Lonesome Lake
Lonesome Lake is at an elevation of 2734 ft, approximately 0.3
miles long, 0.1 miles wide, with a surface area of 80 acres. The
depth of the lake averages 3 to 6 feet with the greatest depth at
12 feet. The bedrock under Lonesome Lake is Conway granite, a
medium grained granite that is common in the White Mountains. The
granite on the shores of the lake has weathered to a whitish color
with grains of gray quartz and black flakes of mica. The sandy,
granular material found on the Lonesome Lake Trail consists of
particles weathered from the granite.
The mountains to the north are the Cannon Mountains. Over 12,000
years ago, as glaciers flowed in a southerly direction, they pushed
slowly up and over Cannon and the Kinsmans. The ice polished the
north side of the mountains, then dropped off the south side,
plucking rocks from the slope and creating the steep ledges we see
today. The force of the glacier's downward, southerly movement
gouged out a basin as it hit more level land and created the large
depression that now contains Lonesome Lake. Although the lake
itself sits on acidic rock and is nearly surrounded by acidic bogs,
the water is only slightly acidic. The water flowing into the lake
comes largely from Kisman Ridge with its feldspar crystals.
Feldspar, with its calcium base, buffers the pH of the water making
it less acidic. This allows for species such as brook trout to
thrive.
Reference: Lonesome Lake Hut
Trail Description
The trailhead for this earthcache begins at the Lafayette
Campground Parking with the trail aptly called the Lonesome Lake
Trail. The most direct route will take you a distance of about 3.4
miles round trip. However, taking the Around-Lonesome-Lake Trail
(which is flat and made up of a number of different trails) is
quite scenic and only adds an additional 0.3 miles. The tracklog
below shows the recommended Lonesome Lake Lollipop Loop which is
3.7 miles with total elevation gain of about 1000 feet.
Logging Requirements:
- Find an example of granite along the shore of the lake with
either grains of gray quartz or black flakes of mica visible. Take
a picture, post it, and identify which features are present in your
specimen.
- Post a picture of yourself with GPS in front of the Lonesome
Lake Hut.
Note: All answers should be emailed to the cache
owner.
Picture Examples
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| Picture 1: Lonesome Lake View |
Picture 2: AMC Hut Example |
Picture 3: Trail (Wooden Planks) |