#220 Hermit Lake Shelter on Tuckerman Ravine Trail to Summit of Mt Washington
We are in our element - like kids playing on a jungle gym. Less adventurous people would be miserable.
8-27-2015
The early morning sun shines brightly through the trees into our shelter. We are lying side by side about two feet apart from one another across the shelter floor.
After morning routines, we load our packs and begin our climb.
The Tuckerman Ravine Trail runs past the ranger station on its way to the summit of Mt Washington. We stop for a few photos of the surrounding mountains and to fill our water bottles.
The trail takes a hard right at Five Fingers trail junction where the real climbing begins. I rest my camera on a sign and set the timer so we can get a group photo before the sun disappears behind the rolling clouds.
Immediately after the snap of the camera the clouds overtake the sun.
We approach a sign that reads,
“Be alert -be aware
BE ICE SMART
Avoid traveling under ice
Don’t linger in exposed areas under dangerous ice
Use larger rocks for shelter from falling ice
Many people are injured or killed every year -
Remember this warning.”
We won’t have any ice to contend with, but we take this as a reminder to respect this mountain regardless the weather, as the weather can change dramatically in a blink of an eye. (Someone dies on the mountain due to hypothermia the day before I climb it in 2024)
As we approached the tree line, the clouds fall from the sky and land on us.
The rocks become larger, and our hiking poles became more of a hindrance than a help. Some of us strap ours pole to our packs since we’re using our hands as much as our feet.
The wind begins blowing harder as the temperatures drop.
We stop for a quick snack to replenish our energy and put on our rain gear. It isn’t raining yet but our rain gear will help block the wind and hold in body heat.
Visibility is down to about twenty or thirty feet, sometimes even less, making it difficult to follow the cairns and blazes up the mountain.
You won’t need to worry about us; we are in our element - like kids playing on a jungle gym.
Less adventurous people would be miserable.
Less experienced and prepared people would be in danger.
