We started out at the Mt. Clinton Rd. parking lot and due to the group size and weather forecast, there was a choice of hiking either to Eisenhower via the Edmands Path (11.2 mile round trip, including the road walk and back) or to Pierce via the Crawford Path.  I chose Eisenhower, although we were warned that we’d only have a 50% chance of summiting on this day due to the weather.  The weather was forecast to be subzero and very windy, with the summits in the clouds.   I already have both peaks in winter, but my reasoning for hiking Ike was that Ike was harder peak to summit in January than Pierce was, and even if we didn’t make it, it would be a good day to learn more from the experienced leaders in the group.

Once the decision was made, we strapped on the snowshoes for the first time this season and set off down Mt. Clinton Rd. accompanied by some light snow.  It took us about an hour to get to the Edmands Path trailhead, where we took a break and got ready for the real work to begin:  breaking trail all the way up.

After the road walk, we were ready to start up Edmands Path.

With nine people, this was not as difficult as a task as if there had been a much smaller group.  It still wasn’t easy, as in some spots especially in the higher elevations I was stepping in almost knee deep snow, but it was good way to stay warm.

Me, moving past the ice fall. Last month this was ice covered, but not snow covered. With the snow cover, this is a bit less treacherous.

We seemed to move at a reasonable rate, eventually passed the ice fall, and then were ready to suit up for the last section to the summit.  Up until this point, we hadn’t really experienced much wind, but it was much colder.  A peek at the thermometer had the temperature between -5F and -10F and this was before we stepped out on to the talus slope and into the wind.

Once out in the open beyond the trees, but still in the clouds, the wind was strong and relentless, estimated by an older, experienced leader to be 40mph, possibly a bit over. Looking back at the reports from the day from Mount Washington’s observatory, that was not an out of line estimate.  The average sustained winds on Washington were in the 50-60mph range for the time period we were on Ike.  It was difficult to move forward in a straight line, let alone communicate.   I decided to hike at an angle to the direction I wanted to go, as the wind then pushed me back to the correct line.  In addition to the wind, we were in the clouds, so getting from cairn to cairn was the only way to make progress toward the summit.  All concentration was on careful foot placement, following the person in front of me and taking note of the cairns.  Finally the giant summit cairn came into view and we moved around as best as possible to the lee side of the cairn.  Within minutes, all nine of us were there.  While we were there, the clouds were just starting to lift, giving us glimpses of the landscape around us.  A few times, the summit of Washington briefly cleared and we could see the heavily rimed iced buildings against a bluebird sky.

Here I am, at the summit.

The summit was no place to linger on this day and with a few quick congratulations and photos, we headed back down.  All of us safely navigated the trail on the way down went on to cross the talus slope without stopping, heading back to the trees and out of the wind.  Once we were in the trees we took a break and were quite awed by the weather and thankful that we made it to the summit and back without incident.  The clouds continued to lift and, we could start to see out to Marshfield Station, the ravine below and beyond.

The clouds were just lifting as we started to descend. I'm barely seen in this photo between the hiker with the red pack and the hiker with the yellow jacket.

One of our views on the way down. Marshfield Station was easily seen in the ravine below.

We continued hiking downward, just to stay warm, taking a few breaks along the way.  On one break, we thought it was getting a bit warmer than it was before and a check of the thermometer confirmed that:  it was now 0 degrees F.  At this point, the trail was easier as some nice large group had already broken it out.  Oh wait, that was us!  The trail was not only easier, but also beautiful as the sunlight was now coming through the trees making the scenery sparkle on the way down to the trailhead.  Once at the trailhead, we faced the 2.5 miles road walk back to the cars, but even that wasn’t so bad with good company to keep up the pace and the blessing of a summit achieved in less than ideal weather with no injuries or major complications.

While the road walk seemed long, we were able to watch the nice colors as the sun set behind the mountains and to make it  to the parking lot without having to use headlamps!

