BIGEarl
Well-known member
March 5, 2011: Middle Carter, South Carter
Trails: Imp Trail, N. Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail
Summits: Middle Carter, South Carter
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Deb, Glenn, and me
The group started quite a bit larger at 10 with Jason Berard, Marty Emmick, Mike Lynch, Russ Wiggin, Dan, and Nancy but under a mile into the hike these folks took off. This hike was a learning experience.
The Nineteen Mile Brook (NMB) trailhead was packed when we arrived with our group, and another group including J&J headed to the Wildcats. Deb and Glenn were the last to arrive and they parked at the end on the lot on the shoulder of the main road. After introductions all around, we grabbed our things and took off. We planned to hike the Carters clockwise via the shortcut through Camp Dodge. As we were arriving to the road that leads to Camp Dodge a highway truck stopped and warned that the car parked on the shoulder would probably be towed if it was left parked there. Glenn retrieved the car and moved it to the end of the Camp Dodge access road.
We all left the area of Camp Dodge on snowshoes. The trail was broken during the previous week but not packed. Due to the warm temperature the snow was pretty sticky making the snowshoes twice as heavy as usual. Along with warm temperature we had high humidity. It didn’t take long for layers to come off. We all hiked the early part of the route together. Roughly in the location of the Cowboy Brook Bushwhack back to NMB trailhead the front six took off.
Glenn, Deb, Sue, and I continued on the planned route. There is a relatively short approach on this route and then the trail starts to climb. All of the way to the junction with N. Carter Trail the Imp Trail is a fairly constant ascent. Then, the N. Carter Trail takes over and continues the endless ascent to the Carter-Moriah Trail. Along the way we came upon a few blowdowns that we needed to either step around or crawl under but none of them was difficult to get past. A short distance below the junction with Carter-Moriah Trail Deb and Glenn stepped off the trail and told Sue and me to continue ahead. From there to Zeta Pass we had some distance separating us but we all got back together a short distance below Zeta Pass.
When we reached the junction with Carter-Moriah Trail the wind was coming across the ridge fairly strong and there were ice crystals blowing around. Soon, we stopped to pull out the face masks and I considered my goggles too. Layered back up, we continued on the short final climb to the summit of Middle Carter. We found the summit becoming a large snowfield due to the depth of snow. That also means spruce traps, and we found a couple. We stayed on Middle Carter long enough for a couple pictures and headed for cover. The gusty westerly wind was nearly pushing both of us over.
Once we made it back into the cover we had a generally sheltered hike for the remainder of the route. We hit the summit of South Carter, got the usual summit pictures, and continued south to Zeta Pass. There was one area where the trail drops off the ridge to the west. There, Sue stopped to watch the tree action. The trees are a little taller and more open there. The wind was really making them dance. Since it was a gusty wind the trees weren’t moving in unison but springing back and forth in a very wild scene. We both just stood there and watched the show for a few minutes.
We reached Zeta Pass early afternoon. There we discussed our next move; hike Carter Dome or head out. Considering the conditions, and the fact that we had already hiked Carter Dome in March, we decided to head out. Actually, Sue said she was fine either way and I was the one that wanted to call it a hike. I was still pretty grumpy about the others taking off with no notice. My overall interest in the hike really dropped off at that point.
We started for the trailhead. A short distance below Zeta Pass Sue stopped to make a snowman. With the creation done, pictures taken, and even a picture sent by cell phone to Sue’s usual targets, we were on our way. At the first switchback Deb and Glenn were back in line with us. They had stopped for lunch back in the area of the N. Carter and Carter-Moriah trail junction. Back together we all were on our exit hike back to NMB trailhead.
We reached the junction with Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and stopped for a quick drink. While we were there Nancy and Dan came flying through. Nancy said it would be good for us to wait at the trailhead for the others to come out – she had a long drive back and didn’t feel like hanging around. That’s interesting – we should wait for others that didn’t hike with us. Oh well, still grumpy – I guess.
