BIGEarl
Well-known member
February 18, 2012: The Carters and Carter Dome
Trails: Camp Dodge Shortcut, Imp Trail, N. Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail
Summits: Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Day 2 of a back-to-back, mini vacation weekend and the conditions in The Presidentials are still bad. Our Plan B is The Carters and Carter Dome. We just did this hike a few weeks ago, but now it’s February (that’s Grid hiking at its best).
We were taking care of final hike prep at NMB when Sue asked, “Isn’t that Rolly over there?” She was looking to the far end of the lot and Sue was right. Rolly saw us at the same time and wandered our way to say hi. As it turned out he and his companions were planning to hike The Carters going clockwise as well. They were preparing to spot a vehicle and head for the Imp trailhead. I suggested the Camp Dodge shortcut and they decided to take our approach.
Once they got their gear out we all set off for the entrance road to Camp Dodge. There, we started the climb to Middle Carter. We reached Imp Trail, made the right, and that was the last we saw of Rolly but we did see one of his companions a couple more times on Carter-Moriah Trail. Their plans were to only hike Middle Carter and South Carter. Since we were also headed for Carter Dome we needed to keep moving. Now they know the shortcut.
The trail is a high-traffic zone and in great shape. We were able to bare boot much of the climb to the junction with N. Carter Trail. There, we started to encounter some ice and instead of watching out for slips and slides we went with the light traction. That was all it took and we were again into the climb. North Carter Trail hits Carter-Moriah Trail a short distance north of Middle Carter. We reached the trail junction and headed south. First, we pulled out another layer. The west wind was coming across the ridge making for uncomfortable conditions. We knew the exposed areas near Middle Carter would be unpleasant. We passed through the exposed areas and made a stop at the location of the small summit cairn on Middle Carter for pictures.
Soon, we were on the hike to South Carter, our next target. After dropping some elevation from Middle Carter we were in the thick conifers and reasonably sheltered. We had a comfortable walk to South Carter. With only a couple quick stops along the way we were soon making the climb to the summit. After the pictures I made a quick time check and found we were comfortably ahead of plan for the hike. We’re having a good day.
From South Carter to Zeta Pass is a short ~.8 miles with mild terrain all of the way. The trail has seen a lot of traffic and is solid (just don’t drift left or right or you’ll posthole deep). We hit Zeta Pass and made a quick stop. I pulled out another bottle of water and some warmer mittens. My gloves were drenched and my hands really cold. I needed to warm my hands. With that out of the way we were headed to Carter Dome.
The hike to Carter Dome via Carter Dome Trail from Zeta Pass is a short ~1.2 miles, nearly all uphill. We settled into a comfortable pace and did the climb. With only a couple stops along the way we were soon passing the upper junction with Carter-Moriah Trail. From there the trail moderates, the snow level increases, and the scenery gets really nice. Carter Dome has some very interesting areas of drifts between the upper Carter-Moriah junction and the summit. Fortunately, there had been recent traffic to Carter Dome and we didn’t need to break out any new drifts – they can get really big up there.
We hit the summit and had cloudy conditions – no views today. Maybe we’ll get views next time. After a couple summit pictures we u-turned and headed back out to Zeta Pass. We followed Carter Dome Trail down to Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. On the way we passed a group of five headed for Carter Dome. The last one in line was wearing sneakers and MicroSpikes; that’s a fashion statement. That poor guy’s feet had to be cold. Then, we met a couple on full crampons; that might have been overkill.
We reached Zeta Pass, stopped for a couple cookies that Sue had brought, and were soon on the exit cruise to Nineteen Mile Brook trailhead. The walk down to Nineteen Mile Brook Trail went without any surprises at all. Light traction continued to be all that was needed. We hit the trail junction, made the turn, and set off on the final 1.9 miles to the trailhead. On the way we met a large group (looked like possibly a couple families) most likely headed to Carter Notch Hut for the night.
We started a little later than planned but made really good time. Early in the hike I convinced myself headlights would be needed on this one. Again, we were out with plenty of daylight remaining. Actually, we started later and finished thirty minutes earlier than the previous day. It was also nice to see Rolly’s vehicles were gone meaning they made it back out ahead of us. After a quick run to PNVC to change into some dry clothes we were on the highway south.