**All photos courtesy of Hikin’ Dave.  My camera was very unhappy with the cold temperatures and refused to work at all, preferring the warm comfort of its case within my pack.**

As usual, I got an fairly early start, seeing no one in the parking lot and not seeing a lot of tracks on the trail, either.  This was not surprising, as I don’t often see people on the trails midweek or early in the morning, much less in winter midweek.    The trail itself starts with the elevation gain right away, and this morning had a dusting of snow over ice, which was fine for ascending, but was a bit slippery for descending.  Thankfully, as I ascended, the snow cover became a little deeper and the ice was better hidden.  In fact, the trail improved greatly as I ascended.  All the rocks and crevices were filled in, and since my last visit, the streams of ice that in some places actually was the trail were all gone, covered in a lovely blanket of snow.  The one section before the left hand turn that is particularly rocky and very icy was a nice, innocent ramp of snow, with no  indication whatsoever of the treacherous conditions beneath it.

Echo Lake, almost frozen and surrounded by an uncharacteristic January brown.

How to improve this portion of trail: just add snow!

This made the travel much easier and soon I was at the viewpoint at the top of Cannon Cliffs.  After snapping some pictures, it was time to finish the last portion of the ascent to the summit and tower.

On the way to the viewpoint, a perfect winter woods.

View to the south, just past the viewpoint.

The ascent was easy and although I was a little concerned about following the trail if it had been windblown, there was enough of  path to follow and soon I was on the Rim Trail, headed toward the observation platform and then enjoying the views.

The bench on the Rim Trail.

At the junction of the Rim Trail and continuation of the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

Mt. Lafayette

The northern part of the Franconia Ridge.

View toward the northwest. Many of the mountains in Vermont and their ski slopes were easily seen this day.

Last look back up to the observation tower before descending.

What a beautiful day – the sunshine was so nice and the tree were so rime-iced and snow laden it was like a totally different world up at the higher elevations.  The was very little wind, and in fact, very still in some places, but the sky was interesting and looked like something was brewing weather-wise. which in fact, was!

Upon arriving at the ski area, I discovered one of our party was going to be a little late which gave me the opportunity to take a few photos.  The light was just right and was producing beautiful coral pink clouds over the Tripyramids and surrounding trees.

Sunlight just coming over the top of the Tripyramids.

Beautiful early morning sky and clouds over the trees.

The hike itself was not difficult, as there was enough snow to cover most of the ice with only light traction needed and the trail itself became more beautiful as the snow cover became heavier as we gained elevation.  At the summit, we were treated to a winter wonderland, much different than the brown holidays we just celebrated at home.

Tecumseh's snowy summit.

At the summit, there was just enough clearing and lifting of the clouds to actually see something!  To be honest, I did not actually know what you could see from the summit and what direction you’d be facing for the limited views, since my previous trips had been in the clouds.   I supposed I could have pulled out my compass, to check!  At any rate, on this trip, I got views of the clouds just lifting off of the Tripyramids, and out further to Chocura.

The clouds were just lifting off of the Tripyramids while we were on the summit, providing a few views.

The trip down was really quick and we all agreed that we had a nice little hike.  I will definitely come back to this one when there is sunshine.  In fact, one of my friends advised me to hike this in the fall when all the leaves have changed colors.  That hike is certainly on my list!

Welcome to the Carter-Moriah Trail!

We started out bright and early and by the time we picked up our hiking companion, found the trailhead and were suitable geared up for the day with microspikes to start.  We actually got on trail at 8:20a.  The first little section goes up hill and is a nice little warm-up.  The rest of trail ascends at a moderate grade until the ledges.  We moved along nicely until those ledges near Mt. Surprise.  The ledges are covered with ice and then a layer snow, which looks pretty, but is very deceiving as to the amount traction you’ll actually have when ascending them.   The first couple of ledges were fine, but on the third one, I slipped and grabbed onto a tree to keep from sliding further.  It was at this point we decided that microspikes weren’t quite enough traction and that we’d have to upgrade to crampons.  After switching into full crampons, we were able to proceed with more confidence, although still cautiously.   Supposedly we were to have views from various points on the ledges, but with the clouds around and above us, we didn’t see very much.  Moving along, we continued up the mountain on moderate grades, with a few little steep sections thrown in, and although we were off the ledges, we still experienced quite a bit of ice innocently hiding under a couple inches of snow.  The snow covered did provide a pretty backdrop to the upper portion of the trail and we enjoyed the scenery and looking at all the animal tracks in the snow.   Mostly what we saw were rabbit tracks, but we spotted a few moose tracks as well.

