The body of a hiker was discovered on Mount Washington on Thursday, August 22.

According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, a hiker found the body of an adult male lying on the Gulfside Trail near the Junction of West Side Trail, a half-mile below the summit. The man was obviously deceased and no lifesaving measures were taken.

The body was approximately 425 feet north of the Cog Railway tracks, and Fish and Game received assistance from the Cog Railway to recover the body.

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 transported back down to the base station. From there the body was relayed to the New Hampshire Medical Examiners Officer in Concord for autopsy.

The hiker was a 72-year-old male from Virginia, according to a driver’s license found on the body. Fish and Game officials said it appears the hiker likely succumbed to environmental exposure, but the exact cause of death is pending autopsy results.

Little else is known of the hiker. Officials said he was dressed in jeans, and had on a dark navy blue raincoat, with brown hiking boots and a small blue backpack. Fish and Game officials said he was not prepared for the conditions in the higher summits of the White Mountains. They said it is likely 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.