Scotzman
New member
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook, Carter Dome, Carter-Moriah, Stony Brook
Hikers: Scotzman + 9
Myself and a number of hiking friends from New York's capital district get together and do a hiking trip every summer and for the past couple years we've headed to the Whites for fun and relaxation and big mountains. Last year we hiked the Franconia Ridge and this year we decided to head a bit further east. We rented a house just outside of Jackson, which served as a basecamp for our six days in New Hampshire.
Friday morning we arose to a nice hearty breakfast and piled into the cars for the short drive up to the Nineteen Mile Brook TR. We've had really great luck on the weather in past years and this was no exception; when we hit the trail it was mild and the rest of the day would turn out to be a warm sun-filled day. It is nice to start off the morning with a gradual trail to warm up on. Nineteen Mile was in great shape minus the erosion from Irene and provided a nice steady climb. When we hit the junction with the Carter Dome trail we took the left and followed it up to Zeta Pass. The Carter-Moriah trail up the ridgeline was smooth going and offered up some great views of the Northern Presis to the west, Carter Dome to the south and the Wild River Wilderness to the east. The mountain top bogs offered a nice variety of scenery and the board planks over them were all in excellant condition. Unfortunately not taping my heels before I started the hike was really coming back to bite me, well in the heel. My left foot had a nice blister on the back. I made use of a stop to patch it up as much as possible and just sucked it up the rest of the way.
View of the Northern Presis from below Middle Carter
We stopped for lunch on a rock clearing shortly before the summit of Middle Carter, which gave us an awesome view of the Presidential Range. It always sucks having to eventually leave a great viewpoint but we still had many more miles to go. We made our way up to Middle Carter, our high point for the day, took in the view of the lovely trees, and then began our descent to North Carter. I think my most enjoyable part of the days hike was the steep descent off of North Carter; I've always loved rock scrambles and it's kinda cool when your standing on the top of North Carter staring straight down onto the ridge where you need to go and spying Moriah off in the distance.
Dropping down off North Carter
As we made our way past Imp Mtn and into the col below Moriah my physical and mental energy started to fade a bit and I was considering joining one of the others in the group and skipping Moriah. Water was starting to get low, but not dangerously so and the extra 2.6 out and back it would add left me with mixed feelings. Ah screw it, I'm so close it would be a shame not to grab it. We dropped our packs and off we went.
Views from trail up Moriah
I think as far as trail and views go, the 1.3 up to the summit of Moriah from the south was the best of the day. Many ledges and open rock sections offered cool views and scenic traversing. It would be fun to spend more time and do Moriah again with more energy and fresher body, as it really was a fun mountain. Once on top I didn't take too much time to enjoy the views; I snapped a view pictures and began my descent. It kinda sucks having to put a backpack back on after you have hiked a bit without one but at least the weight of the pack was much less then when we started. The Stony Brook trail as it left the junction with the Carter-Moriah certainly lived up to it's name and was my least favorite section of trail for the day. Descending down a rugged, rocky trail at the end of a long hike just drains me but knowing that the steeper section would only last for a little bit and that cold beers and hot food were increasingly in range was enough incentive to keep the feet moving. Getting back to the car and being able to take off the hiking boots is such an enjoyable experience. We had a great day in the moutains and completed three more NH high peaks.
Full pics here: Here
Hikers: Scotzman + 9
Myself and a number of hiking friends from New York's capital district get together and do a hiking trip every summer and for the past couple years we've headed to the Whites for fun and relaxation and big mountains. Last year we hiked the Franconia Ridge and this year we decided to head a bit further east. We rented a house just outside of Jackson, which served as a basecamp for our six days in New Hampshire.
Friday morning we arose to a nice hearty breakfast and piled into the cars for the short drive up to the Nineteen Mile Brook TR. We've had really great luck on the weather in past years and this was no exception; when we hit the trail it was mild and the rest of the day would turn out to be a warm sun-filled day. It is nice to start off the morning with a gradual trail to warm up on. Nineteen Mile was in great shape minus the erosion from Irene and provided a nice steady climb. When we hit the junction with the Carter Dome trail we took the left and followed it up to Zeta Pass. The Carter-Moriah trail up the ridgeline was smooth going and offered up some great views of the Northern Presis to the west, Carter Dome to the south and the Wild River Wilderness to the east. The mountain top bogs offered a nice variety of scenery and the board planks over them were all in excellant condition. Unfortunately not taping my heels before I started the hike was really coming back to bite me, well in the heel. My left foot had a nice blister on the back. I made use of a stop to patch it up as much as possible and just sucked it up the rest of the way.
View of the Northern Presis from below Middle Carter
We stopped for lunch on a rock clearing shortly before the summit of Middle Carter, which gave us an awesome view of the Presidential Range. It always sucks having to eventually leave a great viewpoint but we still had many more miles to go. We made our way up to Middle Carter, our high point for the day, took in the view of the lovely trees, and then began our descent to North Carter. I think my most enjoyable part of the days hike was the steep descent off of North Carter; I've always loved rock scrambles and it's kinda cool when your standing on the top of North Carter staring straight down onto the ridge where you need to go and spying Moriah off in the distance.
Dropping down off North Carter
As we made our way past Imp Mtn and into the col below Moriah my physical and mental energy started to fade a bit and I was considering joining one of the others in the group and skipping Moriah. Water was starting to get low, but not dangerously so and the extra 2.6 out and back it would add left me with mixed feelings. Ah screw it, I'm so close it would be a shame not to grab it. We dropped our packs and off we went.
Views from trail up Moriah
I think as far as trail and views go, the 1.3 up to the summit of Moriah from the south was the best of the day. Many ledges and open rock sections offered cool views and scenic traversing. It would be fun to spend more time and do Moriah again with more energy and fresher body, as it really was a fun mountain. Once on top I didn't take too much time to enjoy the views; I snapped a view pictures and began my descent. It kinda sucks having to put a backpack back on after you have hiked a bit without one but at least the weight of the pack was much less then when we started. The Stony Brook trail as it left the junction with the Carter-Moriah certainly lived up to it's name and was my least favorite section of trail for the day. Descending down a rugged, rocky trail at the end of a long hike just drains me but knowing that the steeper section would only last for a little bit and that cold beers and hot food were increasingly in range was enough incentive to keep the feet moving. Getting back to the car and being able to take off the hiking boots is such an enjoyable experience. We had a great day in the moutains and completed three more NH high peaks.
Full pics here: Here