Pretty, snow-laden trees in the upper portion of the Carter-Moraih trail between Mt. Surprise and the summit.

Getting closer to the summit, it started to get very windy and cold and it was time to add those final layers before heading up to the summit for the customary tapping of the high point, pictures and then a quick retreat out of elements and back to the relative safety of the trees.  The summit was very windy and cold, but we were happy to be there and then move along back down the trail a bit for a break.

Summit of Moriah with marker. There is a reference marker, but it was too cold to take the time to find it under the snow covered rock.

Ethan enjoying summit #31 as much as possible.

Heading down, we made good time and soon enough were back at Mt. Surprise and the ledges, ready to meet the challenge of descending them.  We traveled slowly through this section, not only due to caution on slippery terrain, but also because the clouds in the distance were starting to lift and we were able to have some pretty amazing views.  Each new ledge brought more views.  We started by being able to see just Madison and Adams through the trees, then we were able to them fully, then we were treated to a view of Madison, Adams, the Great Gulf filled with clouds and Washington.  The clouds were moving quickly and it must have been much windier on the summit of Washington as we could see plumes of snow being blown off the mountian, along with small puffs of clouds that swirled over Jefferson and up out of the Great Gulf.  The view really was incredible to watch as the clouds were constantly in motion, changing the scenery every minute.  By the time we got the end of the ledges, the clouds had lifted out of the Great Gulf and all of the Northern Presidentials were visible.

Adams and Madison through the clearing sky as seen on our descent.

The Northern Presidentials including Mt. Washington, not quite clear, but it was fascinating to watch the clouds moving around the mountains.

A closer look at what is happening up on Mt. Washington.

A little more zoom reveals the outline of summit buildings on Washington.

After thoroughly enjoying the views, we headed down into the semi-open woods, and were treated to the afternoon sunshine and the shadows cast among the trees.  For me, the afternoon light was nice to see, as most of my hiking is done in the morning, and usually before 1pm.

Golden afternoon sunshine and shadows on the lower portion of the Carter-Moriah Trail.

We had a great hike, with some excellent views to end the day.  As if that wasn’t good enough, we were treated to a spectacular sunset and alpine glow on the Presidentials while driving east on Rt. 2 toward home.

Once we were divided into groups, we headed quickly headed up the trail to get warmed up.  Soon we came to the brook and waterfalls, which were still flowing freely and not yet snowbridged or iced over.  Cloudland Falls is always impressive and just beautiful at this time of year with snow covered rocks and gigantic icicles on the rocks to the left when ascending around the waterfall.

A snowy Cloudland Falls.

Icicles to the left of Cloudland falls on the hike up and around the falls. Some of those icicles are 4 to 5 feet long.

After the falls, we hiked upwards in lightly falling snow, watching it collect on our dark clothing and marveling and the perfection and beauty of the snowflakes.  This was sort of snow which we could see all of the tiny snowflakes in perfect detail.  After a nice break and snack at the Shining Rock spur, we prepared for the last bit of hike to the ridge.  Before popping out onto the ridge, we put on the final layers of winter gear:  jackets, over mitts, balaclavas and goggles.  Thus prepared, we stepped out onto the ridge and seemingly onto another planet.  Without any trees to block the wind, it was much colder, windier and foreign than the safety and familiarity of the forest.  Not only were we definitely in the clouds, but every surface was covered in crunchy, feathery rime ice masking the familiar scree walls, cairns and other terrain features.  Once the goggles and face mask were in place, communication with other group members was limited, which further emphasized the feeling of isolation.