We completed the final cruise out to the trailhead. Sue had some of her Chocolate-Peanut Butter Squares to pass around. After the Happy Food, we said our goodbyes and packed to leave. Soon Mike Lynch and Russ Wiggin came out. They realized the events of the hike were upsetting to me and explained what happened. I’ll try hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Thanks to Deb and Glenn, and Sue for an otherwise fun day in the mountains.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Imp Trail, N. Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail
Summits: Middle Carter, South Carter
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Deb, Glenn, and me
The group started quite a bit larger at 10 with Jason Berard, Marty Emmick, Mike Lynch, Russ Wiggin, Dan, and Nancy but under a mile into the hike these folks took off. This hike was a learning experience.
The Nineteen Mile Brook (NMB) trailhead was packed when we arrived with our group, and another group including J&J headed to the Wildcats. Deb and Glenn were the last to arrive and they parked at the end on the lot on the shoulder of the main road. After introductions all around, we grabbed our things and took off. We planned to hike the Carters clockwise via the shortcut through Camp Dodge. As we were arriving to the road that leads to Camp Dodge a highway truck stopped and warned that the car parked on the shoulder would probably be towed if it was left parked there. Glenn retrieved the car and moved it to the end of the Camp Dodge access road.
We all left the area of Camp Dodge on snowshoes. The trail was broken during the previous week but not packed. Due to the warm temperature the snow was pretty sticky making the snowshoes twice as heavy as usual. Along with warm temperature we had high humidity. It didn’t take long for layers to come off. We all hiked the early part of the route together. Roughly in the location of the Cowboy Brook Bushwhack back to NMB trailhead the front six took off.
Glenn, Deb, Sue, and I continued on the planned route. There is a relatively short approach on this route and then the trail starts to climb. All of the way to the junction with N. Carter Trail the Imp Trail is a fairly constant ascent. Then, the N. Carter Trail takes over and continues the endless ascent to the Carter-Moriah Trail. Along the way we came upon a few blowdowns that we needed to either step around or crawl under but none of them was difficult to get past. A short distance below the junction with Carter-Moriah Trail Deb and Glenn stepped off the trail and told Sue and me to continue ahead. From there to Zeta Pass we had some distance separating us but we all got back together a short distance below Zeta Pass.
When we reached the junction with Carter-Moriah Trail the wind was coming across the ridge fairly strong and there were ice crystals blowing around. Soon, we stopped to pull out the face masks and I considered my goggles too. Layered back up, we continued on the short final climb to the summit of Middle Carter. We found the summit becoming a large snowfield due to the depth of snow. That also means spruce traps, and we found a couple. We stayed on Middle Carter long enough for a couple pictures and headed for cover. The gusty westerly wind was nearly pushing both of us over.
Once we made it back into the cover we had a generally sheltered hike for the remainder of the route. We hit the summit of South Carter, got the usual summit pictures, and continued south to Zeta Pass. There was one area where the trail drops off the ridge to the west. There, Sue stopped to watch the tree action. The trees are a little taller and more open there. The wind was really making them dance. Since it was a gusty wind the trees weren’t moving in unison but springing back and forth in a very wild scene. We both just stood there and watched the show for a few minutes.
We reached Zeta Pass early afternoon. There we discussed our next move; hike Carter Dome or head out. Considering the conditions, and the fact that we had already hiked Carter Dome in March, we decided to head out. Actually, Sue said she was fine either way and I was the one that wanted to call it a hike. I was still pretty grumpy about the others taking off with no notice. My overall interest in the hike really dropped off at that point.
We started for the trailhead. A short distance below Zeta Pass Sue stopped to make a snowman. With the creation done, pictures taken, and even a picture sent by cell phone to Sue’s usual targets, we were on our way. At the first switchback Deb and Glenn were back in line with us. They had stopped for lunch back in the area of the N. Carter and Carter-Moriah trail junction. Back together we all were on our exit hike back to NMB trailhead.
We reached the junction with Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and stopped for a quick drink. While we were there Nancy and Dan came flying through. Nancy said it would be good for us to wait at the trailhead for the others to come out – she had a long drive back and didn’t feel like hanging around. That’s interesting – we should wait for others that didn’t hike with us. Oh well, still grumpy – I guess.
We completed the final cruise out to the trailhead. Sue had some of her Chocolate-Peanut Butter Squares to pass around. After the Happy Food, we said our goodbyes and packed to leave. Soon Mike Lynch and Russ Wiggin came out. They realized the events of the hike were upsetting to me and explained what happened. I’ll try hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Thanks to Deb and Glenn, and Sue for an otherwise fun day in the mountains.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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