Lonesome Lake Hike

 On Sunday October 11, six of us (Kevin, Len, Larry, Christopher, Joe, and myself) met for this hike of Lonesome Lake.   Kevin, Christopher, Joe, and myself carpooled from Plymouth and we met Len and Larry at the Basin parking lot at 10.   Larry met us around 10:15 as he had mistakenly been in the wrong parking lot, and apparently Peter and Jeremy were in the wrong parking lot also and by the time they came over to the other parking lot we had left.     Jeremy emailed to say that they had a good hike (although they didn't do a loop but rather took the same path down the cascades) and that they thought they saw us as at the hut (confirmed after he saw the pictures I posted) – too bad none of us had struck up a conversation.   Next time I lead a hike I will wear a GO tshirt and have a GO bumper sticker on the car!   Below is a link of some pictures from the hike courtesy of Jeremy (more and better than the ones I took), and there's 2 pictures in which he captured members of our group at the hut.      Cut and paste the link into your browser if necessary:

http://photos.winnick.net/gallery/9984228_JRN3d

The fall colors down at the Basin were beautiful and the weather was definitely nippy (probably in the 40s to start).   The hike up the Basin Cascades trail was beautiful, and we went leisurely, stopping, taking pictures and enjoying the numerous cascades.   We ended up accidentally walking right past Kinsman Falls without noticing it,  and then we got to the stream crossing that can be tricky in high water, but we were all able to cross it OK.    We continued up past more cascades and Rocky Glen falls, where we stopped to take pictures, and then continued across the bridge and up the Cascade Brook trail for the last mile or so to the hut.     It was windy and cold near the lake, so we were all happy to go inside to have lunch in the relative warmth of the hut.  

Being Columbus Day weekend, there were a good number of people at the hut.   After taking a group picture by Lonesome Lake (unfortunately with Mt Lafayette clouded in) we continued down the popular Lonesome Lake trail to Lafayette campground.     From Lafayette campground, we then took the Pemi trail back to the Basin parking lot.   The Pemi trail is fairly flat and along the Pemi river (which masks the sound of the nearby Franconia Notch parkway).    

It was a great day to be out for a hike enjoying the fall colors.     I enjoyed everyone on the trip and look forward to seeing them again soon.

Join us for this fall hike to Lonesome Lake Hut.   The whole hike is just over 6 miles with about 1200 feet of elevation gain.    We will start out at the Basin parking lot at 10.  Note this will be the side of the parking lot you would be on if you exit from Franconia Notch Parkway (I-93) coming from the south, and it would be the lower level of the parking lot.  If you’re coming from north I-93, just cross under the tunnel to the other side of the parking lot.   We will be driving a green Honda Civic.     If anyone is interested, we could carpool at 9:15 from the Hannaford parking lot in Plymouth (take exit 26, Rt 25, Tenney Mountain Highway a mile or two west and Hannaford is on the left).      Unless I hear that anybody is interested in this, we will just meet at the trailhead at 10 am.

  We will hike up the Basin-Cascades trail and Cascade Brook trail past cascades and waterfalls to the Lonesome Lake hut, where we will have lunch inside.   There is a stream crossing on the Basin-Cascades trail that can be difficult in high water (see our trip report from April 2009 with all the snowmelt at the time), but it should be not a problem this time of year.   This is the last weekend that the hut is full service, meaning that they serve full breakfast and dinner to people staying at the hut.     At lunch time, they probably will have some baked goods, lemonade, hot drinks, and possibly soup for sale, but it’s probably best to pack your own lunch just in case.       We will then descend the more popular Lonesome Lake trail to Lafayette campground, and then take the Pemi trail back to the Basin parking lot where we're parked.