Kinsman Mountain via Lonesome Lake, Fishin' Jimmy and Kinsman Ridge Trails

This day hike involved going up the Lonesome Lake Trail to Lonesome Lake and then taking the Fishin' Jimmy Trail from there out to Kinsman Pond. From there I took the Kinsman Ridge Trail to the twin summits of Kinsman Mountain.

Parking area, Layfayette campground - 1,789' Lonesome Lake - 0.85 miles - 2,776' Fishin' Jimmy Trail - 1.15 miles - 2,782' Kinsman Ridge Trail - 2.95 miles - 3,737' Kinsman Pond - 3.05 miles - 2,286' Kinsman Ridge Trail - 3.15 miles - 3,737' North Peak - 3.65 miles - 4,293' South Peak - 4.45 miles - 4,358' North Peak - 5.25 miles - 4,293' Fishin' Jimmy Trail - 5.75 miles - 2,782' Kinsman Pond - 5.85 miles - 2,286' Fishin' Jimmy Trail - 5.95 miles - 2,782' Lonesome Lake - 7.75 miles - 2,776' Parking area, Layfayette campground - 8.9 miles - 1,789' Total distance round-trip - 8.9 miles Total elevation change - 2,569' Trail map - 700 x 439 - 85K Trail map - 1179 x 739 - 215K

The starting point for this hike was the parking lot at the Lafayette Campground in Franconia Notch.

I was up very early for this one, a little before 5:00, and arrived at the trailhead around 6:30.

The first portion of the hike out to Lonesome Lake on the Lonesome Lake Trail was quite easy and I arrived at the east side of the lake a little after 7:00. The initial climb away from the campground was not very steep but it was pretty much continous until you are only about a tenth of a mile or so from the lake. I walked around to the south side of the lake near the Lonesome Lake AMC hut and the junction with the Fishin' Jimmy Trail and stopped there for a while to enjoy the view and have some breakfast. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and there was not a cloud in the sky.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Start of the Lonesome Lake Trail 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Lonesome Lake 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Lonesome Lake, Cannon Mountain

The hike out to Kinsman Pond along the Fishin' Jimmy Trail was pretty easy. There was a little climbing n spots, especially I got closer to Kinsman Pond, but nothing major. There were lots of springs flowing at varous places along the trail which made for some very picturesue spots. It was supposed to be a very hot and humid day but early in the morning beneath the canopy of the trees it was still just cool and green and shady.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Water and moss 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Cannon Mountain and Franconia Ridge 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Cannon Mountain

I made good time out to Kinsman Pond and arrived there a little after 9:00. I had originally planned to take my lunch on top of Kinsman Mountain but I had a good breakfast only a couple hours earier and I knew it was going to still be too early for lunch up there. Kinsman Pond was very lovely so I decided I would just come back here for lunch instead. There was not a soul to be seen here now and I hoped it would be the same later on.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Kinsman Pond, Kinsman Mountain 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Kinsman Pond 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Summit of North Kinsman peak

The climb up to the summit of North Kinsman Peak was big deal. There were a couple of small climbs but nothing really steep. The summit cairn is on the side of a huge rock that is the high point but that is surrounded by trees. There is a spectacular view from some cliff ledges a little further on down the trail to the north. I did not stay long at North Kinsman as I had to come back this way anyhow.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Summit cairn on North Kinsman peak

The hike from North Kinsman to South Kinsman was no major effort either, just a short descent down one side and a short ascent up the other. The first open spot you come to on South Kinsman might appear to be the summit at first but it is not. You will spot the actual summit cairn about a tenth of a mile away, off to the southwest.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Summit cairn on South Kinsman peak 600 x 402   1024 x 685 North Kinsman from South Kinsman

I did not stay long on South Kinsman and just took some photos and started back to North Kinsman. The day was starting to warm up and there was no shade at all on South Kinsman. I also noticed that the sky was getting more hazy and some clouds were starting to form.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 South Kinsman from Kinsman Rddge Trail 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Cannon Mountain, Franconia Ridge and Lonesome Lake from North Kinsman 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Cannon Mountain from North Kinsman

I spent a little more time checking out the view from the ledges on North Kinsman on the way back. This was definitely my favorite hike of the four that I had done in the past two weeks and I was very happy to have been able to squeeze it in.

After a while I headed back down to Kinsman Pond and looked for a shady spot to have my lunch. This was no easy task as the sun had moved by several degrees in the past few hours and was now beating down on most of the pond. I did manage to find a pretty good spot that had at least some partial shade.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Lily pads in Kinsman Pond

I had a very nice and relaxing lunch break at the pond and started back on the trail just a little after noon. I stopped along the way back at a couple of places to photograph the little cascades which were now being illuminated nicely by some filtered sunlight. I arrived back at Lonesome Lake around 13:30 and was back at the car around 15:00.

600 x 402   1024 x 685 Boardwalk section of Fishin' Jimmy Trail 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Water and moss 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Water and moss 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Water and moss 402 x 600   685 x 1024 Water and moss 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Water and moss 600 x 402   1024 x 685 Lonesome Lake and Franconia Ridge

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