BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 4, 2010: South Carter
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail
Summits: South Carter
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Some days never seem to cooperate and this was one such day. Everything started off fine. Sue and I met at the Park & Ride and were on the highway north as planned. I had fueled the truck already and there was no need for an added stop which should save some time. We were planning to meet with another hiker - Amy (Poison Ivy) DeMelia - at the end. Amy offered to give us a ride back to our vehicle, which meant we were working on a plan that had a definite exit time. This was a little different since we usually finished when we finished. Amy said not to worry about the time; she would bring a book and be happy to wait.
As we drove north I noticed a nice clear sky loaded with stars for most of the drive. Around Plymouth an occasional snowflake passed in front of the headlights but the road was still completely clear and dry. We passed Lincoln at a little over 70 mph, still on cruise control, and started into the section of I-93 through Franconia Notch. In the vicinity of the Flume Visitor Center a few things happened all at the same time. We started into a slight turn to the right, I started to yawn, and the truck started to slide. It’s really hard to interrupt a big yawn but I managed. By instinct, I kicked the side of the brake peddle to disengage the cruise control but not apply the brakes and quickly turned left into the skid. The truck slid sideways a little more until it hit some traction and straightened out. From there for the remainder of the drive I worked the accelerator manually. The road still appeared completely clear and dry but it was actually a sheet of ice. By the time we reached Cannon we were driving in a pretty strong snowstorm. The road was loaded with fresh snow on top of ice and we changed from a little over the speed limit to a lot under the speed limit.
Route 3 through Bethlehem and Twin Mountain was where we started to see the plow trucks. A usual stop is Beaver Brook Wayside Area. We pulled in to use the facilities to find them boarded shut with a note that said “Facilities closed due to vandalism”. The choice was either make a side trip to The Highland Center or just drive and plan to stop in Gorham. We headed for Gorham. The driving was a mess but the plow trucks were working in teams and doing a great job. After a quick stop in Gorham we headed to Nineteen Mile Brook (NMB) trailhead and our hike.
A little later than planned we set off hiking NMB trail. There was roughly two to three inches of fresh snow over the ice on the trail. We started right out on MicroSpikes and stayed that way for the full hike. The trail has quite a few mud pits that are still not frozen. The snow on top made them hard to see and we both had muddy boots in no time. Except for the pits we had clear sailing to the NMB – Carter Dome trails junction. We made the turn and headed for Zeta Pass. Carter Dome Trail is more of the same in the lower part with lots of mud pits all along the way. Once we cleared the upper stream crossing and moved into the switchbacks the mud was gone. We had a new problem – ice.
There was lot’s of ice on the trail and the ice was hard making MicroSpikes a less attractive form of traction. It was the only choice we had and we needed to be careful. The “slow” aspect of the day continued as we made our way through the ice. Eventually, we made it to Zeta Pass. Initially, we started later than planned and the hike to Zeta Pass took longer than planned. I was thinking we might have a time problem. At Zeta Pass we discussed the day and decided to continue north on our hike.
We made the turn and headed for South Carter. The initial part of the hike to South Carter is on very mild terrain but eventually there are some steep sections. These were also big ice problems. Along the way another pair of hikers passed and we met a third hiker headed south. He mentioned severe icing between South and Middle Carter. We continued on and slowly made our way to the final climbs leading to the South Carter summit. We picked our way along and managed to reach the summit well off our planned timing. We got a few summit pictures and considered our options. We were very late and knew conditions ahead were reported to be much worse. We decided it was unlikely we would be able to get both Middle Carter and Moriah with the remaining time and the best approach was to bail and plan to return for the other two later.
We still had a fair amount of work ahead of us. The trails from S. Carter back through Zeta Pass and down to the lower elevation of Carter Dome Trail had lots of ice waiting for us. We needed to be cautious all of the way down through the switchbacks on Carter Dome Trail to avoid a problem. Then, we had a couple stream crossings with questionable conditions, and lots of mud all of the way back to the trailhead. We managed to complete the exit hike with no real problems along the way.
Without wasting any time we loaded our things into the truck and headed to Stony Brook trailhead to wait for Amy. As we approached we could see hers was the only vehicle in the lot. The headlights were also on. Amy was already there waiting for us but she should have still been finishing her hike of Moriah. Amy also ran into severe ice problems near the summit and turned back early. She beat us by ~20 minutes. Sorry you had to wait Amy – and thank you again.
Winter conditions are taking over faster than expected. It looks like the crampons and snowshoes will be out very soon. Now is probably a good time to go looking for them.
