Cannon Mountain via Pemi, Hi-Cannon, & Kinsman Ridge Trails (White Mountain National Forest)

Cannon Mountain via Pemi, Hi-Cannon, & Kinsman Ridge Trails (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 7.60 miles

Elevation: 2,487 feet

Time: 4 hours, 35 minutes (4 hours, 3 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: New Hampshire 4000 Footers, Terrifying 25, Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge

The Hike 

Day 3 of vacation! Having hiked Mts. Washington & Isolation on Day 1 and the Royces yesterday on Day 2, my legs were HURTING. That being said, the forecast changed from "rain all day" to "freaking beautiful," so I simply had to rally. Gen decided to sit this one out to spend some time working and recovering, so I was riding solo! I was up at 5:00am to drive across the Kanc to Cannon Mountain. It was delightfully chilly out as I enjoyed watching the sun rise - first just casting some alpenglow on the mountains and then shining brightly at the Sugar Hill Overlook. I drove past a deer and a man running up to Kancamagus Pass. I took a pit stop at Dunkin Donuts for some breakfast and a bathroom christening and soon I was at the Cannon Mountain Tram parking lot! I wasn't fully sure where to park, as there were many "Tram Parking Only" signs, but I parked in the one corner aisle of the parking lot that didn't have one (I think the gravel lot to the left of the porta potties is also hiker parking, but there weren't any signs that I saw designating that). I christened the porta potties again, and got started on my adventure!

[6:20am - Start of Hike] 

My plan was to follow the Pemi Trail over to Lafayette Place, hike up and over Hi-Cannon, and descend back to the car via Kinsman Ridge Trail. It was a wonderful 48 degrees out (which was in stark contrast to the 100+ weather we had on Tuesday). I followed the gravel road to the Kinsman Ridge Trailhead area and then walked on a mowed path through the trees to the paved parking lot for the Old Man of the Mountain Profile Plaza, which I followed until I was near the building and then officailly began my hike on the Pemi Trail.

[6:27am - Pemi Trail] 

The Pemi Trail was missing a sign, but began on a blue-blazed staircase into the forest. My puffy was on since it was so chilly out, especially with a breeze. The great news was that this also kept the bugs at bay! There were some loud crows screaming at each other overhead as I crossed a dry brook, took a few webs to the face, and took a quick detour onto a bridge near Profile Lake to remove my puffy (to no surprise, I warmed up quickly). There was a nice view through a meadow to the lake on the right and up towards the series of cliffs north of the Greenleaf Trail.

Back in the woods, I came across a sleeping cecropia moth, which apparently is the largest moth native to North America! It was really pretty, and I was THRILLED that it was not moving.

There were patches of trail that were a little grown-in, but never too problematic. There was another bridge at the far end of Profile Lake that had a comical soundtrack of trickling water, trucks on I-93, and screaming crows. 

The next stretch of trail was wetter, muddier, and sketchier, but I made it through fine. There was one water crossing on a thin, old plank of wood ~2' above the water, which did not make me feel great! On a similar note, I had an awful stomach sensation in this area, too. I did see fish, though!

[6:50am - Pemi Trail/Bike Path] 

The Pemi Trail briefly coincided with the Franconia Notch Recreation Path before turning back into the woods (super clear sign). Tragically, my body needed to perform an exercision, so off-trail and into the woods I went, carefully trying to keep equidistant from both the Pemi Trail and the Recreation Path. In hindsight, it was my first code brown in quite a while, so I'm grateful for the cooperation my body has shown me in recent months. 

ANYWAY. The trail proper was becoming quite lovely. I could make out the Cannon Cliffs through the trees and I crossed paths with two trail runners which indicated two things: 1) I would not have to take down any more spider webs and 2) if I waited to take care of my code brown at all it would have become even more of a bummer.

I noticed some side paths with blue plastic blazes, maybe ski trails? Maybe climbing trails? Near one, I noticed a concrete post with an NH on the top. Further down, there was a nice bridge over the Pemi, leading me to hike next to the highway down the embankment. I also felt myself starting to get a little emotional now that I was getting fericuously close to finishing my 48 (and my 52!). 