The last of the scrub before heading out over Franconia Ridge.

With only my own thoughts to keep me company, and with everyone keeping focused on staying together, we set out over the ridge with the main goal being Lafayette.  We moved quickly over the summit of Lincoln and with really no views or reason to stop for very long, we kept moving to Lafayette.

Rime iced rocks; I'm guessing somewhere near the summit of Lincoln, but it was hard to tell at the time.

Passing through the last bits of scrub, I knew we were getting closer to the summit, but really had no accurate sense of how close or far we still were.  Only when I could see the vague shapes of people standing on top of  the rocks on the final pitch near the summit did I know we were just about there.  One last little scramble up the rocks and we were on top.  Still in the cloud, we were treated single digit temperatures and a moderate wind.  We were there long enough for pictures and to see the group behind us summit and then regrouped to head down to the hut.

The trail signs at the summit of Lafayette. No views today.

At the signs, enjoying the summit as best as possible.

We quickly descended and coming down out of the clouds, we started to be able to see not only the hut, but down into and across Franconia Notch.  At the hut, we took a longer break, but soon had to keep moving due to the cold.  The trip down was uneventful and a good chance to practice using crampons in some of the iciest spots.  Since the clouds were lifting we were able to get a few views across the notch and back up to the ridge we had traversed, which was a nice way to end the hike.  By moving quickly, we were able to make to the parking lot right before the last light faded and didn’t even need to use headlamps.

First views down to Greenleaf Hut on the descent, as we dropped just below the cloud layer.

A peek back up to the ridge; with some of the cloud cover lifted it was interesting to see some of the day's journey.

The clouds lifted enough to view most of Cannon, across the notch.

The entire Winter Hiking Series was a good experience.  I learned some new things, gained some new confidence and met a group of people who love the mountains and all that the mountains have to offer.

The drive up to the trailhead looked promising:  bright blue skies, plenty of sunshine and no socked-in summits.  I was the only car in the lot near the Webster-Jackson trailhead, but I wasn’t surprised, I don’t often see a lot of people on week day hikes.   I headed across the 302 and into the woods and thought briefly about taking the shot spur trail to Elephant’s Head, but decided to wait on that for another day as I already had a list of errands to do after hiking. The trail was a mix of a small amount of packed snow and ice.  I barebooted the first half mile or so, and then decided to put on the microspikes, which were the perfect amount of traction to be able to move a little more quickly and confidently over the icy spots.

Icy streams and snow covered trees seen along the Webster-Jackson Trail.

The morning was shaping up to be beautiful – the further up I hiked, there was more snow and beautiful sunshine coming in through the trees, making everything sparkle.  After a quick snack at the Webster-Jackson split, I headed up the rest of trail.    The ledgy areas right near the top had mostly snow over ice, so traction wasn’t too bad.  I stopped right before popping out of the trees and added a jacket for wind protection and then I was up and in the open on the ledges.  The ledges had some ice, but also some snow cover mixed with bare rock.  This was certainly easier to negotiate than thick bare ice that I’ve seen in the past.  A few more minutes and I was up at the summit cairn taking in the views all around.  Mizpah Hut, bundled up for the winter was easy to pick out, the summit buildings of Washington all robed in white were clear and it was easy to pick out various other summits in Vermont and Maine.   After a few minutes of picture taking, it was time to descend, as I was still on a time limit.  On the descent, right below treeline, I met the only hiker that I’d see that day, another solo hiker headed up.

Almost to the top, at the junction of the Webster Jackson and Webster Cliff Trails.

Washington will certainly have a white Christmas.

Mizpah Hut, easily seen, lonely and boarded up for the winter.

View "across the street" (the 302) to Willey, Field, Tom and beyond.

