Cannon (4080'), North Kinsman (4293') and South Kinsman (4328'). 17/18December2011.

We hiked up to Kinsman Pond shelter on 17Dec2011, laid down our sleeping bags and pushed for the Kinsman Summits. After a very cold night in the shelter, we woke up, and hiked out over the Cannonballs to tag Cannon, hiking back down to Lafayette Campground to complete the loop.

Summit of Cannon, 18Dec2011.

The brother and I on Cannon. 

The views were perfect, but the windchill was intense. Our water kept freezing, so we were pretty thirsty by the end of the day.

On the way up, we had a some snowfall. It was nice to make our way up to Kinsman Pond Shelter, where we only ran into one quiet group of people for the rest of the day. The views ended up improving as the day went on.

Hiking up to the Kinsmans/Kinsman Pond Shelter

Our home for the night. We ended up putting a tarp over the doorway for the night. It helped a little with the cold, but kept waking us up whenever the wind blew. It also crunched all night, giving us the impression there were animals coming in during the middle of the night. We didn't get very much sleep. My feet were freezing all night, which kept me up.

Kinsman Pond Shelter

The View from the Kinsmans- this is the west side of the Franconia Ridge

You can see the brother's yellow coat through the trees.

Loon Mtn from a distance.

Me at Kinsman Pond, the morning of 18Dec2011. We gathered snow down at the pond to melt for water. It didn't taste very good, since the soup we made the night before froze in the pot, so that got melted into our water bottles too.

On Cannon, 18Dec2011. We had perfect weather.

Date Crushed: N and S Kinsman on 17Dec2011, Cannon on 18Dec2011.