BIGEarl
Well-known member
November 20, 2010: The Carters – Unfinished Business
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter Trail, Imp Trail
Summits: Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The forecast for the day from the National Weather Service predicted high wind (40 – 60 mph) from the west for elevations above 4000 feet and very high wind (80 – 90 mph) from the west for elevations over 5000 feet. We decided hiking an area that is sheltered from a westerly wind was best and tossed our Plan A for the day (Franconia Ridge). A couple weeks earlier we set off to hike The Wildcats and Carters with Bryan but found very difficult conditions due to ice and rain. By the time we reached Carter Notch we were all soaked. It was clear we wouldn’t be able to finish the hike through Middle Carter and agreed a return visit to take care of The Carters made the most sense. The Carter Range is fairly well sheltered from a westerly wind by The Presidentials and we decided now was a good time to go back to take care of unfinished business.
After a quick stop at PNVC we drove to the Nineteen Mile Brook trailhead and our hike. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail is clear for the full distance to the junction with Carter Dome Trail. There are the usual muddy places and ice is starting to develop in some areas. There is enough ice to require additional attention to avoid a slip. The trail was covered with a light dusting of snow. After leaving the trailhead we stopped to adjust layers; both of us were much warmer than necessary. When we reached the Carter Dome Trail junction the temperature had dropped and it seemed clear it was only a matter of time before we added layers back on. We made the turn and headed for Zeta Pass.
The wind noise was pretty loud but the actual wind at ground level was little more than a light breeze. We had been following two sets of fresh tracks. To the trail junction we were all bare booting the hike but after the trail junction we noticed one of the sets of tracks showed light traction was being used. Sue and I continued to bare boot the hike past the stream crossings and into the switchbacks below Zeta Pass. Roughly 200 feet in elevation below Zeta Pass we pulled out the MicroSpikes to help with the icing conditions on the trail. That small change took care of the difficult part of the trail conditions.
We reached Zeta Pass and briefly stopped to visit with another hiker that was returning from Carter Dome and continuing north on Carter-Moriah. Soon we were all on our way. Roughly half way to Carter Dome I stopped to add a jacket but Sue decided to wait a while longer. Eventually the wind noise convinced Sue to layer-up as well. We continued to hear a lot of wind noise but the actual wind on the trail wasn’t bad at all. The snow started to fall. We continued to the summit in the wind and snow and stopped for our usual summit pictures. There were no views to enjoy; we couldn’t see any trace of Mount Hight or anything else. Our world was generally limited to the summit clearing. With no good reason to hang around we set off for Zeta Pass and on to South Carter via the Carter-Moriah Trail.
The Carter-Moriah Trail north of Zeta Pass is in pretty good shape. We found some icing that was becoming fairly significant but the MicroSpikes were adequate. On the approach to South Carter another couple with a pretty Golden Retriever named Romeo passed – very nice dog. A short time later we reached South Carter. On one of the short climbs I noticed the conditions had opened a little and we enjoyed views to the south and back to Carter Dome. We stopped at the former location of the South Carter sign, got some pictures, and continued our hike north on CMT.
We continued on to Middle Carter and the trail conditions started to change. Roughly half-way between South and Middle Carter we came upon a couple large blowdowns across the trail. The first blowdown is a little difficult to get past – can’t go under and it’s a little high to easily go over. But, this will improve with a couple feet of snow. A little further north, the second blowdown is relatively easy to step over. As we were approaching Middle Carter we crossed the open ledge sections and found the first gusty wind of the day. The wind was high enough to make holding a camera steady for picture taking difficult but that was due to the gusts, not the steady wind. We continued to our final summit for the day.
With all of our targets met it was time for the exit hike. We continued north to the junction with North Carter Trail and made the turn. The remainder of the hike was the most difficult of the day. A number of sections of North Carter Trail that are a running brook. Additionally, the trail has quite a few blowdowns. Many of the blowdowns are very large. In one case it was necessary to crawl on our stomachs to get past the tree. The problem continues all of the way down N. Carter Trail and the south branch of Imp Trail. The largest of the bunch is on the Imp Trail at ~1700 feet. It’s a huge pine that was weakened by a very large nest of insects; possibly carpenter ants. It’s now completely blocking the trail and I’m sure will be for quite some time.
We had planned on leaving the trail to bushwhack directly to the NMB trailhead. By the time we reached the exit location from the trail we were already using headlights and we agreed a shorter bushwhack might be better. We continued to a lower elevation and took off on a bushwhack to Camp Dodge. We’ve previously done this particular bushwhack after dark without problems and were pretty sure we could do it again. A short time after leaving the trail we were walking through the tent platform area at Camp Dodge. A short time later we were back to the NMB trailhead and checking for broken windows.
There was no broken glass, we were back to the trailhead on schedule as originally planned, and except for a few unexpected blowdowns there were no problems along the way. We had a good day! After a quick visit to PNVC to clean-up a little and change into dry clothes we were on the highway for home.
