If you plan on visiting Franconia Notch State Park, you might read in every guidebook available (even "Snowshoe Hikes in the White Mountains") that the trail up to Lonesome Lake is "easy". Internet, I am here to let you in on a secret: the people who write guidebooks are mountain goats.
We have now done this trail in both the summer and the winter, and let me tell you: it is not easy. It is far from easy. I think the mountain goats call it "easy" because it is a smooth dirt trail in summer and has good footing. But here is the truth: a good portion of that trail goes about 75° straight up the side of the mountain. It is so steep that you have to lean on trees when you stop to rest (every 37 steps, on average) so you don't fall backwards down the hill.
And! When we got to the top, to the Lonesome Lake, the fog was so thick that it seemed like we were standing at the edge of the world. It was a total white-out, with about 5 feet of visibility across the lake.
On the plus side, there was alot of new snow, and the Lonesome Lake Hut (way at the top of the trail) is staffed even in the winter, so we got to meet a nice caretaker who offered us hot tea. The hut is solar-powered, so we chatted about batteries and sunny days and down-filled slippers (the caretaker is pro, and I think he'd know).
We have gotten a solid 18" of snow in the last 48 hours, and it's still falling. We are buried. We'll post a message here if we need canned goods.
