Ascent of Cannon Mountain on 2012-08-13| Date: | Monday, August 13, 2012 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Cannon Mountain | | Location: | USA-New Hampshire | | Elevation: | 4080 ft / 1243 m |
Ascent Trip ReportLuiza, my girlfriend, and I had planned our two weeks of vacation this summer as a large loop going from Quebec City to the Franconia Notch State park for hiking, Rumney for rock climbing, the Adirondacks for hiking again, and finally the Thousand Islands for a week of sailing with my parents.
We left on August 13th towards Eastman, Qc, where we spent the night at Luiza's family country home. The next morning we drove to Franconia Notch state park and grabbed our camping spot at Lafayette Place. The weather was hot and humid, but as it was only around 3:30pm, I decided to do a quick loop to Cannon mountain and bag the summit. The distance wasn't great and I assumed it would be easy. I packed the minimum and left along the camping's lanes towards Lonesome Lake trail at 3:55pm.
The wasy was easy and I crossed a few groups before getting to the junction with the Hi-Cannon trail. From there, the trail started ascending at a steeper grade, but I was carrying a good momentum. Again, I crossed some groups coming down along the many switchbacks. It was extremely humid and I was sweating profusely. I started asking myself if the liter of water I had brought would be enough.
Soon I reached some rocky outcrops that gave me nice views of the valley before the trail angled along the summit ridge towards the NE. The going from there became easier and I could jog my way towards the final goal that is climbing the radio/observation tower. I heard voices and ended up among a group of orthodox Jews that had taken the tram in the traditional attire.
I took a breather at the top as I was thoroughly winded. I had maintained a very quick pace the whole way without pause and had reached the summit in less than an hour.
From there I pondered on backtracking down, but decided to make it a loop instead. So I looked around and found the Kinsman Ridge trail markers. I was alone on the mountain now, the last visitors being back in the tram. I started rock-hopping speedily down the ridge until I ended at Cannon Mountain's east peak key col. From there, the rest of the way down is described in my east peak ascent. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2353 ft / 717 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 313 ft / 95 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 2.7 mi / 4.3 km | | Grade/Class: | 2 | | Quality: | 7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Road Hike, Maintained Trail | | Gear Used: | Tent Camp | | Weather: | Hot, Calm, Clear | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 2353 ft / 717 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 2320 ft / 707 m; Extra: 33 ft / 10m | | Loss on way in: | 33 ft / 10 m | | Distance: | 2.4 mi / 3.9 km | | Route: | Lonesome lake Tr. / Hi-Cannon Tr. | | Start Trailhead: | Lafayette Place Campground 1760 ft / 536 m | | Time: | 55 Minutes | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 280 ft / 85 m | | Distance: | 0.3 mi / 0.5 km | | Route: | Kinsman Ridge Tr. / Franconia bike path | | End Trailhead: | Lafayette Place Campground 3800 ft / 1158 m | | Time: | 10 Minutes | Ascent Part of Trip: Franconia Notch (August 2012) (3 nights total away from roads)
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 10890 ft / 3319 m Total Trip Loss: 10890 ft / 3317 m |
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