57| Death on Mount Bond: Jack Holden
“I went to the woods because i wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if i could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when i came to die, discover that i had not lived.”
Henry David Thoreau
Welcome Back to tragedy with a view.
Hello all, and happy holidays and welcome back to tragedy with a view. I am your host Kayla and this is a free solo episode. I hope you are spending your days exactly as you love to and surrounded by those you care for.
This is going to be a shorter episode and when I put this one on my list I did not realize the connection it was going to have when it came time for this episode to be released. And we will come to that in just a moment.
But first:
Sally holds a photo of her son with a smile that beckons the memories of his life as he grew from a child into a man, and her eyes that fill with tears. A mother will always be connected to her children, and when one is lost it leaves a gaping hole that can not be filled in.
The memories of life, of growth, of discovery clash with the thoughts of what could have been - and where their child would be now if things had turned out differently. Those memories do not fill a void, instead they spark an inferno that can cause a person to succumb to the happiest of memories and the most joyous heart, or crumble into debilitating pain and darkness that is inevitably accompanied by loss.
Unfortunately, for John Holden, his 26 years of life in the physical world would come to an end, but his memory will live on for years, decades, and lifetimes.
John, who was called Jack, was a vibrant and happy person. He ran at life with everything he had, determined to seek out experience and meaning in even the most mundane. He had a huge sense of humor and it seemed that he could make anyone laugh. He sought out connection, whether that was with others or experience, to Jack, it mattered only that he was making the days count.
But with this energy also came a calm and a passion for what he loved. He was willing to dig deep on topics and think critically while also hearing what others were saying. He knew what he wanted to do with life, and he chased after that. Hiking, being a DJ, playing soccer, and working with children were at the front of that list.
He was the youngest of three kids, but he was Sally and Ed’s only biological child. His older siblings, Kate and Seth were both adopted from Korea.
As Christmas approached, Jack was gearing up for some time with his family, as he was going to college to get his master’s degree so that he could teach elementary ages and while he was visiting his family he planned to take a new hike while he was at it.
Now, Jack was not just an average - casual hiker. He was an Eagle Scout which is the highest rank that you can achieve in the Boy Scouts of America and this is not an easy feat. It requires a lot of time, and a lot of knowledge, and taking a lot of classes and excursions to learn and build upon the knowledge you have.
And Jack absolutely used this knowledge. He was known to go hiking in the winter and being prepared for many different scenarios or potential outcomes. And being educated and prepared was not all that he did.
While he attended a semester at Oxford College in England, he hiked 96 miles of Scotland’s long distance hiking trail, the Highland Way Trail, and participated in a National Outdoor Leadership Training which required 72 days in the Yukon.
He had climbed to the highest peak in 9 states and was aiming to hit the highest peak in all 50 states - and as someone who has looked into that myself I can tell you that Ohio is not very exciting.
But still, you get the idea. Jack loved to be in the wilderness and thrived there. He looked for challenges that he could meet head on, and brought home stories to tell his family and friends about what he experienced, what he learned, the views he saw, and the lessons that the wilderness can teach us.
In 2016 Jack text his mom, Sally, on Christmas eve to tell her that he was heading out the complete a daylong hike to Mount Bond and that he would be home that night, no later than 11 pm. While Jack had never climbed Mount Bond before, no one was worried.
Mount Bond is located in Lincoln, New Hampshire, in the White Mountains. It is located in the Twin Range in the Pemigewasset Wilderness (Pem eh jay whaa set) and the hike itself can be quite challenging for some. Mount Bond stands at 4,698 feet or 1,432 meters and the trail that takes you to the summit is an out and back style trail.
The closest trail to take you to the summit is about 9 miles, making it an 18 miles long trip or you can continue along the entire trail, bagging two extra peaks of West Bond and Bond Cliff, standing at 4540 and 4265 feet or 1384 and 1300 meters respectively. To take this entire trail you can do an out and back style taking you 22.6 miles or 36.4 km, or you can have someone pick you up.