The trail on this side of the Pemi was lovely and easy, gently descending. It skirted a wetland area with a stunning view of the cliffs shining in the morning sun and the summit tower to the left. 

This informally started my countdown to Lafayette Place. I passed a rock with trees growing through the cracks and a #4. Next, I crossed the Pemi again on a series of bridges - the first crossed a gentle stream, the second seemed misplaced, and the third crossed the Pemi proper followed by a #3. More crazy crows were cheering me on in this stretch. I passed a #2 at a longer series of boardwalks, and soon landed at the Recreation Path again!

[7:24am - Lafayette Place Campground] 

A pathway across the Recreation Path and toward the campsite said "NO ACCESS," so I followed the paved Recreation Path over a bridge with nice views toward the Cliffs and the sun shining over the Franconia Ridge side of the notch. The Recreation Path led to the Lafayette Place Campground. I followed the paved roads to a bathroom to take care of some unfinished business...

I was successful in the bathroom, and I was joined by a North American luna moth just chilling on the ground. It was big and unmoving, hopefully just sleeping! 

On my final walk to the Lonesome Lake Trail, I passed a third and final moth on the road (I do not think this one was alive) - a polyphemus moth. This was my third, large, unique moth of the day, and considering I'd never seen any of them before, I was thrilled!

[7:35am - Lonesome Lake Trail] 

I continued to walk past many campsites with campers doing their morning chores with the smell of campfires filling the air. I was soon on the Lonesome Lake Trail, officially beginning my climb! The Pemi Trail was an excellent warm-up, the Lonesome Lake Trail was a great "next step" to that warm up. My quads were definitely still tired from the past few days, but grades on the Lonesome Lake Trail weren't too bad. I was passed by a guy hiking with no pack on his phone as I crossed a couple of bridges, one over a lovely stream, one over rocks, and was soon at the junction with the Hi-Cannon Trail!

[7:44am - Hi-Cannon Trail] 

Now the warm-up was OFFICIALLY done - the Hi-Cannon Trail immediately got narrower and steeper, soon crossing the previously crossed lovely stream on foot (little slippery but overall fine) and passed some faded blue blazes. 

This was a "calf" climb - mostly just steep dirt, which gradually got steeper, eroded, and gravelley. The trail had a few s-curves and switchbacks, and some over the sharper switchbacks were nearly eroded through. The climb was slow and steady, and boy was I relieved to make my way to the Dodge Cutoff Junction!

[8:13am - Hi-Cannon/Dodge Cutoff Junction] 

I had a lovely sit and snack at this junction, daydreaming of visiting Lonesome Lake, but wanting more to get to the summit of Cannon and MAYBE also hike Iron Mountain in Jackson afterward... decisions! My shirt, to no surprise, was soaked. I noticed the Hi-Cannon Trail description in the White Mountain Guide (31st Ed.) said after the junction "soon, Hi-Cannon trail becomes significantly rougher and steeper" and my only thought was "HOW?!" Anyway, I had a lovely break, swapped out my nalgenes, had a peanut butter tortilla, and soon got back to work.

[8:23am - Hi-Cannon Trail] 

There were a few blowdowns on the narrower-er trail and then a lovely fern-filled area. I was able to make out Franconia Ridge through the trees as the trail pivoted from lovely to steep and rocky. Due to the rocks, the trail was now quad-steep instead of calf-steep, but I would argue that it was not steeper than anything before! 

The sounds of morning birds and large trucks using their engine breaks through Franconia Notch ushered me on and up past some impressive erratics and a small wet, slippery spot (which might have been the gravelley washout mentioned in the guidebook). Just after was a rugged-but-short flat stretch and then a view! Lafayette was the main star of theshow, but I could see from Lafayette to Lincoln to Little Haystack. 

