Wild Clouds on Mt. Washington

All of the photographs from this mid-September hike up Mt. Washington 6188’ almost never happened. Heavy downpours hit the area in the early morning leading us to switch our hiking plan from Carter Dome to just hiking some of the low elevation trails in Pinkham notch at the base of Mount Washington for the sake of my White Mountain redlining quest. With rain and heavy clouds all around, I left my DSLR in the car. Just a few minutes into the hike, a strong sense of intuition struck and I sprinted back and retrieve my camera. After 6 wet miles, we found ourselves at the base of Tuckerman Ravine at the start of the Lion Head Trail. With no rain and blue sky showing above the clouds clinging to the mountain, we impulsively headed up to the summit on faith alone. It was a great decision, and we were able to witness some of the most awesome peak-hugging cloud banks I have ever witnessed in the Presidential Range. In this shot, the cloud banks spill into Tuckerman Ravine, but reveal part of the summit.

The definition of true adventure is not knowing the outcome, and this was certainly true this day on an otherwise familiar mountain.