Thanks Sue. Maybe next time out we can get our Plan A hike done.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter Trail, Imp Trail
Summits: Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The forecast for the day from the National Weather Service predicted high wind (40 – 60 mph) from the west for elevations above 4000 feet and very high wind (80 – 90 mph) from the west for elevations over 5000 feet. We decided hiking an area that is sheltered from a westerly wind was best and tossed our Plan A for the day (Franconia Ridge). A couple weeks earlier we set off to hike The Wildcats and Carters with Bryan but found very difficult conditions due to ice and rain. By the time we reached Carter Notch we were all soaked. It was clear we wouldn’t be able to finish the hike through Middle Carter and agreed a return visit to take care of The Carters made the most sense. The Carter Range is fairly well sheltered from a westerly wind by The Presidentials and we decided now was a good time to go back to take care of unfinished business.
After a quick stop at PNVC we drove to the Nineteen Mile Brook trailhead and our hike. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail is clear for the full distance to the junction with Carter Dome Trail. There are the usual muddy places and ice is starting to develop in some areas. There is enough ice to require additional attention to avoid a slip. The trail was covered with a light dusting of snow. After leaving the trailhead we stopped to adjust layers; both of us were much warmer than necessary. When we reached the Carter Dome Trail junction the temperature had dropped and it seemed clear it was only a matter of time before we added layers back on. We made the turn and headed for Zeta Pass.
The wind noise was pretty loud but the actual wind at ground level was little more than a light breeze. We had been following two sets of fresh tracks. To the trail junction we were all bare booting the hike but after the trail junction we noticed one of the sets of tracks showed light traction was being used. Sue and I continued to bare boot the hike past the stream crossings and into the switchbacks below Zeta Pass. Roughly 200 feet in elevation below Zeta Pass we pulled out the MicroSpikes to help with the icing conditions on the trail. That small change took care of the difficult part of the trail conditions.
We reached Zeta Pass and briefly stopped to visit with another hiker that was returning from Carter Dome and continuing north on Carter-Moriah. Soon we were all on our way. Roughly half way to Carter Dome I stopped to add a jacket but Sue decided to wait a while longer. Eventually the wind noise convinced Sue to layer-up as well. We continued to hear a lot of wind noise but the actual wind on the trail wasn’t bad at all. The snow started to fall. We continued to the summit in the wind and snow and stopped for our usual summit pictures. There were no views to enjoy; we couldn’t see any trace of Mount Hight or anything else. Our world was generally limited to the summit clearing. With no good reason to hang around we set off for Zeta Pass and on to South Carter via the Carter-Moriah Trail.
The Carter-Moriah Trail north of Zeta Pass is in pretty good shape. We found some icing that was becoming fairly significant but the MicroSpikes were adequate. On the approach to South Carter another couple with a pretty Golden Retriever named Romeo passed – very nice dog. A short time later we reached South Carter. On one of the short climbs I noticed the conditions had opened a little and we enjoyed views to the south and back to Carter Dome. We stopped at the former location of the South Carter sign, got some pictures, and continued our hike north on CMT.
We continued on to Middle Carter and the trail conditions started to change. Roughly half-way between South and Middle Carter we came upon a couple large blowdowns across the trail. The first blowdown is a little difficult to get past – can’t go under and it’s a little high to easily go over. But, this will improve with a couple feet of snow. A little further north, the second blowdown is relatively easy to step over. As we were approaching Middle Carter we crossed the open ledge sections and found the first gusty wind of the day. The wind was high enough to make holding a camera steady for picture taking difficult but that was due to the gusts, not the steady wind. We continued to our final summit for the day.
With all of our targets met it was time for the exit hike. We continued north to the junction with North Carter Trail and made the turn. The remainder of the hike was the most difficult of the day. A number of sections of North Carter Trail that are a running brook. Additionally, the trail has quite a few blowdowns. Many of the blowdowns are very large. In one case it was necessary to crawl on our stomachs to get past the tree. The problem continues all of the way down N. Carter Trail and the south branch of Imp Trail. The largest of the bunch is on the Imp Trail at ~1700 feet. It’s a huge pine that was weakened by a very large nest of insects; possibly carpenter ants. It’s now completely blocking the trail and I’m sure will be for quite some time.
We had planned on leaving the trail to bushwhack directly to the NMB trailhead. By the time we reached the exit location from the trail we were already using headlights and we agreed a shorter bushwhack might be better. We continued to a lower elevation and took off on a bushwhack to Camp Dodge. We’ve previously done this particular bushwhack after dark without problems and were pretty sure we could do it again. A short time after leaving the trail we were walking through the tent platform area at Camp Dodge. A short time later we were back to the NMB trailhead and checking for broken windows.
There was no broken glass, we were back to the trailhead on schedule as originally planned, and except for a few unexpected blowdowns there were no problems along the way. We had a good day! After a quick visit to PNVC to clean-up a little and change into dry clothes we were on the highway for home.
Thanks Sue. Maybe next time out we can get our Plan A hike done.
Pictures will follow.
