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I
did manage to take a few good pictures, including one of Muffin,
who for a change, actually looked at the camera. Kinsman Pond is
very pretty, but the water is somewhat polluted from an accident a
number of years ago when a helicopter dropped some barrels of
outhouse waste
that it was flying out of the campsite.
We returned
a tenth of a mile up the path to Kinsman Junction, where the
Fishin' Jimmy, Kinsman
Ridge, and Kinsman Pond Trails all meet, and set out up the side of North
Kinsman on the
Kinsman Ridge Trail. Partway up,
there was a nice lookout to Franconia Ridge across the notch, with good
views of Mts Lafayette, Lincoln, and Little Haystack. And unlike the
last time I was this way, there was no fog to obscure the view.
We
soon arrived at the summit of North Kinsman. The true summit lies along
the wooded trail, but just a few steps off to the east are
two sets of ledges. The upper ledges have great views of the
Franconia Range and are a good place to sit and eat lunch. The lower
ledges have a commanding overlook of Kinsman Pond directly below. Near
the summit there were many alpine wildflowers, including some wild
strawberries which I took a picture of.
Muffin
and I sat and rested on the upper ledges. I had a power bar and some
potato sticks. Again, the air was still and the blackflies were
like tiny vampires, persistently hovering about my face and assaulting
any and all vulnerable spots. It wasn't particularly cold, but I put
on my jacket and covered my head with the hood.
After
eating, we climbed down to the lower ledges to look down at Kinsman
Pond. It's a great view with a fairly sheer dropoff to the
south end of the pond. It's easy to appreciate
the distances you've hiked and the altitude you're at when you can spot
recognizable landmarks. Lonesome Lake looked particularly tiny from up
here. |
Kinsman
Pond shelter. Besides this shelter, the Kinsman Pond Campsite has
several tent platforms. |
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