Some people glance out their window toward Mt Washington remarking on how it looks, so rugged and alpine. A mountain’s mountain if there ever was one and the tallest in the Northeast. And Mt Washington is special, unique in myriad ways; a record maker and breaker known for its crazy weather, to be sure. And for many, it really is worthy of a person’s bucket list — you know, the list of things they want to accomplish before they, well, “kick the bucket,” as they say. Our guest on this trip is one of those people. We could go on and on, but we’ll let Redline Guide Hayley LaPointe tell the tale (followed by a couple photos).
While packing up for college, our guest found a bucket list she had made back in middle school. Her list included: go to space, hike Mt Rainier, Mt Everest, and you guessed it, Mt Washington, too.
Opportunity was knocking, as our guest is completing a summer internship in Boston, a short drive away from one of her bucket list hikes. She’s living life in the best way possible; recently adopting a dog, traveling as much as she can and challenging herself to do things a little out of her comfort zone.
The forecast weather called for potential rain and afternoon thunderstorms, a common forecast for Mt Washington in the summer months. We knew we had to get an early start and make good decisions regarding the weather as we made our way carefully up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. I taught our guest about careful foot placement on wet rock, water crossings, and tons about the fragile alpine vegetation. While constantly keeping the weather in the back of our minds, we discussed whether to continue towards the summit at crucial points: tree line and at the Lakes of the Clouds (LOTC) Hut. Our guest trusted my judgment and it paid off! Not only did we get to summit Mt Washington, we got some fantastic views on the way up to the summit from LOTC and on our descent, as well. Our guest even got to send a post card to family from the summit post office! We had a wonderful day talking about everything under the sun. While a summit is never promised when attempting Mt Washington, I did promise our guest a fabulous day. And a fabulous day it was. —Hayley