Once down in the trees, I stopped for a quick snack and to remove some layers and quickly found out that I had some company.  I quickly made a deal with  my feathered friend:  if you sit still for a photo, I’ll give you a snack.  Worked great.  I got my photo and the jay got his snack.  Soon his friends arrived, but snack time was over and it was time to move down the trail to the car.

Upholding his part of the bargain and posing nicely.

On the way down, I stopped by the cliff view, a little side trail to some nice views down into the northern end of Crawford Notch.   I’d taken this extremely short side trail before, but it had been a while and was in a different season.  The views were nice, and I’m glad I took the few extra minutes to check it out again.  Next time, I’ll probably do the same for Elephant’s Head.

The sign at the short side trail to the cliff view - not quite an official "View" sign.

View down to the Crawford Station and partially frozen Saco Lake from the cliff side trail.

A peek out to the cliffs across the 302 southward in Crawford Notch.

Back at the vehicle, I pulled out in plenty of time to pick up new yearly parking passes in Lincoln and pick up the children in time.  Not only did my parking pass expire this month, but we recently bought a new vehicle and I forgot to get my sticker off the windshield when we traded in the old car!

It was a good day to be out, and I was glad to be back in the mountains after having been home all last week.  Seeing the snow and enjoying the crisp air and scenery was also good for getting into the holiday spirit.

Early morning light on the clouds, taken on the way to Crawford Notch.

We started out bright and early as usual with the plan to make a loop over both summits via the Edmands Path and Crawford Path.  Up the Edmands Path we went, enjoying the cold but not really encountering too much snow or ice.  From hiking the trail before a couple of summers ago, I knew there would be a few spots that would require some careful hiking:  one, the area with the small streams that flow over the ledges and two, the talus slope.  Once we got to those small streams, we finally saw something that was more winter like and decided that the traction we had put on earlier was  not merely a good idea, but necessary for safety.  Here is the ice:

The streams along the upper portion of Edmands path have frozen.

Now here is the same ice with me in the corner of the photo:

Same ice, with a little more perspective. Photo courtesy of Sean McCarthy.

The second photo really shows the scale of part of the icy section.  After playing the delicate game of balance and judgment the worst part of the ice was soon past and we were headed towards the talus slope section of the trail.  Fortunately, it was easy to cross with only a frosty coating of rime ice.  Within these two sections of trail, the trees start to shrink and the views start to open up.  The views out to Washington, Jefferson and the Ammonoosuc Ravine were great and kept getting better as the vegetation slowly shrank away as we ascended above treeline.

View over to Washington from the upper portion of Edmands Path.

Only a light coating of rime ice on the talus slope today.

After crossing the talus slope, we quickly arrived at the trail junction and headed up the Eisenhower Loop to the summit.  The summit was beautiful, with bright sunshine and very little wind – truly a rare December day on the Southern Presidentials.  We spent quite a bit of time on the summit enjoying the scenery and snacks waiting for the arrival of the second group.  Once the second group joined us and we had the requisite group photos taken, those of us in the first group headed to Pierce via the remainder of the Eisenhower Loop and Crawford Path.

Edmands Path and Eisenhower Loop junction.

Washington and other Presidentials from the summit of Eisenhower.

The trip to Pierce was interesting from my perspective.  I have only been on that portion of the Crawford Path between Eisenhower and Pierce once in March with a full snow pack.  In March, it looked like all the trees were only one to three feet tall, nothing more than shrubs, really.  All of the sudden on this hike, I found myself on a trail down in trees that are 6 to 10 feet tall!  I had to laugh at myself – I had no idea that the trees really were that tall or what the actually trail looked like.  It was amazing to imagine the amount of snow that fills in the trail and all the trees!

The Crawford Path between Eisenhower and Pierce, *without* the snow pack.

The traverse was short and easy and we quickly arrived at the junction of the Crawford Path and Webster Cliff trails, ready for the quick, short .1 mile hike to the summit of Pierce.  Once again, we were treated to sunshine with beautiful clear, views and rime iced trees.

The Crawford Path and Webster Cliff junction, almost to the summit of Pierce.