Thanks Sue for an interesting day. Sorry we came up a little short on our plans but our decision to bail was the right one.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail
Summits: South Carter
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Some days never seem to cooperate and this was one such day. Everything started off fine. Sue and I met at the Park & Ride and were on the highway north as planned. I had fueled the truck already and there was no need for an added stop which should save some time. We were planning to meet with another hiker - Amy (Poison Ivy) DeMelia - at the end. Amy offered to give us a ride back to our vehicle, which meant we were working on a plan that had a definite exit time. This was a little different since we usually finished when we finished. Amy said not to worry about the time; she would bring a book and be happy to wait.
As we drove north I noticed a nice clear sky loaded with stars for most of the drive. Around Plymouth an occasional snowflake passed in front of the headlights but the road was still completely clear and dry. We passed Lincoln at a little over 70 mph, still on cruise control, and started into the section of I-93 through Franconia Notch. In the vicinity of the Flume Visitor Center a few things happened all at the same time. We started into a slight turn to the right, I started to yawn, and the truck started to slide. It’s really hard to interrupt a big yawn but I managed. By instinct, I kicked the side of the brake peddle to disengage the cruise control but not apply the brakes and quickly turned left into the skid. The truck slid sideways a little more until it hit some traction and straightened out. From there for the remainder of the drive I worked the accelerator manually. The road still appeared completely clear and dry but it was actually a sheet of ice. By the time we reached Cannon we were driving in a pretty strong snowstorm. The road was loaded with fresh snow on top of ice and we changed from a little over the speed limit to a lot under the speed limit.
Route 3 through Bethlehem and Twin Mountain was where we started to see the plow trucks. A usual stop is Beaver Brook Wayside Area. We pulled in to use the facilities to find them boarded shut with a note that said “Facilities closed due to vandalism”. The choice was either make a side trip to The Highland Center or just drive and plan to stop in Gorham. We headed for Gorham. The driving was a mess but the plow trucks were working in teams and doing a great job. After a quick stop in Gorham we headed to Nineteen Mile Brook (NMB) trailhead and our hike.
A little later than planned we set off hiking NMB trail. There was roughly two to three inches of fresh snow over the ice on the trail. We started right out on MicroSpikes and stayed that way for the full hike. The trail has quite a few mud pits that are still not frozen. The snow on top made them hard to see and we both had muddy boots in no time. Except for the pits we had clear sailing to the NMB – Carter Dome trails junction. We made the turn and headed for Zeta Pass. Carter Dome Trail is more of the same in the lower part with lots of mud pits all along the way. Once we cleared the upper stream crossing and moved into the switchbacks the mud was gone. We had a new problem – ice.
There was lot’s of ice on the trail and the ice was hard making MicroSpikes a less attractive form of traction. It was the only choice we had and we needed to be careful. The “slow” aspect of the day continued as we made our way through the ice. Eventually, we made it to Zeta Pass. Initially, we started later than planned and the hike to Zeta Pass took longer than planned. I was thinking we might have a time problem. At Zeta Pass we discussed the day and decided to continue north on our hike.
We made the turn and headed for South Carter. The initial part of the hike to South Carter is on very mild terrain but eventually there are some steep sections. These were also big ice problems. Along the way another pair of hikers passed and we met a third hiker headed south. He mentioned severe icing between South and Middle Carter. We continued on and slowly made our way to the final climbs leading to the South Carter summit. We picked our way along and managed to reach the summit well off our planned timing. We got a few summit pictures and considered our options. We were very late and knew conditions ahead were reported to be much worse. We decided it was unlikely we would be able to get both Middle Carter and Moriah with the remaining time and the best approach was to bail and plan to return for the other two later.
We still had a fair amount of work ahead of us. The trails from S. Carter back through Zeta Pass and down to the lower elevation of Carter Dome Trail had lots of ice waiting for us. We needed to be cautious all of the way down through the switchbacks on Carter Dome Trail to avoid a problem. Then, we had a couple stream crossings with questionable conditions, and lots of mud all of the way back to the trailhead. We managed to complete the exit hike with no real problems along the way.
Without wasting any time we loaded our things into the truck and headed to Stony Brook trailhead to wait for Amy. As we approached we could see hers was the only vehicle in the lot. The headlights were also on. Amy was already there waiting for us but she should have still been finishing her hike of Moriah. Amy also ran into severe ice problems near the summit and turned back early. She beat us by ~20 minutes. Sorry you had to wait Amy – and thank you again.
Winter conditions are taking over faster than expected. It looks like the crampons and snowshoes will be out very soon. Now is probably a good time to go looking for them.
Thanks Sue for an interesting day. Sorry we came up a little short on our plans but our decision to bail was the right one.
Pictures will follow.