After the view the trail gets a little scrambly as it passes under "cliff house" - a rock formation described to be above the trail, but I didn't notice it. Just afterwards was the famous ladder! Truly, I thought the ladder would have been sketchier and there would have been more... I was a bit underwhelmed! The ladder looked rickety, but it was completely fine. There was a described narrow ledge just after, but it was also no problem at all. 

After the ladder I put my poles away as the trail continued to get scrambly-er. There were some tree views to the Franconia Ridge and Loon Mountain from the top of the ladder followed by a couple of views on sketchy down-sloping ledges with very nice views. The I-93 corridor looked especially scenic from these viewpoints, and I could just make out Lonesome Lake around a few trees, but I was not feleing brave (or dumb) enough to explore the ledges.

The climbing resumed up a steep slab after the second viewpoint, but I was rewarded again for my hard work with two more views - the second of which had a full view of Lonesome Lake, the dam, the Lonesome Lake Hut, and North Kinsman!

After enjoying the view, I climbed up some more slabs as the trail became wetter and turned away from I-93, almost immediately quieting the noise from the highway far below. I caught up to people and passed them in an area of more wet slabs (my shoes were gripping well, thankfully, but these could be tricky on the descent), and had one more steep push until things began to mellow out.

The Hi-Cannon Trail treversed a plateau-like area with some typical plateau-area mud, but none of it was problematic. The trail rose to a height-of-land with some shorter (but still taller than me) trees and then descended to the Kinsman Ridge Trail! Things were getting exciting!

[9:21am - Kinsman Ridge Trail] 

Once on the Kinsman Ridge Trail, the hiking was beautiful and easy. Super obstructed tree views were on the left, like the kind where you're reminded there's views out there but you simply cannot see what they area. I crossed paths with a few folks in this short stretch, and soon I was at the junction with the Rim Trail!

[9:30am - Rim Trail] 

[9:32am - Cannon Mountain Summit] 

[9:41am - Rim Trail] 

I turned right onto the Rim Trail, enjoying the multiple signs in this area...

"STOP. THIS TRAIL DOES NOT GO BACK TO THE TRAM. TURN AROUND NOW UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED FOR STRENUOUS AND DIFFICULT HIKE."

and...

"WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST. THIS MARKS THE LINE BETWEEN NATIONAL FOREST AND STATE PARK LANDS. THE AREA IN BACK OF THIS SIGN IS THE MULTIPLE USE AREA FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF THE PEOPLE, PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF TIMBER, WATER, AND WILDLIFE.

The Rim Trail was gravel, well-graded, and short. It soon arrived at the shockingly massive summit observation tower (I was expecting one similar to the one on Carrigain, but no, this was HUGE. 

I did hope over some ropes fencing off the area underneath the tower so I could get a photo of the USGS summit disc (I figured the ropes were mostly for the tourists taking the Tram anyway...).

There were magnificent views and a decent amount of non-hiking folks up on top. I loved getting to see the Kinsman Ridge lead over toward North and South Kinsmans, the whole of Franconia Ridge, the Cannonball Quad and Mittersill Peak, and of course Willoughby Gap and Jay Peak. The rest of the Vermont high peaks were vaugely in view, and even little Black Mountain of Benton, NH was in view behind North Kinsman!

I must have looked insane to the recently-showered Tram folks, I even heard one say "people hike all the way up here??" which was my cue to leave. I did a short snack at the base of the tower and then made my way back to the junction of Rim Trail & Kinsman Ridge Trail.

[9:42am - Kinsman Ridge Trail & Rim Trail] 

From here, the Kinsman Ridge Trail and Rim Trail coincide, which meant that there were some tourist crossing paths with me, which was FINE, but not overly enjoyable. I was able to get on the phone with Gen here and mentioned that I wanted to hit Iron Mountain too, and she said we can meet up afterward and play in North Conway (aka she didn't want to join, but that's okay!). There was a good view here, so at least that made up for it.

