The second rescue in recent weeks of a hiker stymied by the Huntington Ravine Trail, perhaps the most difficult trail in the White Mountains, has led an exasperated Fish and Game official to ask for help.
“I would like to see a sign put up at the entrance to the ravine that can serve as a warning to the novice or unskilled hiker about the difficulty of this section of trail – (telling them) not to go any further unless they have the technical ability or experience to accomplish the hike,” wrote Sgt. Mark Ober of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Lancaster office, which handles many White Mountain rescues, in a press release. “I don’t think it is too much to ask. The track record just in the last two years is proof that it is a problem and can be completely avoidable.”
The Huntington Ravine is on the east side of Mount Washington, next to the better-known Tuckerman Ravine. The trailhead cuts off the Tuckerman trail, and is easily reached from the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch, but the hike requires some scrambling across near-vertical rock ledges, with limited handholds.
The Fish and Game press release said two men, Shamim Khan of Troy, N.Y., and Hassan Jamal of Kingston, N.Y., who it described as “novice” hikers, had intended to ascend Mount Washington via the Tuckerman Ravine trail, but accidentally took the Huntington Ravine trail.
“They continued on until Khan reached a point on the steep section where he was not comfortable descending or ascending, and fearing for his safety, called 911 for assistance,” Ober wrote.
The pair had to be roped up and helped up to the Mount Washington Auto Road.
“The hikers reported that they were novices and were not prepared to hike on a trail as technical as what they were experiencing. This has unfortunately become a common theme,” Ober wrote.
The Appalachian Mountain Club’s guide for the White Mountains, which has descriptions of more than 500 named trails, lists the Huntington Ravine Trail as “the most difficult regular hiking trail in the White Mountains.”
Rob Burbank, spokesman for AMC, said that hiking any trail in the White Mountain requires preparation, including looking at maps – prefereably topographic ones that show steepness and elevation gain – to determine how difficult a trail is.
New Hampshire wilderness rescues have become a sore topic in recent years because of the cost. Fish and Game says many years it spends hundreds of thousands of dollars more beyond its state budget for rescues, taking money from other programs.
It has increased the frequency of times it charges people for rescues – often a controversial decision – and sells a $25 Hike Safe card as a form of rescue insurance, but the cost issue remains.
(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)
