BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 3, 2014: The Carters
Trails: Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail
Summits: Middle Carter Mountain and South Carter Mountain
Hikers: Marty Emmick, Keith Malone, and me
Ahead of plan, we all arrived to the north trailhead for Imp Trail and took care of final hike prep. There was a brief discussion about snowshoes. Once I indicated mine were at home the discussion moved to other topics. The general opinion was bare boot and MICROSpikes would take care of what we encountered along the way.
We got started on what was planned to be a loop of The Carters (south & middle). We intended to climb to Carter-Moriah Trail via Imp and North Carter trails, hike south to South Carter, u-turn and hike back to North Carter Trail, and finally descent to the Imp south trailhead via North Carter and Imp (south) trails. Our actual route was slightly different.
At the start we had bare-ground conditions. The trail was not at all muddy and generally clear of blowdowns (there was a very large one in the clear section – easy to pass). In fact, I don’t recall more than a couple blowdowns all day. We hiked along at a comfortable pace to the early stream crossing where we found a nice cascade thanks mainly to spring runoff. After a brief stop for a couple pictures we were on our way.
The trail continued clear and dry all the way to the ladder below the Imp viewpoint. Once we started above the ladder we also started to encounter areas of patchy snow and ice. Initially we were able to easily avoid any ice-related problems but knew it was only a matter of time before we would need to pull out the traction. We were able to continue the climb and soon reached the Imp viewpoint where we found terrific views to The Presidentials and south to Wildcat Ridge and Carter Dome. The summit of Mount Washington was in the clouds (or fog). We enjoyed the views for a short time but were soon on our way.
From the viewpoint to North Carter Trail is a small amount of change in elevation but the trail conditions really changed a lot. Soon after leaving the viewpoint we were on complete coverage of snow and ice and it was time for some added traction. We pulled out the MICROSpikes and stayed with them until we were again back on clear ground. We were able to move at a good pace to the junction with North Carter Trail and on to the ridge. We had a definite monorail and staying on it meant no postholes. Drift off the monorail and expect to posthole at least knee deep.
There is still a pretty good cover of snow along the Carter Moriah Trail and down to ~3000 feet. We reached Carter-Moriah Trail and headed south to Middle Carter and South Carter. The original plan had us u-turn at South Carter and head back out roughly the same way as we hiked in. We decided instead to continue Carter-Moriah Trail southbound to Zeta Pass and take Carter Dome Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook Trail out. Once we reached the trailhead we planned to head through Camp Dodge on our way to the Imp Trail south trailhead. This change meant we wouldn’t re-hike anything on our route, and Keith would get the planned redlining accomplished (Camp Dodge shortcut to the south trailhead).
As we made our way through Zeta Pass the hiking slowly improved. The snow depth decreased and the icy conditions became easier. We cleared the upper crossing on Carter Dome Trail and in the vicinity of the next crossing retired the MICROSpikes for the remainder of our hike. From there to the trailhead was an easy cruise. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail was even drier than expected with limited mud.
We were able to hold a brisk pace to the trailhead and continued to Camp Dodge. From there it was back on Imp Trail for the final ~1 mile of redlining to the south trailhead. After that we had a short road walk and the loop was closed.
As it turned out, we enjoyed a pretty nice day in a very wide range of hiking conditions and came in a comfortable margin (15%) under book time. That last part surprised me but I checked and re-checked the numbers.
Thanks to Marty and Keith for a fun day on The Carter Range. These guys are always a treat to hike with and the new scenery made the day a little more special.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail
Summits: Middle Carter Mountain and South Carter Mountain
Hikers: Marty Emmick, Keith Malone, and me
Ahead of plan, we all arrived to the north trailhead for Imp Trail and took care of final hike prep. There was a brief discussion about snowshoes. Once I indicated mine were at home the discussion moved to other topics. The general opinion was bare boot and MICROSpikes would take care of what we encountered along the way.
We got started on what was planned to be a loop of The Carters (south & middle). We intended to climb to Carter-Moriah Trail via Imp and North Carter trails, hike south to South Carter, u-turn and hike back to North Carter Trail, and finally descent to the Imp south trailhead via North Carter and Imp (south) trails. Our actual route was slightly different.
At the start we had bare-ground conditions. The trail was not at all muddy and generally clear of blowdowns (there was a very large one in the clear section – easy to pass). In fact, I don’t recall more than a couple blowdowns all day. We hiked along at a comfortable pace to the early stream crossing where we found a nice cascade thanks mainly to spring runoff. After a brief stop for a couple pictures we were on our way.
The trail continued clear and dry all the way to the ladder below the Imp viewpoint. Once we started above the ladder we also started to encounter areas of patchy snow and ice. Initially we were able to easily avoid any ice-related problems but knew it was only a matter of time before we would need to pull out the traction. We were able to continue the climb and soon reached the Imp viewpoint where we found terrific views to The Presidentials and south to Wildcat Ridge and Carter Dome. The summit of Mount Washington was in the clouds (or fog). We enjoyed the views for a short time but were soon on our way.
From the viewpoint to North Carter Trail is a small amount of change in elevation but the trail conditions really changed a lot. Soon after leaving the viewpoint we were on complete coverage of snow and ice and it was time for some added traction. We pulled out the MICROSpikes and stayed with them until we were again back on clear ground. We were able to move at a good pace to the junction with North Carter Trail and on to the ridge. We had a definite monorail and staying on it meant no postholes. Drift off the monorail and expect to posthole at least knee deep.
There is still a pretty good cover of snow along the Carter Moriah Trail and down to ~3000 feet. We reached Carter-Moriah Trail and headed south to Middle Carter and South Carter. The original plan had us u-turn at South Carter and head back out roughly the same way as we hiked in. We decided instead to continue Carter-Moriah Trail southbound to Zeta Pass and take Carter Dome Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook Trail out. Once we reached the trailhead we planned to head through Camp Dodge on our way to the Imp Trail south trailhead. This change meant we wouldn’t re-hike anything on our route, and Keith would get the planned redlining accomplished (Camp Dodge shortcut to the south trailhead).
As we made our way through Zeta Pass the hiking slowly improved. The snow depth decreased and the icy conditions became easier. We cleared the upper crossing on Carter Dome Trail and in the vicinity of the next crossing retired the MICROSpikes for the remainder of our hike. From there to the trailhead was an easy cruise. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail was even drier than expected with limited mud.
We were able to hold a brisk pace to the trailhead and continued to Camp Dodge. From there it was back on Imp Trail for the final ~1 mile of redlining to the south trailhead. After that we had a short road walk and the loop was closed.
As it turned out, we enjoyed a pretty nice day in a very wide range of hiking conditions and came in a comfortable margin (15%) under book time. That last part surprised me but I checked and re-checked the numbers.
Thanks to Marty and Keith for a fun day on The Carter Range. These guys are always a treat to hike with and the new scenery made the day a little more special.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