The moon was already out, visible above the rime iced trees at the Pierce summit.

From the summit of Pierce, we made the descent down to Crawford Connector and on to the parking area with just a little daylight to spare.  While not exactly winter conditions, it was a great day to be out and rare one weather-wise.

We got the parking lot at a reasonable time – 8:00a – and started up the trail.

The start of the trail, with the sunlight just coming through the trees.

There was plenty of snow on the ground, not enough for snowshoes, at least for a while.  My husband seemed to do better with the snow than I did, so I ended up putting my snowshoes on earlier than he did.  It is that odd part of the season where there isn’t quite enough snow for snowshoes, but a little too much for any other sort of traction.   Regardless of the traction question, we enjoyed the hike up through the semi-open, leafless forest and then into the evergreens.

Going up the snowy trail.

Soon we passed the spring, and then made the right-hand swing for the final bit of trail to Starr King.  This is point where my husband (and the hiker in front of us) added snowshoes.

At the spring, the water was still flowing, although there was plenty of snow around.

We quickly arrived at the summit of Starr King, where there is a marker, and then over to the site of the old chimney.

For Karl: the marker at the summit of Starr King.

At the old fireplace on Starr King.

The next section of the trail was a nice walk on the ridge – never really difficult and without the leaves on the trees, we could see out to either side of the ridge.  Along the ridge, we met the other solo hiker whose tracks we had seen along the way.

Along the ridge between Starr King and Waumbek.

Upon arriving at the summit of Waumbek, we took photos and I enjoyed my piece of pumpkin pie.  My husband thought it was quite funny that I packed up a piece of pie, but it was a nice treat for the summit and considering it was the day after Thanksgiving, very appropriate.

Pumpkin pie!

After a nice little break it was time to descend.  Back at the chimney we met a party of four hikers which included several grid finishers, Ed Hawkins and one gentlemen who is very close to finishing a grid.  After a nice chat, we continued down the mushy snow trail, and by the time we got a little below Starr King it was time to remove the snowshoes.  As we descended it got worse, very mushy and slick with a little mud in some sections, much like greasy mashed potatoes.    With careful foot placement, we made it down to the car with only a few minor slips and no major injuries.

One last view to Washington and the Presidentials before pulling out onto Rt. 2.

It was nice a day to be out – plenty of sunshine, I had one of  my favorite hiking partners and I got to see Waumbek in a different season!

• Water
• Food
• Extra shirt and socks
• Rain Jacket (not shown in photo below)
• Mini-Emergency Kit (this is a new item, at his request)
• Above treeline, even in the middle of summer,  we add:  Fleece, hat and gloves

My son's pack and gear for a typical summer day hike.

We will be adding a headlamp after Christmas, which is wrapped and waiting for the big day.

My pack has a little more stuff, due to the fact that I’m the one responsible for both of us to get back home safely.  For three season hiking, I carry:

• Water
• Food
• Extra socks
• Rain Jacket
• Map and Trail Descriptions/Compass
• Headlamp/Batteries
• Homemade Emergency Kit (first aid, knife, lighter, water purification, etc.)
• Bug Spray (during bug season)
• Camera
• Poles
• Phone/ID/Money
• Bio-break supplies
• Above treeline:  the fleece, hat and gloves

My pack and gear for a typical three season hike.

We also always carry some sort of treat for the summit.  For 4,000 footers, it is usually a piece of chocolate, like a Lindt truffle.  More recently, we’ve switched to hard candy (Werther’s caramels), which we get right before we leave the summit and see how far down the trail we can make it last.

In the car, we always have a cooler with drinks and snacks for the ride home.  Packing the cooler is my son’s job.  We buy Poweraide or similar drinks, along with bagels and individual cream cheese packets.  It is my son’s job on the morning of the hike to pack the cooler with ice, drinks, the bagels in ziplocks, the cream cheese and plastic knives.  It is a good motivator to know that a cold drink and snack is waiting in the trunk as soon as we get back!

