The plan for our returning 85-year-old guest from Connecticut was to do some hiking over one-and-a-half days with some specific wants and needs thrown in. Day one was the half day portion and Redline Guide Tim Jones led him up Black Cap as a rewarding warm up. A few days later — the start delayed due to the heat and humidity — the plan involved… well, we’ll let Tim tell it:
Our guest really wanted two things 1) Hike a section of the Appalachian Trail and 2) see the view from a summit. The plan was to drive to the top of Mount Washington on the Auto road, hike down to Lakes of the Clouds Hut. If that went well, we’d do the Monroe Loop and head back up to the summit.
Unfortunately, even on a perfect late summer day, our guest found the Crawford Path too challenging. Part way to the hut (with the ‘easy’ part of the trail still off in the distance), we decided that the experience was well beyond his comfort level. So we slowly made our way back to the summit where we did a little ‘touristy stuff,’ then headed down. At least he got to do a little bit of the AT.
Not wanting to totally forego the hiking part of the day, we drove up to Shelburne, NH, and, after a solid lunch break we hiked the Austin Brook and the Yellow Trails up to the top of Mt Crag. There we got stunning view of the Androscoggin River and the hills beyond. This trail was well within his comfort zone and we both really enjoyed the experience. Sometimes you have to adjust your expectations and today was one of those days. —Tim
