Lost Hiker - Crawford Path Parking lot

[JoshandBaron]

Interesting that there is nearly a mile discrepancy between 3 sources on such a short distance. Guthook has it at 2.8

 

[peakbagger]

Distances are tough on varied terrain like this. Different methods will yield different results.

 

[NHClimber]

Like going up to the Nancy Cascades. Trail takes a detour around a slide that occurred on the old trail. Adds like 0.4 or so.

 

[DayTrip]

Interesting that there is nearly a mile discrepancy between 3 sources on such a short distance. Guthook has it at 2.8

AMC White Mountain Guide shows 2.9 miles to the Mt Clinton Trail. Maybe website route tools like CalTopo and Gaia do not catch that little jog that swings up the grade briefly to that viewpoint and then cuts across that slope back down? It appears to be on the map but maybe it messes up the measurement. Either way, sucks he got that close to being out before fate stepped in.

 

[sierra]

I'll say this, in all my years in the backcountry, my biggest fear is drowning, I've been in an avalanche, water scares me more. I fell in a fast-moving river making a crossing, everything happened so fast, I had very little time to make the right move and get to shore. I have not made one questionable crossing since that day and when conditions present themselves, I trip plan hikes that eliminate any chance of having to cross dangerous water. I'm not trying to impugn this poor gentleman either, I have no idea what got him to that spot and put him in that situation. That being said, going down that way was not a choice that would have been in my playbook. Years ago, I loved that valley and camped in there, climbed Isolation from there, fished it many times as well. I just don't go in there anymore since the storms beat the Hell out of it. Even the re-routes and trail re-construction have failed to restore the valley to its previous incarnation. Granted, this is all my own opinion, and I am admittedly much more conservative in the backcountry at 60 years old, then I was sub 40 years old, but that's just the way I see it. The biggest thing from these types of fatalities, is in spite of all the experience in this group, it's pure speculation on what happened, I have thought about scenarios and the only one that makes sense, is he went down there to extend his trip due to weather, he had the gear. I cant come up with another reason why, the Crawford path, the Edmands path, the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail, he was literally 2 hours from coffee and pizza on those routes.

 

[DayTrip]

I really enjoy the Dry River Wilderness, particularly in the Fall when the foliage is peaked out. Tyhe stretch from Rt 302 to the Isolation junction is my go-to foliage hike to avoid crowds. The massive washouts have led to some weird re-routes on steep, sketchy slopes that do detract from the overall feel of the valley.

Many years back I went all the way up the headwall in Oakes Gulf and popped out at the Lakes. That area is quite unique in the Whites. It had cool meadows and scrub trees filled with wild flowers as it zig zagged into the alpine zone. Gorgeous spot. Long slog in there though on muddy, blowdown filled terrain.

 

[jrcinnh]

Last summer we dropped into Dry River from LOTC, went all the way down to Mt Clinton trail, then up to Mizpah. This is the crossing at the bottom of Mt Clinton trail

 

[JoshandBaron]

This is the washout you have to traverse on DRT south of the Mt Clinton jct. Geotag puts it at 2.5 mi as the crow flies from the DRT trailhead.