Where to camp on Wildcat/Carter/Moriah ridge?

[Technetium]

In a few weeks, my brother and I are planning on a single hike of the whole ridge, over the course of two days. We will either head up the night before and stay in a motel before hiking, or head up early the first morning (thus losing a couple hours of hiking time the first day).

What I've noticed from the maps is that there aren't really any conveniently-located camping locations. There is an AMC hut between Wildcat and Carter, but we have both agreed that we want to have to use a tent outside, and that we don't want to pay $60 each to stay in the hut anyway. I think there's a rule about setting up camp anywhere near a Hut, too. There's a shelter further on the trail, but it is too far in the direction of Moriah, leaving too much hiking to the southwest of the shelter for one day.

Has anyone done this ridge as an overnight hike? Going from south to north, how far can reasonably good hikers expect to get in a day? After the first Carter summit, is there a sort of valley where one can bushwack off the trail a good ways and set up a tent?

Also, does anyone know if Gorham has any kind of taxi service we can call up when we're done to take us back to where we parked?

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Last I was up there, there was a tent set up right at the height of land where the Wildcat Ridge Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook Trail intersect. It was "close" to the 1/4 mile from a hut rule. Not sure exactly how far... It wasn't me, and I'm not claiming it is or isn't legal

Tim

 

[dug]

I've done the ridge as a backpack a couple of times. Camping sites are very limited...in fact, we never found anything between Moriah and Zeta Pass (and Zeta Pass does not allow camping, but you can go down the trail 1/4 mile and find something). We ended up having to schlep our packs the entire time. The spot Tim mentions is a good one, but at that point you are less than 4 miles from the road and may as well just plow ahead and finish.

Another option is to go down to the Imp shelter. That would be the best idea. I have done loops twice from the 'backside' of the Carters, and a couple of times going up and over all the way. In the case of the last two, carrying the pack was a wasteful exercise.

What you might want to consider, and it will be a longer trip overall, is to go in via the backside of Carter Dome and camp along the trail (2-3 good spots that I can think of) at night. You can then loop around and come out in the same trailhead, bagging all the peaks in the process. All told, I think it came out to about 30 miles, with a long day doing the peaks, but overall it wasn't too bad. I think one of the days was like 17 miles(?)

Tough hike to backpack on I found.

 

[TEO]

I just did that same route this past weekend, starting at Pinkham and ending at Bangor Road in Gorham. The total trip is just about 20 miles spot on, with 7'100 feet of climbing. I stayed at the Imp Shelter, the one you mention, so my first day was about 13 miles and 6,050' of climbing and the second day was a little under 7 miles with 1,100' upwards. On the other hand, the last 4.5 of those miles was a 3,200' descent, which with a little moisture and a lot of double-fall-line rock slabs, was tedious.

If you stay at the Imp Shelter, it is a tough, but doable first day and a relatively easy second day. I'm sure there are places that you could bivy, but nothing jumps to mind. Remember, the lighter your pack is, the easier your big day will be.

 

[Technetium]

Imp Shelter looks like a good choice, as I read that they have tent platforms in addition to the actual shelter. I've done more than 14 miles in a day hike, but not with nearly as much elevation gain as we would be getting on the first day, so I think maybe we should consider staying overnight somewhere the night before, so we aren't wasting hiking hours driving up from Boston. The last thing I want is to be stuck somewhere un-campable after dark.

I see that Imp shelter charges a fee. Do you know what the fee is, and do you have to pay somehow in advance, or can you pay when you show up? And does the fee only apply to the shelter itself, or also to the tent platforms?

 

[TEO]

$8 for the shelter or tent platform. No reservations, you pay the caretaker when you get there. When I got there early Saturday evening, the tent platforms were filled, but there was still plenty of room in the shelter, which I was just as happy to stay in.

 

[Fisher Cat]

I see that Imp shelter charges a fee. Do you know what the fee is, and do you have to pay somehow in advance, or can you pay when you show up? And does the fee only apply to the shelter itself, or also to the tent platforms?

I'm not sure what the fee is, I honestly can't remember, and I believe my brother paid for it anyway in the past, but there was a charge for the platforms as I recall, this was two years ago. If you get in late during the summer, the caretaker will usually approach you when they discern you're up the next morning, or they may leave a note reminding you.
That is definitely a do-able haul to the Imp shelter, especially during the long(er) daylight hours. I would still endeavor an early start so you don't have to be bookin' it and miss out on the qualities of a really impressive hike.

 

[Tim Horn]

The fee is charged for the tent area or the shelter. You pay when you get there and it is first come first serve. Checks or cash accepted. Expect to share a platform with another tent. There are some other places to camp but you have to be creative. If you search, you can find some legal spots near zeta pass just up the trail toward the Carters and off the trail a bit. If you have a hammock you are all set.

 

[MadRiver]

My wife and I did this hike as a two day backpack several years ago. We parked at Pinkham and hiked up the Wildcats and down to the hut. After taking a break we headed up Carter Dome and continued past Zeta Pass and just as you begin to climb South Carter we found a nice spot to the left of the trail to spend the night. It was outside the Forest Protection Area so I believe it was legal. It might have been a tad under 200 feet, but it was off the trail. It was also just before dark when we set up camp so we knew we wouldn’t see a ranger. We were also up at dawn and out so we were good to go. Just make certain you clean the site and leave no trace. I also took some branches and swept the ground to remove any packed areas left from the tent.

 

[jniehof]

Water is only reliably available at the hut and at Imp...it's a pretty dry stretch of trail. Spending the night elsewhere requires a pretty serious water haul.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The spring on the Carter Notch side of Carter Dome is not reliable? The WMG (27th) says "A fine spring" but makes no mention of reliability. It was working just fine in June -- I made use of it.

Tim

 

[jniehof]

The spring on the Carter Notch side of Carter Dome is not reliable?

My memory is spotty, but it was either a trickle or dry when I went through last August (it also doesn't save you much over filling up at the hut--other than the climb, of course!) The Wildcat spring was bone-dry on that trip.

 

[Technetium]

Just a bump to tell what we ended up doing. It rained all day the first day and half of the second day. We ended up staying overnight somewhere we weren't supposed to: on a (relatively) dry flat dirt area clear of rocks or plants on the summit of Carter Dome. In our defense, that's where the Carter Notch Hut croo told us to camp, since there was no way we were getting to Imp Shelter or even Zeta Pass by nightfall, and all the lower flat areas were flooded.

It was somewhat disappointing to find that a number of other people have stayed there who subscribe a bit less to the "leave no trace" ideal than we do. There were a couple firepit scorch marks and a huge mess of broken glass. I can certainly understand why they would not want to allow camping on summits. I can honestly say that when we packed up the next morning, there was no indication at all that we had camped there.

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Glass

Can't say about the fire pits, but the broken glass is from the former fire tower. Unless, of course, it was brown or green.

KDT