Over the years we’ve had a lot of people ask us for help with bits of certain lists. The motivation behind these requests varies a bit. Sometimes it’s the remoteness of trails (or lack thereof), or their technical difficulty, or the exposure they offer. Occasionally it has to do with notorious river crossing, and some it’s simply a worried spouse at home looking for some certainty. In this case our returning guest wanted a companion for a Terrifying 25 hike involving Six Husbands and Sphinx Trails. Leading was Redline Guide Debra McCown. What follows is her hike summary along with some photos or the tour.
A guest working on the Terrifying 25 hiking list decided to hire a guide for two of the most infamous trails: Huntington Ravine and Six Husbands. Yesterday was the first hike, and we did Six Husbands and Sphinx (which is also on the list) as a loop from Great Gulf Wilderness trailhead.
Six Husbands, known for its scrambles, slabs, and ladders, also includes, a long segment of krummholz and talus. Basically, it has all the things! And a bonus downed tree right in the middle of the toughest-to-find turn on the scrambles (we bushwhacked around it).
Sphinx was true to slimy form, though at this dry time of year not nearly as wet and slimy as it often is, reducing its “terrifying” factor to a mere tedious ick.
The guest did great, twice rock-hopping across the not-so-easy Peabody River (where the bridge is closed for safety) and confidently navigating all the fun obstacles and slimy rocks to check these two trails off his list. Up next: the infamous Huntington Ravine. —Debra
