By Marty Basch

Most hikers know where they are when they reach the summit, but the man with the cell phone wasn’t quite sure. He asked us which mountain he was on. He was told Cannon. He told that to the person on the other end. We hiked up. He had taken the tram.

Nice views

Cannon Mountain, in Franconia Notch State Park, has exquisite views from its 4,100 foot summit and ledges below. Above the tram station, where many of those up top arrived, is an observation deck with commanding lookouts of the White and Green Mountains.

Layfayette, Lincoln, Haystack and Liberty are out there. So are Camel’s Hump and Smugglers’ Notch. On the right day, the Adirondacks are spotted.

There are peaks where hikers tread that when they reach the top, they meet people who didn’t hike there. Motor up Mansfield, Ascutney or Mount Washington. Take a chairlift to peaks like Killington or  Wildcat.

Whether it be feet marching each mountain mile, dangling from a lift or pressing down a gas pedal, all means get you up there.

Of course, the mechanized ways are easier and require fees.

Let's hike

But I like to hike. So my partner Jan Duprey and I took the Kinsman Ridge Trail to the top of Cannon listening to the loud speaker telling visitors the tram was about to depart. But not with us on it. We hiked, soon reaching a parts of the trail that resembled a bob sled run, a bit like a tube. Except these slices of tube aren’t smooth as ice. They are sandy, and like ice, can cause a few slips. There are, not by intention but by evolution of hiker desperation, various root holds and railings along the way to keep hikers upright.

After the bob sled run, there are rock slabs to conquer, many with water running down its sides and middle. But the ledges on the east side of the mountain hold wonderful notch views. After them is a steep climb sometimes with mud or slippery rocks.

That fir

But once it levels off through the fragrant fir, it’s time for an outlook onto Franconia Notch that is splendid before descending into a col and then up a rocky scramble to the Cannon summit. That last half mile or so has a couple of brief wallows through the mud, skipping over rocks and fallen logs before that above-treeline feel of low brush and big rock slabs.

Then we burst up on the summit with its narrow paths, more people and then up to the observation deck to chat with humanity before heading down for a 4.4 mile round-trip hike. The tram will have to wait until winter.

One Tank Away

Franconia Notch State Park  is:

*124 miles from Miller State Park in Peterborough, N.H.

*217 miles from Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I.

*398 miles from Cayuga Lake State Park in Seneca Falls, N.Y.