Ed and I met Jeremy at the Wildcat ski area at 7:30 and left a vehicle there, giving us the option of including the Wildcats. Then we drove to 19 Mile Brook Trail and parked Jeremy's truck on the skating rink-I mean in the parking lot. While gearing up, the truck slid towards the road for 3-4 feet. OK... needed traction to negotiate the parking lot. After re-positioning the truck, we headed up to the Carter Dome Trail junction following the very wide and very well packed 19 Mile Brook Trail. Ordinarily I like to walk out on the dam which feeds the Great Glenn Aquaduct, but nobody had been down there and getting down looked almost as hard as getting up would have been, so I skipped it. The snow was soft and transformed and we wore snowshoes the entire way. Stepping off the edges at all caused sinking, even in shoes, and there were occasional post holes. We made it to the Carter Dome Trail in 50 minutes. After the first crossing on the CDT, which was still nicely bridged, the trail gains elevation via a series of switchbacks. In the morning, CDT was still pretty soft, especially compared to 19MBT. It was along this trail we noticed the first snow fleas. Another 1:30 or so and we made it to Zeta Pass where we took a break.
South Carter
After a snack and some water, we followed the Carter Moriah Trail to South Carter. The trail was well-packed all the way to the summit. Of course the signs, which were there in June, have been taken down (on South and Middle Carter), which means the summit photos could be taken just about anywhere. Looking south, the Wildcats were in the clear, and to the north, Middle Carter was in the clouds. We discussed some views to the east, just off the trail, which seemed plausible even from the summit, and agreed to look around a bit on the return trip. At this point, the snow depth put the spruce limbs in our faces, and caution was required to protect our eyes and heads.
Middle Carter
The Carter-Moriah Trail was not broken from South Carter to Middle Carter, and this slowed us down a lot. It had seen some traffic this winter, and by feel you could tell there was a snowshoe track, but it wasn't visible and it wasn't easy to stay on it. Given the snow depth, the edges of the trail held many spruce traps. Even though I was last in line, I fell into a handful. Thigh-deep in one particular trap, I was able to push my pole, extended to 125cm (4 feet) so far down my entire arm was also in the snow, up to my shoulder! From the open spots in the col between South and Middle, the best views were to the east towards Maine, and the Baldfaces in particular. Middle was in the clouds when we got there, but they lifted while on our way back to South, of course.
Carter Dome
After our second stop at Zeta Pass, we this time continued up the Carter DomeTrail towards Carter Dome. If we made good time, the Wildcats would still be in reach. Even thought the trail here was packed, and not very steep, it was still slow, due to brush in our faces, and having the watch your step in the soft snow so as not to slide down the hill. As we gained elevation, there are occasional very nice views of the northern Presidentials to the right. Approaching the scrub and with the summit in sight, it was amazing how much snow had drifted along the trail. When we got to the summit clearing, the north end snow drift was easily 6 feet higher than the summit sign, which was almost buried. By my math, that makes 10-12 feet of snow. Of course all that snow puts you higher than the scrub and gives some really nice views you wouldn't get in summer.
Mount Hight
When we got to Carter Dome, it was pretty obvious that the Wildcats would be out of reach. We were definitely tiring, and the drop and re-climb into and out of Carter Notch would not be fun. Plus I wasn't certain we could make the ski area by dark. I knew the Wildcat Ridge Trail was broken out, but it is still steep and rough and I didn't want to negotiate it with headlamps. So our consolation prize was Mount Hight, a peak which I delighted in last June, except this time there weren't any bugs. It offers the best views in the range. The only negative was it was mostly bare rock, which isn't very kind to the snowshoes. We stayed for a bit, and then got prepared to slide down the Carter Moriah Trail - the only stretch today that was steep enough to slide. It was still slow sliding due to the softness of the snow, but it was fun anyway. Soon we were at Zeta Pass for the third time today. After that, it was a fairly quick trek back down the Carter Dome Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook trails to wrap up the day.
All photos here
Tim
South Carter
After a snack and some water, we followed the Carter Moriah Trail to South Carter. The trail was well-packed all the way to the summit. Of course the signs, which were there in June, have been taken down (on South and Middle Carter), which means the summit photos could be taken just about anywhere. Looking south, the Wildcats were in the clear, and to the north, Middle Carter was in the clouds. We discussed some views to the east, just off the trail, which seemed plausible even from the summit, and agreed to look around a bit on the return trip. At this point, the snow depth put the spruce limbs in our faces, and caution was required to protect our eyes and heads.
Middle Carter
The Carter-Moriah Trail was not broken from South Carter to Middle Carter, and this slowed us down a lot. It had seen some traffic this winter, and by feel you could tell there was a snowshoe track, but it wasn't visible and it wasn't easy to stay on it. Given the snow depth, the edges of the trail held many spruce traps. Even though I was last in line, I fell into a handful. Thigh-deep in one particular trap, I was able to push my pole, extended to 125cm (4 feet) so far down my entire arm was also in the snow, up to my shoulder! From the open spots in the col between South and Middle, the best views were to the east towards Maine, and the Baldfaces in particular. Middle was in the clouds when we got there, but they lifted while on our way back to South, of course.
Carter Dome
After our second stop at Zeta Pass, we this time continued up the Carter DomeTrail towards Carter Dome. If we made good time, the Wildcats would still be in reach. Even thought the trail here was packed, and not very steep, it was still slow, due to brush in our faces, and having the watch your step in the soft snow so as not to slide down the hill. As we gained elevation, there are occasional very nice views of the northern Presidentials to the right. Approaching the scrub and with the summit in sight, it was amazing how much snow had drifted along the trail. When we got to the summit clearing, the north end snow drift was easily 6 feet higher than the summit sign, which was almost buried. By my math, that makes 10-12 feet of snow. Of course all that snow puts you higher than the scrub and gives some really nice views you wouldn't get in summer.
Mount Hight
When we got to Carter Dome, it was pretty obvious that the Wildcats would be out of reach. We were definitely tiring, and the drop and re-climb into and out of Carter Notch would not be fun. Plus I wasn't certain we could make the ski area by dark. I knew the Wildcat Ridge Trail was broken out, but it is still steep and rough and I didn't want to negotiate it with headlamps. So our consolation prize was Mount Hight, a peak which I delighted in last June, except this time there weren't any bugs. It offers the best views in the range. The only negative was it was mostly bare rock, which isn't very kind to the snowshoes. We stayed for a bit, and then got prepared to slide down the Carter Moriah Trail - the only stretch today that was steep enough to slide. It was still slow sliding due to the softness of the snow, but it was fun anyway. Soon we were at Zeta Pass for the third time today. After that, it was a fairly quick trek back down the Carter Dome Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook trails to wrap up the day.
All photos here
Tim
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