Five years and a day after getting engaged on Lion Head on Mt. Washington, we returned for a gorgeous bluebird day. My plan back in 2019 was to propose on (in?) Tuckerman Ravine, but the trail was still covered in snow on July 1 after a cold and snowy winter.
With business left unfinished, on this trip we aimed to hike up Tuckerman for the classic Mt. Washington experience. Starting off, we took the same initial route up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. This path starts off gentle and slowly ramps up the gradient until you hit the Crystal Cascades early on. After a quick stop at the massive waterfall, we continued on the increasingly steep uphill to the Hermit Lake Shelter.
We stopped for a snack and to soak in the views, entertained by a young kid asking the caretaker if he could check out his house. His favorite part was the couch. I saw candy bars and stickers advertised for sale in the window, but the display looked a decade old and very faded – so I was shocked when the caretaker actually sold me a Snickers for $2. I feel like the labor of carrying candy that far up the mountain should command more of a premium. Either way, we left the porch and took the turn towards Tuck, deviating from our 2019 route.
Tuckerman is steep, and while it isn’t too bad with only day packs on it still isn’t a trail for the faint of heart. As the trail continues on, it gets more steep, rocky, and exposed while the air thins out. After some time leap frogging back and forth with some French tourists that had a curious and frustrating hiking pace, we made it up to the source of the water we had been hiking along and sat with our feet in the frigid water while enjoying the view we created behind us.
After hiking the last bit of the bowl that is Tuck’s headwall, we turned to face our final destination, at this point meeting back up with our route from five years earlier. We were in high spirits and felt great the entire day, but even under the best circumstances this part of the hike can be demoralizing. The trail of boulders makes every step a quad-busting squat and that much time in the sun just starts to tire you out a bit. Regardless, we pushed on towards Washington’s peak, enjoying the burn and our earned panoramic views.
We arrived at the top to meet my mom and brother who generously offered to drive up and meet us, saving our knees from the hike back down. Chili dogs and other treats are a must, and alone make the hike worth it. I also bought a Coke that disappointingly ended up being a Coke Zero (which wasn’t my fault, since when is Coke Zero in red packaging?). I drove down, saving my mom from the stress of the winding cliffside road.
Mt. Washington has held a sense of mystique in my mind for as long as I can remember, and proposing while enveloped in its remote glory only added to the holiness of its slopes, ridges, and ravines. I’ll never miss an opportunity to visit with the person I love most, and hope that we’ll be back soon.