After having so much fun on the scrambling on Mt. Mansfield a few weeks ago, I talked my friends Max and Emily into doing something a little more challenging. Given all the time I've spent in Huntington Ravine in the last few years, I still hadn't done the Huntington Ravine Trail. It's the most challenging "trail" on Mt. Washington, and probably the hardest in the entire White Mountains as well.
After a stout climb up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from Pinkham Notch, the trail branches off to the north and dramatically changes character. A narrow trail through dense vegetation and enormous glacier boulders leads to the base of Huntington Ravine, which has a distinctly wilder feel than it's more popular neighbor, Tuckerman. From the base, a large field of boulders called the Fan, best described as "100% pure bullshit", leads to the base of the headwall. The trail then becomes class 3 and weaves an unlikely route linking ledges between the massive cliffs, pinnacles, and gulleys of the Ravine. Once atop the Ravine, the trail joins the Alpine Garden for a mellow trip to the summit of this ancient rockpile.
Since it's a long day with some serious scrambling, we opted to do the trip as an overnight with a camp at the lean-to shelters at Hermit Lake. Our friends Matt and Jaime joined us, and we departed Lebanon just after noon on Saturday.
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| All smiles at the trailhead |
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| Following the Tuckerman Ravine Trail through old growth forest |
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| Scotch is the drink of choice for all serious mountaineers |
After a fun night in the lean to, we got started hiking around 9am on Sunday. We descended the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the Raymond's Path cutoff, which took us to the Huntington Ravine Trail. After about an hour, we were at the base of the Fan, watching a party ahead of us curse and whine their way through the boulders. After eating a bit of food and mustering our courage, we headed up.
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Rugged wildness of the Huntington Ravine Trail |
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| Entering the Fan |
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100% pure medical-grade bullshit |
The Fan was fairly miserable, but soon we were deposited at the base of the Headwall. From here, we had about 1000 feet of scrambling, some of which was exposed and exciting...
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| "We've had eggs harder to scramble than this" |
After some exciting sections, we topped out in the Alpine Garden and ate some lunch, overlooking the awesome view of the Ravine and the Maine Whites. We only had a short hike to gain the summit, where again we feasted on tourist hotdogs, pizza, and chili.
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| Heading toward the summit |
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| Success! First time to the summit of Mt. Washington for everyone but me! |
Once we'd rested and eaten in the summit house, we started our descent down the Tuckerman Ravine Trail in order to grab our stuff we left at Hermit Lake. The Tuckerman Ravine Trail is about 1000 times more mellow than the Huntington Ravine Trail, and soon we were back down at camp at Hermit Lake.
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| Approaching the Ravine down the summit cone |
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| In the Ravine proper, still a fair amount of snow even in late June! |
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| Checking out the meltwater tunnel |
We were all feeling beat by the time we reached Hermit Lake, so we didn't waste much time packing and getting ready to head out. We still had the steep 2 mile hike back to the cars, so we launched off. Matt and Jaime were totally ready to be done, so they raced the last two miles and beat Max, Emily, and I by a solid half hour at least.
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| Leaving Hermit Lake |
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| "I'm so done" |
Once at the car, we changed into some comfy shoes and headed into Gorham for some much needed food. I think the Huntington Ravine Trail was the perfect level of challenge for this group. We were never truly in danger of getting in trouble, but the scrambling and exposure kept that possibility ever-present in our minds. I highly recommend doing it as an overnight at Hermit Lake, that allows you to arrive at the base of Huntington Ravine with fresh legs and fresh perspective. This is not a hike, it's a climb.
