Death on the mountain

I was sad to read this story in the paper today. The loop they hiked is one of my favorites; it's a great workout, and the Franconia Ridge Trail is absolutely stunning. I've never tried it in winter. Dr. Moo's been partway up on snowshoes. It's the sort of trail that can do what it did this past weekend -- kill a man.

I can honestly see where you could get to a level of comfort with being out in nature, especially if you've had trip after trip of good luck. In some ways, I consider myself lucky to have had scares, whether it's having brought an inexperienced hiker above treeline only to get caught in a thunderstorm and have to give her my extra clothing because I didn't a, check the weather and b, remind her there's a reason why you don't wear cotton, or finding out just how frighteningly fast frostbite can set in. I'm grateful for the occasional boot to the ass from the powers that be.