tent camping on South Kinsman Mountain?

[mountainman]

Is it likley that i can a plce to stealth camp on or about South Kinsman Mountai?. I'll be up there on Labor Day weekend. Also is the trail from Mt moosilauke to Franconia Notch rough enough that I should allow more time than normal? I usually average 2+ mph. I have to catch a bus is why i'm asking.

[Slo-go'en]

NO! South Kinsman is a 4000 footer and above tree line. No camping! Plan to stay at Eliza brook shelter or maybe Kinsman pond. This is a pretty rugged section of trail with some serious ups and downs. 1 mph will be a good pace for much of it. Also be aware that labor day weekend is very busy. Personally, I would avoid hiking on a major holiday weekend like this in the Whites.

[Slo-go'en]

Oh, if you could put off your hike off for a week or even until the day after the holiday, you'd have the trail and shelters almost all to yourself. Do it on the holiday weekend, you'll be lucky to find anywhere to camp.

[Blissful]

Forget 2 mph.

[Kerosene]

Plan on a pace about 1 mph lower than usual. I typically walk 2.2-2.8 mph, but from Moosilaukee north it plummeted to 1.2-1.9 mph consistently, due to all of the rocks and roots, and a bit because of the steep, slick boulders you have to maneuver across. From Beaver Brook Shelter to Kinsman notch I averaged 1.28 mph. From the Notch to Eliza Brook Shelter I improved to a whopping 1.7 mph; in large part because I was pushing to reach Kinsman Pond that evening. After a lot of time spent reviewing the guidebook I decided to stop for the night and tackle South Kinsman when I was fresh the next morning. Even so, South Kinsman was a beast; and this from a person who enjoys climbing. The hiking was slow all the way to Lonesome Lake, but from the Lake to Franconia Notch I averaged a more typical 2.4 mph on a slightly descending and relatively smooth trail.

[rdljr]

Is it likley that i can a plce to stealth camp on or about South Kinsman Mountai?. I'll be up there on Labor Day weekend. Also is the trail from Mt moosilauke to Franconia Notch rough enough that I should allow more time than normal? I usually average 2+ mph. I have to catch a bus is why i'm asking.

I believe that the trail down from Moosilauke is the second steepest trail in the Whites and frequently thought of as the steepest. It can be very slow and on labor day weekend you will have to wait your turn at some of the places that have small steps bolted into the rocks.
No camping above the tree line!

[Red Hat]

before Labor Day is also prime time for college freshman orientation groups to be out hiking in this area.. Last year at Eliza Brook Shelter, there were so many people that some even tented in the protected vegetation area. Sad

[Wild_at_Heart]

NO! South Kinsman is a 4000 footer and above tree line. No camping! Plan to stay at Eliza brook shelter or maybe Kinsman pond. This is a pretty rugged section of trail with some serious ups and downs. 1 mph will be a good pace for much of it. Also be aware that labor day weekend is very busy. Personally, I would avoid hiking on a major holiday weekend like this in the Whites.

Having never been up Kinsman, I appreciate the advice -- but i was wondering if it might be possible to find flat ground on the saddle between South Kinsman and North Kinsman. I realize it may still be about 4000' there.

[rafe]

Zombie thread. The answer is no. The trail in the saddle runs through alpine scrub and you will find no flat ground to tent in, no trees strong enough to hammock on, nor cover from the canopy, since there is none. Not to mention that it would be in violation of all sorts of actual rules and regulations, let alone common sense.

Plan to stay at Eliza Brook or Kinsman Pond shelter, but not anywhere between those two. Seriously. Down in the hardwoods.

[rafe]

I believe that the trail down from Moosilauke is the second steepest trail in the Whites and frequently thought of as the steepest. It can be very slow and on labor day weekend you will have to wait your turn at some of the places that have small steps bolted into the rocks.
No camping above the tree line!

Beaver Brook Trail (east face of Moosilauke) is well-known to be marvelously steep.

Less well known or talked about is the west face of South Kinsman. Pretty intense climb.

[Sandy of PA]

It took me 14 hours to go 10 miles on that section and I had been hiking for a month already. The saddle between the Kinsmen peaks is a bog!

[chknfngrs]

It's been done before and will likely occur again

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zsILO_AHJa0

[eblanche]

It's been done before and will likely occur again

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zsILO_AHJa0

I had been waiting for someone to post this...