Obviously, I carry more gear than my son does, but within a year or two he will be as big as me and capable of carrying as much as I can.  We’ve been on backpacks where we’ve split all the gear, so I know he can carry more.  For day hikes, what we carry works for us, and that helps to keep the hike fun.  “Fun” is the key word here – if one hiking partner is too burdened with gear beyond their physical ability, it won’t be fun for anyone!

I arrived at the tramway as the sun was just peaking over the Franconia ridges and headed toward the trail head in the cold crisp air.  To reach the point where the trail starts into the woods, I took the dirt road to the left from the parking area.  There is a small white sign at the very left of the tramway buildings indicating that the trail is to the left.  This dirt road will take you back to the trailers and staging area for the construction work, swing to the right at the trailers, and near the end of the lot where the hills start to rise there is another sign indicating the start of the trail to the left.

At the parking lot, there is a road to the left that leads to the start of the Kinsman Ridge Trail. The little white sign points the way.

After turning right at the construction trailers, the start of the trail is location at the far end of this lot, the small yellow and white signs seen in the distance.

The start of the Kinsman Ridge Trail, right before you enter the woods.

This portion of the Kinsman Ridge trail to the summit is only 2.2 miles, and the elevation gain starts right away and remains fairly steady until closer to the outlook area at the top of Cannon Cliffs, about 1.8 miles into the trail.  The trail goes through mixed forest first, then an eroded, gullied section and then through a rocky section.  The rocky section parallels some of the ski trail and in some spots you can see the supports for the tramway through the trees.  Due to the fact that the trees in the lower section had already lost their leaves, the views down to Echo Lake were nice.

At the beginning of the trail with the sun just starting to peek through the trees.

Tramway cable supports. These are much larger than they look from the freeway!

Nice view down to Echo Lake.

It was also in the rocky section that I encountered the ice.  The rocks were only partially encased in ice, which meant that with careful consideration with regard to foot placement and a slower pace, I was able to hike up the trail on the rocks with no difficulty.  Eventually the ski trail and hiking trail diverged to take two different paths up the mountain; the hiking trail goes to the left and is signed.  The ice continued a little way up this portion of the trail and then was gone; for the rest of the trail I only saw small patches of ice which was easy to step around.

Some ice, some rock.

Hikers to the left if ascending; skiers would be coming down on the right. This is the signage at the split of the hiking and ski trails which parallel for a while.

The trail grade eased as I got to the outlook junction.  The outlook path leads to a magnificent viewpoint, with views across to the entire Franconia range, north and south on I-93 and back up the mountain to the observation tower.

Junction with the outlook spur; the outlook is to the left, the Kinsman Ridge Trail continues to the right.

View down the notch to the south. Lafayette Place was visible as was the Pemi River, shining through the leafless trees.

A look up to the next destination, the summit.

After enjoying the views and taking photos, it was time for the last little section to the summit.  This part of the trip was a nice easy traverse through mossy, coniferous forest with a little bit of an elevation gain over the rocks at the end to the junction with the Rim Trail.

Looking back down the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the junction with the Rim Trail.

A quick walk around the trail and I was at the summit and observation platform.  The observation platform had a little rime ice on it, but with the light winds and plentiful sunshine, it was a nice place to enjoy the views, take a break and get a snack.  After enjoying my break, it was time to leave and make the descent back to the car.  I enjoyed the sunshine and easy trail all the way back to the icy sections, where I carefully made my way down each section and eventually descended through the eroded gully and back down to the mixed forest and the car.

At the observation platform; just a little rime ice today.

Franconia Ridge.

The Kinsmans.

While not a huge mountain or long trek, this hike was a great hike and the views were certainly worth waiting for a good day.  As the clouds started to thicken the sky on my trip to pick up the children later in the afternoon, I couldn’t help but to be extremely thankful for the clear weather and physical ability to be out and enjoy the morning.

Panaroma of the Franconia Ridge.

Another look at Lafayette on the descent. The light was a little better on the descent making the distinct features of the mountain easier to see.