Thanks Sue for a good back-to-back, and another of your mini vacations. Sorry we didn’t get Plan A hikes done, they’re next.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Camp Dodge Shortcut, Imp Trail, N. Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail
Summits: Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Day 2 of a back-to-back, mini vacation weekend and the conditions in The Presidentials are still bad. Our Plan B is The Carters and Carter Dome. We just did this hike a few weeks ago, but now it’s February (that’s Grid hiking at its best).
We were taking care of final hike prep at NMB when Sue asked, “Isn’t that Rolly over there?” She was looking to the far end of the lot and Sue was right. Rolly saw us at the same time and wandered our way to say hi. As it turned out he and his companions were planning to hike The Carters going clockwise as well. They were preparing to spot a vehicle and head for the Imp trailhead. I suggested the Camp Dodge shortcut and they decided to take our approach.
Once they got their gear out we all set off for the entrance road to Camp Dodge. There, we started the climb to Middle Carter. We reached Imp Trail, made the right, and that was the last we saw of Rolly but we did see one of his companions a couple more times on Carter-Moriah Trail. Their plans were to only hike Middle Carter and South Carter. Since we were also headed for Carter Dome we needed to keep moving. Now they know the shortcut.
The trail is a high-traffic zone and in great shape. We were able to bare boot much of the climb to the junction with N. Carter Trail. There, we started to encounter some ice and instead of watching out for slips and slides we went with the light traction. That was all it took and we were again into the climb. North Carter Trail hits Carter-Moriah Trail a short distance north of Middle Carter. We reached the trail junction and headed south. First, we pulled out another layer. The west wind was coming across the ridge making for uncomfortable conditions. We knew the exposed areas near Middle Carter would be unpleasant. We passed through the exposed areas and made a stop at the location of the small summit cairn on Middle Carter for pictures.
Soon, we were on the hike to South Carter, our next target. After dropping some elevation from Middle Carter we were in the thick conifers and reasonably sheltered. We had a comfortable walk to South Carter. With only a couple quick stops along the way we were soon making the climb to the summit. After the pictures I made a quick time check and found we were comfortably ahead of plan for the hike. We’re having a good day.
From South Carter to Zeta Pass is a short ~.8 miles with mild terrain all of the way. The trail has seen a lot of traffic and is solid (just don’t drift left or right or you’ll posthole deep). We hit Zeta Pass and made a quick stop. I pulled out another bottle of water and some warmer mittens. My gloves were drenched and my hands really cold. I needed to warm my hands. With that out of the way we were headed to Carter Dome.
The hike to Carter Dome via Carter Dome Trail from Zeta Pass is a short ~1.2 miles, nearly all uphill. We settled into a comfortable pace and did the climb. With only a couple stops along the way we were soon passing the upper junction with Carter-Moriah Trail. From there the trail moderates, the snow level increases, and the scenery gets really nice. Carter Dome has some very interesting areas of drifts between the upper Carter-Moriah junction and the summit. Fortunately, there had been recent traffic to Carter Dome and we didn’t need to break out any new drifts – they can get really big up there.
We hit the summit and had cloudy conditions – no views today. Maybe we’ll get views next time. After a couple summit pictures we u-turned and headed back out to Zeta Pass. We followed Carter Dome Trail down to Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. On the way we passed a group of five headed for Carter Dome. The last one in line was wearing sneakers and MicroSpikes; that’s a fashion statement. That poor guy’s feet had to be cold. Then, we met a couple on full crampons; that might have been overkill.
We reached Zeta Pass, stopped for a couple cookies that Sue had brought, and were soon on the exit cruise to Nineteen Mile Brook trailhead. The walk down to Nineteen Mile Brook Trail went without any surprises at all. Light traction continued to be all that was needed. We hit the trail junction, made the turn, and set off on the final 1.9 miles to the trailhead. On the way we met a large group (looked like possibly a couple families) most likely headed to Carter Notch Hut for the night.
We started a little later than planned but made really good time. Early in the hike I convinced myself headlights would be needed on this one. Again, we were out with plenty of daylight remaining. Actually, we started later and finished thirty minutes earlier than the previous day. It was also nice to see Rolly’s vehicles were gone meaning they made it back out ahead of us. After a quick run to PNVC to change into some dry clothes we were on the highway south.
Thanks Sue for a good back-to-back, and another of your mini vacations. Sorry we didn’t get Plan A hikes done, they’re next.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
