Whenever we’re tasked with leading someone on Huntington Ravine Trail, a question or three about iffy ground conditions will often be brought up. Asking what we do if it rains is common. In most cases, especially if the rain will be steady and/or heavy — nobody likes those conditions — we will usually reschedule. But if it’s light, scattered, and doable based on the opinion of an experienced Redline Guide like Pat Ferland (he led this tour) we will often go for it, knowing exactly how to deal with the circumstances and how to protect ourselves and our guests in the process. Pat drafted this summary of their day…
It was windy and wet in Huntington Ravine this morning. I met our guest at 7 AM at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. We made good time getting up the mile-plus segment of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the turn off for Huntington Ravine Trail. We ventured down the trail, unsure if we would make the water crossings because of how high the rivers had been lately. But we were able to do both, barely wetting our toes. After the final crossing we made our way to the base of the Talus Field, doing so in good time and in good spirits, even though we couldn’t see anything once we started climbing.
We ascended the ravine in the clouds, visibility dropping to about 50 feet. When we actually got onto the Slab section of the trail, we found it quite wet but we were able to connect the dry spots and make our way up. I had to lend a hand in only a few places. Mostly we had fun scrambling over the small ledges. When we got to the “Chimney” it was quite slimy and wet. We considered going around, but then decided the best bet was to just commit to the slime and go.
When we got to the large cairn at the top, the winds were enough to make us stagger about. For a while we hid behind the cairn while we considered our options. Ultimately we opted to head over the Alpine Garden Trail to Lion Head, and make our way back down. Neither of us really looking forward to walking headfirst into the strong winds for an hour just for a summit we’ve both have gotten before. Today was about helping our guest get number 12 on their Terrifying 25 list.
We had a fun descent. We stopped on top of Lion Head where we could peer in Tux, at least some. Once down to Tuckerman Ravine Trail we actually walked back up to Hemet Lakes to take a quick look around as it was our guest’s first time on the east side of Mt Washington. All in all, it was a great day. —Pat Ferland
He also took these photos…
