In the sense that you were *fortunate* to have your father guiding you to summit.
I’ve hiked most of the AT. Lived in its shadow for over a decade pretty familiar with the stories of those who got in trouble; skied the Tuck in June.
**Generally, fitness and ability to do the hike are not the concern. There are trails that are not that hard to do. However, this would also be a contributing factor to the reason why more people die on Mt. Washington than anywhere else in the country. (Sounds like fun, huh.)
If none of you or members of your party are experienced hikers, I would question your choice of a first time hike.
Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Essentials and actually carry all of the items. Have clothing for very cold conditions. Do not wear anything made from cotton, performance clothing is necessary. Have extra food. Pay attention to the weather and avoid any day where rain or lightning is in the forecast.
The way people get in trouble is that they start out on a warm day, sweat up their shirts, get to altitude where wind comes up, temps drop, and in 50 degrees and high wind, you’re freezing. When fog rolls in (a common condition near the summit), you get lost and lose the trail. And this is when you will need those warm dry clothes.
On the plus side — it’s one of the great hikes, and if you have your act together and can be sure you are comfortable in the bad weather, it’s pretty darn fun to be in a snow squall and 60-70 mph winds on an August day.**
Just think; now you can scratch that off your bucket-list. :)
bfl
Actually, I was pretty fit. My family moved when I was 16 from a place where we had lived 12 year, and we were pack rats. In addition my father had salvaged 4 tons of lumber which we subsequently used to add a large addition to the small home we bought then. My father and I did most of the labor on moving house goods and lumber. I was the most fit girl in my new school’s gym class of 150. When I was 14 we climbed Mt. Marcy in New York in the summer. While not as high or cold as Mt. Washington, it was 10 miles each way. At the summit there were no facilities or people. We ran out of light 3 miles into the trip back, so stayed at the park lean-to shelter. There was some stale farina we boiled for our dinner, and some old blankets. For the 7 miles return, we found some berries for breakfast. I think we had carried enough water, and there were little streams along the way. My father treated me like a boy, when I had trouble lifting the kayak on top of the car he would scream, “higher you weakling.” I think I was 9 or 10 then. So far as performance clothing was concerned, I was 18 in the later 1950s. Don’t think they had much besides wool and silk and we couldn’t afford silk.