Where is Mount Willard located? Hiker falls 300 feet to death while taking pictures of his wife

A hiker tragically died after falling 300 feet off Mount Willard on Saturday, December 10. Mount Willard, standing at an elevation of 2865 feet, is situated in New Hampshire’s Caroll County in the United States.

The summit sits at Crawford Notch State Park in the town of Hart, providing breathtaking views and can be reached through the Mount Willard Trail.

The hiker, Joseph 'Eggy' Eggleston, along with his wife was hiking the trail in the morning and taking photos when he tumbled off the cliff at the summit. His wife heard him call out to her, however, when she turned around, her husband was already falling over the cliff’s edge.

She immediately called 911 at about 10:30 am, according to officials’ reports. However, the Mountain Rescue Service reached the incident site hours later. Technicians from the rescue team had to rappel down the cliff amidst icy conditions to retrieve the hiker’s body, which took them around three hours. The team measured the height of the fall and concluded it was about 300 feet below Mount Willard’s summit.

Even after retrieving the body, it took them almost four more hours to raise it back to the cliff and move it to the trailhead parking lot.

The identities of the hiker and his wife weren't immediately disclosed by state officials, however, the deceased was later revealed to be Joseph 'Eggy' Eggleston by New Hampshire Fish and Game officials on Monday, December 12.

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Joseph Eggleston's death is the second such incident of this year on Mount Willard

Joseph Eggleston (Image via Mount Washington Cog Railway)

53-year-old Joseph 'Eggy' Eggleston was from Randolph and was reportedly taking photos of the view from the summit when he tumbled and fell off Mount Willard's cliff.

The incident marks the second death on Mount Willard in 2022. Back in February, a 67-year-old ice climber fatally collapsed while hiking up the Willard trail.

It is also the third hiking catastrophe that has taken place in the past six months in New Hampshire. In August, a hiker died while descending Cannon Mountain when they slipped and fell off the ledge. In June, another hiker succumbed to death in the White Mountain range’s extreme wet and cold conditions.

Officials said that Eggleston and his wife live in New Hampshire and they used to hike frequently. The couple were also well-equipped for a hike in the icy weather conditions. In a press release, the officials wrote:

"They were equipped with the essential equipment to include traction devices on their boots for the frozen and icy trail.”

Joseph Eggleston served as one of Mount Washington Cog Railway’s engineers. After the unfortunate news of his death, a heartfelt tribute was posted on their Facebook page, wherein train master Anday Villaine added:

"Eggy’s warm smile and passion for what he did will always be remembered by those he touched. I’m honored to have shared a cab with him. His home will always be in these mountains he loved. Gone too soon, never forgotten. That whistle will forever echo off these peaks for you."

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Woman dies due to freezing temperatures while hiking in Zion National Park

Zion National Park (Image via Getty Images)

A 31-year-old woman was found dead on Wednesday, November 23, due to hypothermia while on a hiking trip with her husband in Zion National Park.

The duo were hiking on a permitted top-down route on Tuesday that measures about 16 miles through the narrows. It was the same spot where a 22-year-old tourist from Arizona got swept away by floodwaters earlier in August.

On Wednesday, they stopped for a while, about a mile and a half from Riverside Walk’s north end. The duo decided to split, so the 33-year-old husband, who was also injured, could go and seek help from park rangers. However, when the team reached the woman, she was already dead.

The husband was immediately taken to an emergency medical center.