A 72-year-old hiker was found dead alongside a trial on New Hampshire's Mount Washington on Thursday morning, and officials say he likely died of environmental exposure.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said a hiker found the man's body around 8:30 a.m. Thursday on the Gulfside Trail near the junction of West Side Trail, about a half mile below the summit. They said the man was already clearly dead and no lifesaving measures were taken.
Because the body was located about 425 feet north of the Cog Railway tracks, Fish and Game officials requested assistance from the railway, which offered up one of its trains, along with personnel to assist in the body's recovery. Officials from Fish and Game, state police and the Twin Mountain Fire Department also responded to the scene.
The recovery team was taken up in a train and hiked into the scene with a litter. The body was placed in the litter and hiked back to the train and then transported back down to the Base Station. From there, the body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Concord for an autopsy.
The hiker, whose name is being withheld pending notification of family, is from Virginia, according to a driver's license found on the body. Little else is known of the hiker, officials said. He was dressed in jeans and a dark navy raincoat, with brown hiking boots and a small blue backpack.
Fish and Game officials said the hiker is believed to have died of environmental exposure, but the exact cause of death is pending autopsy results. They said he was not prepared for the conditions that are present in the highest summits of the White Mountains. It is believed that he took a train ride up to the summit in the morning or early afternoon on Wednesday and then decided to try to hike down.
Anyone who might have come into contact with a hiker matching the man's description on Wednesday is asked to call state police at 603-846-3333 or email New Hampshire Fish and Game Lt. Mark Ober at mark.w.oberjr@wildlife.nh.gov.
