Kinsman Notch, New Hampshire – Kinsman Notch is located in the White Mountains between Mount Moosilauke and the Kinsman Range. Lost River drains to the southeast and the Wild Ammonoosuc River drains to the northwest. The Notch is mostly known for Lost River Reservation, Beaver Brook Cascades and Beaver Pond, but hidden among the hills is an incredible landscape that most have never explored.
Over the years, I have visited some breathtaking places in the less traveled areas of Kinsman Notch. And today I am going to show a few of these places. Kinsman Notch is an awesome area to hike and explore, and photographers with creative minds will have a field day in this area.
High on the side of Mount Jim (above) is one of the most peaceful softwood forests I have been in a long time. I was initially searching for an interesting sign in a backcountry ski area, but the forest was just perfect. Many of the trees are straight as an arrow! And I must mention the birch glades in this area are also incredible.
There are many brooks that flow into Lost River and the Wild Ammonoosuc River. Many of these brooks have very impressive cascades (above) along them! It baffles me that an area so heavily explored during the early years of the White Mountains has so many unnamed water features.
During the logging era, the Gordon Pond Railroad (1907-1916) traveled up the Lost River drainage and logged the rugged terrain of Kinsman Notch. Almost one hundred years later evidence of this era is still visible high on the mountains that make up Kinsman Notch.
Above is an abandoned sled road on Mount Waternomee. Even though it looks to be nothing more than a dried up brook bed, at one time horse teams, with logs, where lowered down this section with a series of cables. Some history books refer to these cable systems as snubbing winches. You can see what is possibly part of the snubbing winch used on this sled road here.
How can you not love tree art! I find it amazing this tree continues to grow around the artifact (hook). More than likely this artifact is from the Gordon Pond Logging Railroad era. I would speculate someone put the hook on a branch of the tree when it was small, and the tree continues to grow around it. View more Notch images here.
Happy image making..
And I have to thank Steve Smith, owner of The Mountain Wanderer Map & Book Store in Lincoln. He informed me of many interesting features of Kinsman Notch.
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Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC
Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.
Hello Erin, You take cool photo's. i like the one with metal brakets inside tree's, Do you have any with what was there before cannon mtn. i think it was hotel. I have a friend that here parent's worked there. I know where there is a wagon wheel around an 100 foot pine, I have no picture's. It is in Lexington Ma. when this end's i will go take one.
Thank you
Michael Yopp
Hi Mike,
I am glad you like my work – I have no photos of the old hotel that was in the area of Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch. But if you do an internet search, you should find numerous old photos of the hotel.
Stay safe.