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Mt Washington - page 4 of 4

The Huntington Ravine Trail is definitely not a good trail to use for descent. It's much easier climbing up steep rock than getting down it. I planned on taking the Tuckerman Ravine Trail back down, which made a nice loop back to my car. I was looking forward to see whether any snow or ice was left in the ravine. There had still been a rather large patch when I climbed up that way in June.

It was a quick trip rock-hopping down the summit cone. Around the junction with the Lion Head Trail, I began to pass members of a Boy Scout troop on their way up. They were mostly younger kids, and were strung out along the trail almost all the way down to Tuckerman Junction. The kids in the back, were moving rather slowly. The leader who was in the back with the slower kids said that they were going to take the Stage (Mt Washington Auto Road van) back down since they were running out of time (and with some of them, energy) to descend before dark.

I stopped at Tuckerman Junction to take a picture. There were quite a few hikers on their way up, and I could see their tiny forms, far off, making their way slowly up the trail. Some of them were barely visible to the naked eye, but I got a pretty good closeup shot with the zoom lens on my camera.

After descending below the lip of Tuckerman Ravine, I was once again treated to the pleasant sight of growing flowers and trees, and the sound of cool waterfalls cascading down the rocks. It can seem pretty desolate above treeline after being up there for awhile. And on a hot day, there's not much escape from the burning sun.

About halfway down the headwall, I met a young Orthodox Jewish couple still on their way up. The girl was wearing a long black skirt down to her feet. Not unlike the outfit that Lizzie Bourne probably wore, I couldn't see how she could climb very well in it, although I'm sure that it was a lot lighter than Lizzie's clothing, which was all woolen, which tends to soak up moisture and get heavier as the day progresses. I cautioned them that the summit was still quite a distance above, and then we both went on our way.

I was worried that they would be stuck somewhere up on the mountain when it got dark. However, a little while later, I met another hiker who was also on his way up. He, too had met the couple, and said that they were really breezing by. Apparently, they, like himself, were planning on taking the Stage back down. So I guess I had nothing to worry about after all. They were apparently a lot faster than I had expected them to be in their old-fashioned clothes.

When I reached Hermit Lake, I stopped in the cabin to buy a Tuckerman Ravine t-shirt, something I had missed doing on my last trip because I had come down Lion's Head. From there, it was a fairly quick walk back down to Pinkham Notch, and I was soon back in my car and on my way home. It had been a long, but successful and rewarding day.

Looking up the summit cone from Tuckerman Junction. The inset shows a closeup of several hikers amongst the rocks that were barely visible to the naked eye.

Tuckerman Crossover Trail junction. This trail traverses across the slopes to Lakes of the Clouds Hut.

Tuckerman Ravine waterfall. The ravine was full of cascading water. It was a warm day and the cool water looked inviting, but dangerous.

Meadow rue. There were many different flowers blooming along the trail.

Hand pump near Hermit Lake. This is the main water source for the Hermit Lake Shelters and tent platforms.

Hojos. Officially known as the Hermit Ranger cabin, Hojos is, of course, short for Howard Johnson's. It's been called that since the 1930s because its architecture reminded people of the small roadside Howard Johnson's which were then becoming popular along New England's roads.

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