Cannon Group Trip - 16/Oct/97
Like last year's trip this year's
group outing was a great success. We chose
Cannon because it was a nice hike,
had facilities up top, and had a tram for people who didn't want
to hike. We met in the Lafayette Place Campground
parking lot around 9:00 and quickly started up the
leaf filled trail. We chose to go up to
Lonesome Lake and then take the Dodge Cut-Off to the Hi-Cannon trail.
Once we reached the lake, checked out our
route, and snacked, we headed out again. Some
folks with dogs took the Cascade Brook trail to the ridge to avoid the
ladder. Just past that, there are some nice
ledges with views down to
Lafayette Place, across to the
cloudy Franconia Ridge and down to
Lonesome Lake.
After that it was a steady climb to the summit. The weather cleared
as we went so that by the time we reached the
summit building the views were
very nice. Looking to the north, we could
see the old Taft Ski run. After a short, cold
stay on the observation platform, we headed over to the
tram building for lunch. The few folks who
went the other way arrived soon after us, as well as the people who
came up the tram. Unfortunately, they didn't allow
dogs in the building, so the owners had to
settle for lunch al fresco.
After lunch we gathered for a group photo
in front of the tram building. Then we headed around the Rim trail,
a short trail around the summit that has more
wonderful views. We stopped for
another group shot along the way. Then
we headed down the Kinsman Ridge trail. Some sections of this were
quite steep and nasty, leading to a few
small spills but everyone made it all right. At the junction with
the Around Lonesome Lake trail, one group decided to take a quick
tour around the lake while the other agreed to wait at the
Dodge Cut-Off junction. The first part
of the trip around the lake is on timber puncheons
to get through the swampy areas. This leads to great views of the
now clear Franconia Ridge. We passed the
closed hut which was undergoing some end of season construction and
met up with the rest of the group. Then it was a quick descent to
the campground where we caught some last
views.
Pictures by Jeff Sullivan and David Metsky.
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