Right before the Kinsman Ridge Trail leaves the Rim Trail, there is a nice diagram of  the Franconia Range ("The Franconia Range is the next in height to the Presidential Range in the White Mountains with a timberline at about 4400 ft. The Appalachian Trail (Maine to Georgia) runs along the crests of both these ranges."), a memorial bench that reads "If you love someone tell them. Most importantly, stay close to your friends. Let it make a difference in your day and theirs. - Jerry Warlop" and "This bench is dedicated to the spirit of the mountain and to those souls who mirrored its beauty," followed by another stop sign stating that the trail does not go back to the Tram.

[9:49am - Kinsman Ridge Trail] 

From here, the Kinsman Ridge Trail zig-zags down an open, scrubby, rocky area with truly brutal footing but truly wonderful views, especially back to the observation platform at the Cannon Mountain summit. 

The open stretch was longer than I thought it would be, and the trail eventually descended into the trees. I put bug spray on here for good measure. The trail rose again to another nice view of the summit and then went back into the woods to traverse some muddy stretches. 

[10:03am - Outlook Spur] 

I eventually made my way to a spur trail to an outlook and WOW - this one won! The outlook has the best view up toward the summit, down the I-93 cooridoor, and of course, the Franconia Ridge. I wanted to stay here for a while, but I was officially on a time mission: aka, don't make Gen wait too long for me!

[10:05am - Kinsman Ridge Trail] 

Back on the Kinsman Ridge Trail, I had the distinct displeasure of the beginnings of nipple chafing. That wasn't the only pain I was in, though, the Kinsman Ridge Trail had truly brutal footing from this point until the bitter end. It started with rocky, steep footing in pretty woods. At least the woods were pretty!

Then, the Kinsman Ridge Trail hit the first of MANY slab stretches in various stages of wetness and dryness. The trail joined the Kinsman Glade (a gladed ski trail from the ski area) in a pretty open area with truly awful footing. There were tree views to Echo Lake and a Blackhawk helicopter low in the notch (as of the time I'm writing this on 7/1 I haven't seen an accident report, so most likely just transit or training).

As I continued to suffer downshill, I heard a new sound... the Tram! I was extra lucky to get the Tram that is yellow and says "CANNON" on the side. I wrote in my notes "footing is absolutely horrid it's lucky it's pretty" as I threw my body down a super washed-out section. 

The trail criss-crossed with the glade a few more times, and I could not fathom skiing it in the winter! Eventually, the trail changes from broken rocks and wet slabs to steep, eroded dirt. And I don't mean any kind of eroded dirt, the kind of eroded dirt that will slip if you look at it wrong with banks 5-6 FEET high on either side. My god.

I basically had to trail run down the rest of this trail to avoid slipping and falling (which feels counter intuitive, but whenever I walked I'd slip...). I wiggled through a recent blowdown, plummeted down a bit more, and EVENTUALLY bottomed out for a final stretch to the gravel parking lot! SUCCESS!

[10:50am - Kinsman Ridge Trail Terminus] 

I followed the gravel lot and road to the porta potties, took care of some unfinished business, and made my way back to the car. I cannot stress how much I loved my ascent of this mountain and I cannot stress how much I hated my descent of this mountain. I'm truly torn on how I would want to tackle it a second time, but that is a problem for another day!

[10:55am - End of Hike]

I hiked past a few people with climbing ropes in the parking lot and another woman who joked "oh, you're done already?!" as I inhaled a PopTart and started my drive over to Jackson to hike Iron Mountain!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Cannon Mountain Tramside lot.

- Start hike by following signs for Kinsman Ridge Trail.

- At back gravel lot, follow path through grass, then pavement to Pemi Trail.

- Turn right onto Pemi Trail.

- At Lafayette Place, hike to Lonesome Lake Trail.

- Turn right onto Lonesome Lake Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Hi-Cannon Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Kinsman Ridge Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Rim Trail.

- Summit Cannon Mountain.

- Retrace steps, then continue on Kinsman Ridge Trail.

- Follow Kinsman Ridge Trail back to car.

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