nartreb
Well-known member
19mile: patches of monorail make an appearance right at the trailhead, but bare ground is common until the junction with Carter Dome trail (2500'). Continuous snow from then on.
Bare boots are more than adequate to the hut. You could wear snowshoes or traction above 2500' but it's not necessary.
Carter-Moriah trail to Carter Dome: Steepest part of Carter notch is bare, otherwise spring snow with a fairly wide monorail. Snowshoes highly recommended (except on the bare section). Bare-booting possible but extremely slow and prone to post-holing. Tracks show that using crampons to balance on the rail is also possible, but snowshoes should be easier and faster.
Wildcat Ridge trail to Wildcat A: Deep (at least five feet in some spots), soft snow with a narrow, sometimes intermittent rail. At the halfway point where most tracks take a sharp left and one idiot goes straight, ignore the idiot (me). (In my defense, there was a blaze there. But then the trail promptly takes an even sharper left back to where the rail led, and I missed it and just kept going...) Snowshoes very strongly recommended.
Zero blowdown and few low branches. All bridges in good repair, no significant unbridged crossings. Low on nineteen mile, some running water but almost no mud.
Comment: beautiful, warm day. Deep snow turned an eleven-mile hike into an all-day challenge.
Bare boots are more than adequate to the hut. You could wear snowshoes or traction above 2500' but it's not necessary.
Carter-Moriah trail to Carter Dome: Steepest part of Carter notch is bare, otherwise spring snow with a fairly wide monorail. Snowshoes highly recommended (except on the bare section). Bare-booting possible but extremely slow and prone to post-holing. Tracks show that using crampons to balance on the rail is also possible, but snowshoes should be easier and faster.
Wildcat Ridge trail to Wildcat A: Deep (at least five feet in some spots), soft snow with a narrow, sometimes intermittent rail. At the halfway point where most tracks take a sharp left and one idiot goes straight, ignore the idiot (me). (In my defense, there was a blaze there. But then the trail promptly takes an even sharper left back to where the rail led, and I missed it and just kept going...) Snowshoes very strongly recommended.
Zero blowdown and few low branches. All bridges in good repair, no significant unbridged crossings. Low on nineteen mile, some running water but almost no mud.
Comment: beautiful, warm day. Deep snow turned an eleven-mile hike into an all-day challenge.
