Following His Trail

Ken Holmes began his hike up several 4,000-foot peaks on Monday, January 12, leaving the Lincoln Woods trailhead off the Kancamagus Highway around 11 a.m., carrying a 62-pound pack. Over the next 48 hours, the temperature plummeted to 44 degrees below zero, and the wind speed reached 92 miles per hour, the coldest weather the White Mountains had seen in decades. On Tuesday, around 9 p.m., Holmes used his cellphone to call a friend from near the summit of Mount Bond, seeking advice on the best route to follow out. At 10:50 a.m. on Thursday, a search and rescue crew found Holmes's body on the Twinway Trail.