Lonesome Lake 2026
Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
We visit lonesome Lake in the winter. It is a 1.6 mile hike from the parking lot to the Appalachian Mountain Club hut. We use the Avino’s house in Tuftonboro as a base of operations.
Activities:
Travel up friday night
Sleep at the Avino’s house
Depart in the morning to Franconia Notch
Hike - 1.6 miles in very steep terrain. Physical exertion requires the correct equipment. Microspikes, layerd clothing, and starting off cold (don’t be silly, start chilly)
In the past we have slept over in the annex. They are unheated and require cold weather camping gear.
Sleeping at the Avino’s house is warm, and there is plenty of space on the floor. Air mattresses are a good idea.
Ice fishing on Lower Beech Pond at the Avino’s house is a fun activity for Sunday.
Using the Klondike sled to move gear on the lake is a fun activity.
2026 Recap:
Our trip to the mountains in New Hampshire for 2026 is in the books, and it's one to remember! We overcame a lot of adversity, and had a lot of fun in the process!
The fun began when halfway through our trip up, the kind man working at Wendy's told us that he would not serve us from the inside counter and we would have to go through the drive through. That didn't work for us, so it was off to McDonalds on the other side of the road. Scouts learned how to order for themselves using the Kiosks, and then we waited, so much for fast food. It was at this point that Mr. Avino realized that he failed at a major point of Scouting (be prepared) and had forgotten the keys to the house. More on that later.
Upon arrival at the house we found that the steep hill leading up to it had been covered in a sheet of ice. Over the course of the weekend - I think everyone went down at some point. Despite having seen others in the group fall, none of us seemed to learn our lesson.
The next challenge of course was to obtain entry into the house. While scouts waited in the cars to keep warm, Dr. Cool, Mr Avino and Mr. Yazmer managed to jimmy open a window with minimal damage - no Scouts learned how to B&E although they were aware that was how we got in.
Sleeping arrangements were set up, scouts upstairs, and adults in the bedrooms. Logan slept outside in his tent!
We woke early the next morning, got right to breakfast and packed lunch and gear for our hike. We left the house shortly after planned, and drove through some light snow to the parking lot. Once everyone was geared up and ready to go, Logan and Aidas acted as guides taking us up the mountain and to the Hut. The hike was very challenging as elevation climbs very quickly, but we all persevered and made it to the Lake. We ate lunch at the hut; sandwiches and ramen. The way back down was significantly easier. So easy in fact that some of the group decided to both slide, and run down the trail. It snowed the entire time we were in Franconia Notch. We loaded back into the cars, and took a slow ride home. The roads were a bit snowy, so we took it very easy and it took much longer. Several Scouts fell asleep on the way back to the house.
Once we made it back, Aidas cooked us pizzas and calzones for dinner. Board games and card games were played, and then we turned in for the night.
On Sunday we once again got up and cooked breakfast. We adjusted our plans to leave early because there was a forecast for heavy snow in CT and the drivers had slight PTSD from our trip back the night before. We got out onto Lower Beech Pond as soon as we could with the Klondike sled and our ice fishing gear. We used the old ice auger to start cutting holes, and they were going very slow. After some challenges adjusting our tools, we were able to get 3 holes in the ice, which was about 15 inches thick. We fished the holes, slid on the ice, pushed the sled, and made a snowman. Aidas and Mr. Yazmer were kind enough to stay behind and pack up and clean while we were gone.
After ice fishing (no luck actually catching anything) we headed back to the house, finished packing and cleaning up, and started on our way home to CT. We did not hit any snow, and it was smooth driving the entire way.
I want to thank everyone that participated. From my estimation, everyone had an amazing time. I can't wait for our next adventure.
