As imperfect human beings we learn as we go. We make mistakes, adjust, correct, then carry on. Here at Redline Guiding we strive to provide exceptional outdoor adventures and in-depth wilderness education. We strive for perfection, even if that means that perfection will be defined differently by different people. When a recent private group told us they wanted compete immersion into the true wilderness — at least as deep as is possible here in New Hampshire — we delivered. We brought them backpacking into the Wild River Wilderness. It’s a natural choice for this. As the name implies, it’s a wild river in a wild place. They should be simply wild about it.
As it turned out, that was a mistake. Sure, they had experience hiking, they told us they were moderately fit, they wanted it wild, but unfortunately the combination of wilderness elements proved too much. It’s as much mental as it is physical. The heat, the insane bugs, the standing water, the mud, the water crossings, and the underdeveloped wilderness making our guests feel as if we were lost even though we easily followed the path. They enjoyed their time, no doubt about it, they learned a ton about the wilderness and about themselves, but they weren’t truly prepared for what the wilderness was like, even here in wee New Hampshire. We parted ways with a round of hugs and they promised to come back next year. When they do they will be more prepared better knowing what to expect, and we will tone it down a bit easing them in.
In any case, our guests did hike themselves out there, they did stay in the wild, and they did hike themselves out. Mission accomplished. In a way, it went perfectly. Here are a couple of photos taken by trip leader Redline Guide Ryan Mcguire.
The crossings, here with a 70L pack on.
There was lots of mud.
The eventually made it to the awesome Rainbow Trail.
Camp is finally established.
Well done team, for what WAS accomplished. Good lead, Ryan.