the summit, trying to get off the mountain as much as possible by at least twilight. If nothing else, I wanted to be below the steepest bits, so at least I wasn’t clambering down rocks and whatnot, saving myself that stumbling and bumbling. It turned out to be a good plan.
Autumn is a magical time. The harvest has come in, so the corn is amazing. It’s getting cold, so adding an extra dollop of maple syrup in your coffee is allowed. And the light takes on this golden hue, especially as it passes through the leaves, suffusing the trail with a heavenly glow. And that crisp autumnal air! So good! I made quick time once on the trail. The conditions were fine, with only those minor water crossings at the odd drainages. Somehow I forget, on the “low and slow” bit that starts off the trail, that you’re only 1 1/2 miles in before things get spirited, and then you’re off to the races. But once on the ridge, it was an easy walk over to South Kinsman, and wow the views opened up wide, clipped only by the curve of the earth.
But then, darkness started showing up, and I had to make ready for that…
I’ve got this bright yellow Black Diamond headlamp that’s been trustworthy for years now. Three batteries, because I liked the brighter beam and longevity that the two-cell version didn’t have, and it’s lighter than the four cell version by a noticeable amount. As the tangerine orange hues of the last of the light faded into the greys of twilight, I popped brand new batteries in, hit the switch, and… nothing. A voice in my head said something akin to “where’s the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom…” as I checked and re-checked the battery polarity, the contacts, banged it this way and that, and so on. Nada. Nil. Zip. Zilch. Ba-deep, ba-deep, that’s all, folks. Grrrr… I mean not even the tiny blue LEDs on the side that indicated the battery life were working. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…
Needing something to do that made me feel as if I was making progress of some sort, I stopped working on it, and just hiked downward, if for nothing else than to get me a few hundred yards closer to the car. Tried again, and hello bright! There were a couple more instances where the light died briefly, but then it stayed on to the car, and even tolerated normal turning on and off a few times. I have no idea what happened, but that light is officially retired, and I’m carrying a backup light from now on. Thankfully, I have those two other B-D lights that I tested those years ago.
So anyway, the day was defined by light. In the afternoon, there was that golden-hued glow that suffused the warm October afternoon air, falling absolutely lusciously all over the mountains, all around. As the sun was seriously setting, there was that tangerine orange that filtered through the trees, even becoming outright blood orange right before the sun fell below the horizon. And the black of night as I got down to the sugar shack. Oh wait… look up, what’s that through the trees? Oh yeah, baby, the stars. Obviously they were much more magnificent at the car than on the trail. Thankfully the moon didn’t make an appearance for a good bit of time. Wow, they were beautiful beyond words.
As always, stay safe out there…
Nuts and Bolts: Take 93 north to the Kancamagus highway — exit 32. At the light, turn right, into Woodstock. Keep on 112, heading west. Take 116, heading into Easton, and drive for a few minutes. The trailhead will be on your right. If you hit the small airport, you’ve gone too far. (Indeed, if you pass a tennis court on your left, stop and turn around.)
The trailhead is off the parking lot, and blazes are largely irrelevant, as long as you have daylight. In the dark, they’re enough to clarify some sections that have more leaves on them than you’d prefer. Otherwise, the trail is easy to follow, and well signed. Grades are pretty easy. A nice side-trip to Bald Peak is an easy 10-15 minutes off the main trail. Views of Moosilauke and out to Vermont can be had if conditions are favorable. As always, bring a map, compass, and a good flashlight.
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