Posted on 12/25/2022 3:17:18 PM PST by Jim Noble
A month after a 19-year-old woman was found dead on Mount Lafayette, another hiker has died at the popular hiking spot in Franconia Notch, Fish and Game said.
The 28-year-old man departed on the the 8.6-mile Bridle Path/Falling Waters Loop alone around 11 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release.
Rescuers were alerted of the overdue hiker just after 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve. A family member in China had been tracking the hiker’s progress when at 6:15 p.m. the phone was dead and the hiker was lost off a trail south of Mount Lincoln.
“The hiker was described by family as inexperienced and it was unknown what he was carrying for equipment,” the news release said. “With temperatures near zero a search for the hiker commenced.”
By 2 a.m. Sunday, the team reached Franconia Ridge and located what they believed to be tracks left by the hiker. The tracks continued off trail to drainage that flows between Little Haystack Mountain and Mount Lincoln.
The man’s body was found around 6:45 a.m. about a half-mile from the Falling Waters Trail in Franconia, according to the news release.
The team arrived back at the trailhead at 2:30 p.m. Christmas Day. The identity of the hiker is being withheld until family can be notified.
The popular Bridle Path/Falling Waters Loop summits Little Haystack, Mount Lincoln and Lafayette.
Emily Sotelo, of Westford, Mass., hiked in the opposite direction of the man and had also hoped to summit several other 4,000-foot mountains. Sotelo’s body was found Nov. 23 after a four-day search. A search team found tracks and items belonging to Sotelo were at the headwaters of Lafayette Brook.
Sotelo was found on what would have been her 20th birthday. Her body was flown by a National Guard helicopter to Cannon Mountain Ski Area.
Fish and Game reminds outdoor enthusiasts that “winter conditions have arrived in New Hampshire and that they should prepare accordingly for these conditions.” Go to hikesafe.com for more information.
Mt Lincoln is 5,000 ft. Not quite as high as Mt Washington at over 6,000, but those mountains can be dangerous to climb in the summer if the weather turns.
Hypothermia.
Heading into the high country during a record-breaking blizzard and arctic blast seems like asking for trouble. Maybe let the weather warm up 20 or 30 degrees first? Back up to only freezing?
They probably watched a video of people hiking in the snow. Videos don’t let you feel the cold freezing your body and making your brain malfunction.
COVID obviously.
>>The weather in the White Mtns. Is capable of killing you with little warning. In the late 80’s I did the Mt. Washington Hillclimb race (bicycle). It was sunny and 80 at the start, and 45 and 10 foot visibility at the top. Although I now live at 7500’ in New Mexico, and have spent a fair amount of time hiking and cross country skiing above 10000’, the weather here is far less scary.<<
My CA sister gave me a “White Mountains” T-shirt.
The image didn’t look familiar to me, and looked up “White Mountains”.
Sure enough, NM has its own “White Mountains”!
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