South Kinsman

I came back from vacation all zen and "first world problems, it's all good!" which lasted for a day. I took Monday off from work to recover from jet lag. Tuesday I went through my email, organized my to-do list for the rest of the week to prepare for the new year, and got the most urgent things done. Wednesday my boss was back at work too, and at 11 or so she told me she's accepted a new role at the university!!!  Tragic!  I'm so sad. Being a scientist, her delivery was like this, "I've accepted a new role at the university and I think you should be promoted to my job. I'm meeting with the vice provost at 3. Can I tell him you will accept the position?"  That is NOT enough warning to give a person because #1 I'm distraught that she's leaving and #2 don't really want her job (which she knows).  I said I needed to think about it, and that I knew it was what was good for my career and what I should do, it's just that I didn't particularly want to. And she said, it was kind of like eating my vegetables, it would be good for me.  And for the next three hours she popped up every few minutes saying "vegetables?" until I agreed that she could present "problem and solution" at the same time. So, we will see what the Vice Provosts think. They may decide to keep a faculty person in the role.

Needless to say, with this change coming, I was all stressed out and needed a hike. Saturday was the clear winner for this weekend for hiking - it's Labor Day (a year from Owl's Head!) but with rain predicted for Sunday and traffic for Monday, and beautiful weather for Sat, I decided to go for it!  I chose the Kinsmans because I had done North Kinsman with the egg salad sandwich people, but not South because we had to turn back. Even though we were .9 mile away. It's a 10 mile hike, with a 2 hour drive, and it is very pretty, so I was eager to do it!

I was so slow on the hike, but at the same time it was a pretty easy one. I just wasn't moving with any speed. The way up didn't seem hard at all. Probably because I was moving at a snail's pace. There's an AMC hut at Lonesome Lake, which is about 1.5 miles into the hike. I was able to stop and use the bathroom and have a snack. Then I headed back out the Fishin' Jimmy Trail (cool trail name!) The trail itself is pretty fun, there's a lot of exposed rock and slab, some stairs built into the rock, a few rickety ladders, some pretty mossy areas, and some long-ish flat areas that are welcomed. The last time I hiked it I had a full pack, so this time seemed much easier. It took a total of 4 hours to get to the top. By the time I got up there I was starving, and sat on the ledge at the viewpoint for lunch.

I spent a good half hour eating, sitting on the warm rock and basking in the sun before heading back onto the trail to South Kinsman. It's only .9 mile to South Kinsman and, as always, I loved the ridgeline. It was a little shorter ridgeline, so there was a lot of up and down, but good stuff. The top of South had a good view, but there were trees blocking it if you sat down. I was trying to find a good place to sit, with something of a view and a place to rest my back, when I noticed the cairn had a built in chair! So, that's where I sat for a snack and rest. 

I finished eating and it was getting a bit later, about 2 ish, so I knew I needed to be headed back to get down before dark. The way back for South to North was actually easier, and I practiced working with gravity, but not really successfully. My right knee and ankle were stiff for some reason (old age?) which made the going slow. I stopped briefly again on the ledge at North, just because it's so great. While I was sitting there these two teenagers from the Congo got there, they were just adorable. They loved the view and were so psyched. They were wearing perfectly clean, pressed track uniforms. And I'm pretty sure they had no idea what they were doing. On the way down I discovered they were with a group, but the rest of the group didn't summit.

Near the top of Kinsman there was what seemed like a thru hiker sitting on a tarp by a trail junction, totally high. Another hiker sat down and they were chatting, as I went by I heard him say, "I'm so bomber on the downhills, man." Apparently hiking on pot is a thing now?

On the way down I had to stop and get water, I was pretty much out, which is a bad idea. I stopped at Kinsman Pond, which is a little out of the way, but so pretty! 

I was even slower the rest of the way down, I was finally getting tired and my feet hurt. I started getting really hungry and wanted to eat this powerbar that was in my backpack, and to pee. But then I thought I would wait to get to the hut. Eventually I decided I was just too hungry, and sat on a rock and ate. About 15 min after that I got to the hut. Of course.

After the hut it was pretty quick hiking down, it's just 1.5 miles, and there are a bunch of sections without rocks. Even I was able to pick up the pace. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to get out before I needed a headlamp. Which I did. As I was walking back to my car I noticed that I could see my breath in the air. Fall is coming. It was really a nice day and an awesome hike. Definitely one that I would do again. Not too crowded, even though it was Labor Day weekend, the steep uphills were well spaced with flats, there was nice scenery, and a great view! Way better than the Owl last year :)