And the layout of the mountains, I kind of explained confusingly, depending on which direction you come from, you will climb to one of the smaller peaks first, before continuing on to Mount Bond which sits in the middle.
If you start in the North, starting at Zealand Road you would climb West Bond, Mount Bond and then Bondcliff. Or if you start from the South, like I believe Jack did, you would climb Bondcliff first, then Mount Bond and finally West Bond. West Bond is closest to the Lincoln Visitor Center on Kancamagus (can-caw-mag-us) Highway and this is the preferred location to start from.
All 3 of these peaks are above the treeline which means you will get a spectacular view of the remote wilderness surrounding the area and no matter which direction you travel from, the trail does become technical so it is highly recommended that solid hiking shoes with good traction are worn.
Generally, people will do this hike over the course of two days, but those who are really fit and really experienced can go the full way in a single day. If you want to do this hike yourself, there are some camping areas, such as the Appalachian Mountain Club backcountry huts or the Guyot Campsite.
And while the hike is long and challenging, search and rescue does respond on occasion but it is mostly due to injured hikers. Though, the weather in December adds a certain degree of difficulty that should not be taken lightly.
With temperature reaching as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit, or degrees Celsius, snow can pummel the area while freezing winds compress the moisture and turn the snow and rock into ice.
When Jack set out, sometime in the early afternoon on Christmas eve, he went prepared. He took a day pack with him that was full of first aid gear and warmer clothing, should he need them, and he also had a locator beacon on him in the event of an emergency. Again, he was expecting to be home before midnight.
But, the following morning, Sally has not heard anything from her son. This is Christmas day and if there is anything she knows about him is that he will contact you when he is safe - and when he comes home from a hike.
But the silence is concerning and she can’t get rid of this feeling in her gut that something isn’t right. So, she makes a call and searchers from New Hampshire’s Fish and Game department are quick to respond.
They knew where he was intending to be based on the information he had given his mother, and so their first course of action was to follow that information and see what they could find and where it would lead them.
But, the team wouldn’t need to follow the clues. About 12 hours after the initial call came in that Jack was missing, search and rescue found him near the summit of Bond Cliff, which is roughly 8.5-9 miles or 13.5 - 14.5 km to the end of the hike.
They found Jack laying on the ground and he was deceased.
The rescuers stayed with his body on the summit in a winter grade tent, and Jack was airlifted from the summit at about 8:30 the following morning.
Based on what they found, or what they didn’t find, they concluded that he likely died from hypothermia and exposure.
Jack’s gear was all in perfect condition for how much he used it, but the one clue that indicated he was disoriented was that Jack had put on his jacket upside down.
Christmas is supposed to be a day for joy and celebration and being grateful to be about to surround yourself with those you love, and when financially able, many include giving gifts on this day.
But for the Holden’s, they were instead given the sad news that Jack had not survived the hike. But if there is a lesson in his death, let it be this:
Life is meant to be lived. Even when it hurts, even when it’s sad. Even when getting out of bed is a feat in itself. Finding a reason to continue on and continue smiling can feel overwhelming at times, but there is always worth in surrounding yourself with what brings you joy.
Like Jack, creating goals to put you directly in the path of what brings you joy is a simple way to choose life, to choose happiness, and to choose experience.
Thank you for listening, I hope you have a great holiday season no matter what that looks like.
Please take a moment to leave a positive rating or review and if you don’t already follow the show: you know what to do.
Have a great holiday season.
Sources:
https://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/2016/12/holden_hiker_dies_on_mount_bon.html
https://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/2016/12/jack_holden_who_died_on_mount.html
https://www.wcvb.com/article/body-of-missing-mass-hiker-recovered-in-nh/8537167
https://www.milesfuneralhome.com/m/obituaries/Jack-Holden-46822/Memories
https://shehikesmountains.com/2021/08/20/the-bonds-4698-ft-nh/
4000footers.com
AllTrails
https://sectionhiker.com/great-hikes-the-bonds/
