We planned another (partial) hike with Boghollow for Sunday the 4th. Gracepoint and I would ascend Cannon from the ski area, traverse to the Kinsmans, and meet up with Boghollow who would hike the Kinsmans out and back from the west. We hadn't taken the Kinsman Ridge trail from the ski area previously, so we were curious to see how steep it would be. We started up the mountain, criss-crossing one of the ski glades before following it for a bit before the trail turns east.​ The trail was steep, but maybe not as steep as I might have expected.
Climbing Cannon on the Kinsman Ridge Trail, where the trail follows a glade from the resort
Getting higher on Cannon, and getting closer to being in the sun
We popped out to the view spot near the top of where the Old Man of the Mountain was, and enjoyed the view of Franconia Ridge across the notch, and the view south through the notch. From here the trail turns west toward the summit, and we soon had views of the summit.
Looking up at Cannon's summit tower
The last push to the summit had some exposure to the east and some wind, but we were quickly protected by trees as the trail circled the summit.
Along the east side of the summit
After a quick stop at Cannon's summit, we continued south. The Kinsman Ridge trail drops steeply off of Cannon, and the trail is more reminiscent of an Adirondack trail, than most of the terrain that you find in the Whites. Through the Cannon Balls, the trail was well packed, but there were many spots with spruce trees bowed across the trail. We moved slower than anticipated through this section.
On one of the Cannon Balls looking towards North Kinsman
We had planned to meet Boghollow when he hit the ridge, before the summit of North Kinsman, but he got there a good amount before we did, so he continued along the ridge rather than waiting for us. We eventually made it to the junction with the Fishin' Jimmy trail and made the climb up North Kinsman.
Looking northeast from North Kinsman, with Franconia Ridge dominating the view
Continuing along the ridge, we met Boghollow as we were approaching South Kinsman and he was returning toward North Kinsman. He would take a break to eat, and we would catch up with him on our return. We returned across North Kinsman, and then descended off the ridge to the west on the Mt Kinsman trail.
Headed towards South Kinsman, we stop to identify several Vermont peaks on the horizon
The Mt Kinsman trail provided a nice mellow hike out. We skipped the spur trail to Bald Peak, since we figured that the view couldn't rival the view that we had on the ridge. Perhaps we'll return to this trail sometime in the future.