Good choice — The mountain will be there another day

To The Daily Sun,

The following letter was addressed to columnist Gordon Dubois:

Dear Mr. DuBois, I read your article “Biting off more than you can chew” in the Laconia Daily Sun Friday October 4, 2019. I want to applaud you on your message. I am the Recreation & Wilderness Program Leader on the White Mountain National Forest and one of my duties is the hikeSafe Program that we developed over a decade ago with the New Hampshire Fish and Game. The goal of that program is to educate folks on responsible hiking and having the 10 essentials with them. Making good choices by following the Hiker Responsibility Code. If you are not familiar with it I encourage you to go to hikeSafe.com and check it out. So many times we meet up with folks who have a plan for a hike and have no room for changing their plan. Many of them are the ones F&G has to then go look for. This time of year is especially hard when the weather in the valley is beautiful but up on the mountain it may be cold and icy. Your story struck me not only for the message to others about hiking safely and being prepared but the fact you all decided to turn back the way you came makes your story all the more powerful. The mountain will be there another day. Thank You for helping to spread the message.

Marianne Leberman

White Mountain National Forest

Campton