LRiz
New member
Participants: Sasquatch, FARMER, and I
Mileage: Around 23
Vertical: No idea, as I’ve misplaced my WMG…
The Cats/Carters/Moriah traverse – my white whale of hikes. I had hoped to attempt the hike on no less than three occasions this year, but unfortunately never got around to it due to tough trail conditions, poor weather, and lack of self-discipline on my part (as I have a terrible tendency to oversleep
). As you can imagine, I was pretty psyched when FARMER and Sasquatch expressed interest in joining me on the traverse this past Sunday. To make things a bit more exciting, we decided to throw Shelburne Moriah into the mix as well.
We set off from PNVC around 9:15am, Sasquatch leading the way at a blazing pace. I must admit I was a little nervous to be hiking with two super strong trail runners, but the guys were great and very sympathetic to my less-than-adequate trail running abilities. Nevertheless, the climb up was pretty fast, punctuated with a few brief stops to take in the fantastic views. We also encountered a pretty odd character who referred to himself as “The Ringmaster.” He was adamant about showing us his special magic trick, done using a little ring he picked up at Tractor Supply or something like that. It was really strange.
Reaching Wildcat D, we cruised across the ridge all the way to A Peak. The views from the outlook were, once again, just fabulous, with the Carter Range loomed imposingly ahead of us:
Down to the hut we went, where we filled up on water, consumed excessive amounts of sugar, and geared up for the climb to Carter Dome. Within minutes I had a massive sugar high, which of course made that nasty climb a lot easier to bear. We took things at a steady pace, and reached the summit of Carter Dome within 45 minutes.
After a short break, we decided that some trail running was in order. Jogging at my ridiculously slow pace, we hit Mt. Height, snapped a few more pictures, and proceeded down to Zeta Pass.
Looking back on Carter Dome:
Where we’re headed:
![IMG_2891.jpg]](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/81f/81f992a7e04b8a5bb32125066786ade9)
The climb up to South Carter was definitely the toughest of the day for me. Lacking caffeine and coming down hard from my sugar rush, I totally started to bonk. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and after downing a few Larabars and GU shots I was feeling more like my usual self. Smooth sailing from here. We passed right over Middle Carter, took a quick break on North Carter, and then prepared to tackle the steep climb down to the Stony Brook junction. It certainly was steep, and pretty wet, but nothing that we couldn’t handle.
![IMG_2895.jpg]](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/8f6/8f67bccc318827fd5e48df34186fccb0)
Once the grade eased up a bit, we picked up our pace and were on the summit of Moriah in no time. The wind had picked up by this point, and sitting around made all three of us quite cold. Nevertheless, we did stay up there for a good 15 minutes or so, chilling and refueling. I think FARMER downed an entire bag of trail mix.
![IMG_2901.jpg]](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/7ed/7ed8d19922dc411766debd0916dc687a)
![IMG_29022.jpg]](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/ef6/ef659ae101eaa81f8fe90e9ced56ad83)
At last, it was time for Shelburne Moriah. I’d heard great things about the peak, and was more than a little excited to check it out. The trail out there was muddy as heck, and Sasquatch was particularly good at finding the deepest, nastiest mud pits to step in. Passing the Rattle River trail junction, we hit an awesome stretch of springy bog bridges, and then finally reached the ledges before the summit.
What a surreal stretch of trail. Ledgy, open, and just wonderful. Almost otherworldly. A perfect peak on which to end the day.
Only 5.6 to go. We bounded down the ledges, banged a right at the Rattle River trail, and cranked up our pace as the trail smoothed out. The last 2.5 miles or so were pure heaven – absolutely perfect for trail running. I sustained a rather ungraceful fall which left my knee scraped and bloody. We hit the trailhead at around 7:50pm, amped up on adrenaline and feeling fantastic after one heck of an amazing hike.
Covered in mud, blood, and sweat, I honestly couldn’t have been happier. I live for days like these.
Thank you FARMER and Sasquatch for being such incredible hiking partners.
Mileage: Around 23
Vertical: No idea, as I’ve misplaced my WMG…
The Cats/Carters/Moriah traverse – my white whale of hikes. I had hoped to attempt the hike on no less than three occasions this year, but unfortunately never got around to it due to tough trail conditions, poor weather, and lack of self-discipline on my part (as I have a terrible tendency to oversleep
). As you can imagine, I was pretty psyched when FARMER and Sasquatch expressed interest in joining me on the traverse this past Sunday. To make things a bit more exciting, we decided to throw Shelburne Moriah into the mix as well.We set off from PNVC around 9:15am, Sasquatch leading the way at a blazing pace. I must admit I was a little nervous to be hiking with two super strong trail runners, but the guys were great and very sympathetic to my less-than-adequate trail running abilities. Nevertheless, the climb up was pretty fast, punctuated with a few brief stops to take in the fantastic views. We also encountered a pretty odd character who referred to himself as “The Ringmaster.” He was adamant about showing us his special magic trick, done using a little ring he picked up at Tractor Supply or something like that. It was really strange.
Reaching Wildcat D, we cruised across the ridge all the way to A Peak. The views from the outlook were, once again, just fabulous, with the Carter Range loomed imposingly ahead of us:
Down to the hut we went, where we filled up on water, consumed excessive amounts of sugar, and geared up for the climb to Carter Dome. Within minutes I had a massive sugar high, which of course made that nasty climb a lot easier to bear. We took things at a steady pace, and reached the summit of Carter Dome within 45 minutes.
After a short break, we decided that some trail running was in order. Jogging at my ridiculously slow pace, we hit Mt. Height, snapped a few more pictures, and proceeded down to Zeta Pass.
Looking back on Carter Dome:
Where we’re headed:
The climb up to South Carter was definitely the toughest of the day for me. Lacking caffeine and coming down hard from my sugar rush, I totally started to bonk. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and after downing a few Larabars and GU shots I was feeling more like my usual self. Smooth sailing from here. We passed right over Middle Carter, took a quick break on North Carter, and then prepared to tackle the steep climb down to the Stony Brook junction. It certainly was steep, and pretty wet, but nothing that we couldn’t handle.
Once the grade eased up a bit, we picked up our pace and were on the summit of Moriah in no time. The wind had picked up by this point, and sitting around made all three of us quite cold. Nevertheless, we did stay up there for a good 15 minutes or so, chilling and refueling. I think FARMER downed an entire bag of trail mix.
At last, it was time for Shelburne Moriah. I’d heard great things about the peak, and was more than a little excited to check it out. The trail out there was muddy as heck, and Sasquatch was particularly good at finding the deepest, nastiest mud pits to step in. Passing the Rattle River trail junction, we hit an awesome stretch of springy bog bridges, and then finally reached the ledges before the summit.
What a surreal stretch of trail. Ledgy, open, and just wonderful. Almost otherworldly. A perfect peak on which to end the day.
Only 5.6 to go. We bounded down the ledges, banged a right at the Rattle River trail, and cranked up our pace as the trail smoothed out. The last 2.5 miles or so were pure heaven – absolutely perfect for trail running. I sustained a rather ungraceful fall which left my knee scraped and bloody. We hit the trailhead at around 7:50pm, amped up on adrenaline and feeling fantastic after one heck of an amazing hike.
Covered in mud, blood, and sweat, I honestly couldn’t have been happier. I live for days like these.
Thank you FARMER and Sasquatch for being such incredible hiking partners.
