Friday, February 1, 2019

The Kinsmans on a Cold Day, 1/28/2019


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Last Saturday (1/26/2019), I gave a talk at the AMC Annual Summit about my hiking adventures and my perspective on hiking with kids, as someone who has been hiking since I was a little girl.  I am grateful to AMC for giving me the opportunity to present, and I had a great time giving the talk.



For anyone who doesn't know, my younger sister, Sage, has her own hiking blog as well.  Her blog is called Sage's White Mountain Treks.  She is 13, and we take turns posting every week.  Check out Sage's blog at sageswhitemountaintreks.blogspot.com


North and South Kinsman
1/28/2019
 Lonesome Lake, Cascade Brook, Fishin' Jimmy, and Kinsman Ridge Trail
10.0 Miles Round-Trip
3,550 Feet of Elevation Gain


This hike felt fairly colder than the others we have done this season.  

We got a late start, so the sun rose before we arrived at the trailhead.  This made it psychologically easier for me to feel motivated.


We started the hike with snowshoes as traction, and we kept them on all day; only a couple people had been on the fresh snow before us.


The trailhead for Lonesome Lake Trail:


The sign marking the first intersection was buried in snow.  Impressive!


The sky was pretty during those morning hours...





Soon enough, we got to Lonesome Lake.  We walked across it; a thick layer of snow covered the sturdy ice.  It made me slightly nervous to traverse a lake, but many other hikers had recently done it, so I was confident about our safety.


Here is a video of me crossing the lake:



Before ascending North Kinsman, Mom and I put on our puffies and balaclavas.  Sage wasn't cold, so she just kept wearing her fleece.  We all took out our hand warmers.  Mom felt especially cold, more so than normal, so we tried to put on layers quickly.

 


The scenery we witnessed on our ascent of North Kinsman was beautiful.











Sage and me on the North Kinsman climb:

Photo by Trish Herr
I felt good when we arrived at the summit of North Kinsman, except my hands were very cold.  Mom's hands were frigid as well.  Sage's, as usual, felt fine.  She is not as sensitive to low temperatures.


Photo by Trish Herr

Somewhere in the col of North and South Kinsman, Mom began feeling ill, and she continually felt colder than she does normally on hikes.  We kept going steadily.

This is Sage and me on South Kinsman.  As you can see, Sage put on more layers before being exposed on South Kinsman.

Photo by Trish Herr

The summit cairn:


Mom began feeling better when we were on the descent.  She did not feel 100% better for a while, though.


I could still see beautiful views through the trees.


The state of your hair after you take off your balaclava:



When we got back to the car, I took pictures of my boots; they looked nice with snow coating them.


Overall, the hike was pretty nice, although the temperatures were cold and Mom didn't feel very well that day.  

I hope all you viewers have a wonderful week!

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