Bald Peak
(2300)
Trail:North Kinsman Trail
Date: Over night 10/13-14/06
Attending:Simone, & John Chicoine
Miles:4.5-mile round trip Time: 2 hours to summit.
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site: None
Weather:Fantastic Columbus Day Hike
This was our first backpacking trip in two years. I can’t tell you how nice it was and how spectacular it was to have the most perfect experience we could have ever hoped for. The trees were in full peak fall colors. The 2 mile hike to Bald Peak was just enough. Two miles/two hours & 2000 feet to a wonderful private spot just on the back side of North Kinsman. We camped right on the summit. We couldn’t
have asked for a nicer night, (low 30’s), full moon, and a crystal clear sky. Watching the Moon come up over the Kinsmans was even better than watching the sun set over the Green mountains of Vermont. The entire event was picture perfect.
The morning quickly warmed up into the low sixties for the day. Our hike up was just about our limit, but the hike down was enjoyable. We stopped at the lowest stream crossing to venture down stream enough to bath in the river and clean up. The lower river has a real nice campsite just 200ft. off the trail, right next to a 15ft tall waterfall to shower in. We got back to the car by 10AM leaving us the better part of the day to ride arounf the western path of Franconia. (This was one of the first and only times we’ve done sight seeing up in this part of New Hampshire. We spent for an afternoon riding from Franconia to home all on back roads, We even drove 8 miles on a dirt road next to Mt Moosilauke.
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Bald Peak
(2300)
Trail:North Kinsman Trail
Date:03/07/2010
Attending:Shawn, Simone, & John Chicoine
Miles:4.5-mile round trip Time: 2 hours to summit.
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site: None
Weather:Fantastic
This was a bailout hike that shouldn’t have been. The Mt. Washington forecast from the day before had predicted a bright sunny AM from a cold front pushing in with only 20degree ambient temps, and 40 – 55mph winds producing 0- 10 degree wind chill. It never happened, the front stalled about 12hrs, producing one of the nicest winter hike days we’ve ever seen this early in March. Unfortunately we didn’t know that there were no winds, the temps were into the low 40’s and the sky would stay cloudless all day until.
Now don’t get me wrong, Bald Peak is and was on this day absolutely fantastic. The trail was nicely hiked. (Not excessively so that is wasn’t an enjoyable winter hike.) There was lots of deep clean snow with a narrow well defined packed path cutting through surrounding powder. The summit of Bald hadn’t been trampled at all, just one or two narrow and hardly hiked paths to the main 2 vantage points. As the day progressed the powder warmed up enough to make perfect snow-ball making snow. We spent an hour just sitting in the open air, bright sun, and beautiful surroundings. The trench back down the warmed snow made for a quick 1 hour descent.
Unfortunately I can’t get my head around this hike at all. We knew what to expect, we planned for the cold weather, we could have managed most any day hike-able 4K even with the predictions. I think I let the forecast psych me out and I panicked. Nothing was going right…. I spent the better part of the previous day looking for an accessible 4K that would be a reasonable hike. Mt. Pierce is a great #one pick, and it certainly was the primary consideration, but I focused more on what my options would be, but I never really picked a peak! I figured it would come to me on the 3 hour drive up there. (it didn’t) Even as we were driving I thought about staying lower in the state, (The lakes regions) and bagging a peak there just to avoid the wind chills, but when we got to that area there was not really much snow. Welch Dickey didn’t look any better, I didn’t want to bother driving all the way over to the Mt. Washington valley if the hike had a good chance of being uncomfortably cold for the duration of the hike. As we drove through Lincoln we started to consider Lafayette. (We should have gone for it.) All of the high peaks had cloud caps. As we drove by Lafayette we could clearly see the speed of the clouds blowing over the top. (There was the wind!) (We should have gone for it.) I had about 10 seconds before I passed the cutoff to Franconia! I made the call! Bald peak! Within 5 minutes of getting out of the car I knew I blew it! Considering 6+ hours of drive time, starting out a 6AM, for 3 hours of easy hiking,,, (We should have gone for it.)
