Wildcats via ski trails with dogs?

[Elizabeth]

I am thinking to hike the Wildcats with dogs, either going up hiking trails and down ski trails or by going both up and down via the ski trails. Has anyone encountered issues with Wildcat Ski Area staff for bringing dogs on the ski trails?

I might have the dog of some friends with me who is not in quite as good shape as my two, and am thinking that coming down the ski trails would be easier on his joints than coming down Wildcat Ridge Trail. (The friends' dog sometimes has trouble going down very steep steps or rocks, though he is usually O.K. going up as long as big leaps are not required. He managed Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Monroe, and also did Pierce and Eisenhower, requiring just a bit of a boost in a few places.)

Can anyone recommend the best trails for doing the Wildcats with a nine year old dog who is very enthusiastic; but not super-agile? Or should I wait and do this hike when he is not with us?

 

[audrey]

We've hiked Wildcat via the ski trails a number of times and have never had issues with the staff. Our favorite is the Polecat which is mostly gentle-moderate and has the added attraction of beautiful wildflowers and grasses right up to the fall months. Once you're on the ridge trail, however, the steep ups and downs might not suit an older or arthritic dog. The trail up to Willdcat A is particularly steep and some boosts would most likely be needed.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

Pole Cat is the way to go with your dog. It is very easy and one of the best ways to work a dog into shape as there are no ledges at all and it is not real steep.

I've done it summer and winter with Lauky. I've never had a problem in the winter and in the summer you may not even see anyone except at the lifts top and bottom if they are running

I really don't think the wildcat ridge trail from Rt. 16 would be a good idea. If the dog was able to do Ammonousuc I believe he would also be able to do 19 mile and then up the back side to Carter A. It's steep but not that big a deal in the summer. But bottom line, I don't think you will have the slightest problem on the ski slopes although I would stick to the trails on the extreme left.

 

[Elizabeth]

Thanks

Thanks for your responses. It turned out that the older dog's owners came back and picked him up a couple of days early; so I will just be with my dogs, who are in good shape. I think we will go up via Wildcat Ridge Trail from 19-Mile Brook Trail, down the Pole Cat Trail, and a (leashed) road walk back to the car.

A number of years ago I did the two peaks by going up Wildcat Ridge Trail from the other end (without any dogs), and down one of the other ski trails (not sure the name). So this route will give me a bit of new experience.

 

[MikeB]

Since they allow dogs on the Gondola, I can't imagine the staff would mind them on the ski trails.

 

[RoySwkr]

I think we will go up via Wildcat Ridge Trail from 19-Mile Brook Trail, down the Pole Cat Trail, and a (leashed) road walk back to the car.

If you start at Great Glen Trails and take Aqueduct Path to 19MB you save 1.5 miles road walk, and in the past there was no fee for hikers

If at the bottom of Wildcat you turn R and take the service road to Rte.16 instead of going out to the parking lot, you save road walk again

Guess how I know

 

[Elizabeth]

If you start at Great Glen Trails and take Aqueduct Path to 19MB you save 1.5 miles road walk, and in the past there was no fee for hikers

If at the bottom of Wildcat you turn R and take the service road to Rte.16 instead of going out to the parking lot, you save road walk again

Guess how I know

I found the service road on my own (didn't read your post until afterwards); but did not know about the Aqueduct Path. Sounds like that would have been a nice alternative. The road walk along Rte. 16 was not much fun. Is the Aqueduct Path on any map?

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I found the service road on my own (didn't read your post until afterwards); but did not know about the Aqueduct Path. Sounds like that would have been a nice alternative. The road walk along Rte. 16 was not much fun. Is the Aqueduct Path on any map?

Aqueduct Path begins at the upper north corner of the Glen House property and comes out about a mile up 19 Mile Brook Trail at the dam for the Glen House water supply. The trail was closed to public access a couple of decades ago, as it crosses private property of the Glen Cliff House. However, I have not heard of anyone getting chased off at gun point, as has happened on the west side of Cabot.

 

[RoySwkr]

The trail was closed to public access a couple of decades ago, as it crosses private property of the Glen Cliff House.

Not quite. It is part of the Great Glen Trails system, which charges a fee for ski touring or mtn biking but not hiking at last report. There is a donation box on the Mt W side but not on Wildcat side that I saw, and the staff were very friendly. Hmm - better ask about dogs.
"Our trails are available free of charge for trail running, Nordic walking and bird watching."

For maps, use an old AMC WMG, USGS Carter Dome quad, or Great Glen Trails map
http://greatglentrails.com/summer/outdoor-center-2/trail-map/
http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/?p=default&b=base1&q=44.2895092 -71.2150742&l=13
http://historical.mytopo.com/getImage.asp?fname=grhm42sw.jpg&state=NH

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Not quite. It is part of the Great Glen Trails system, which charges a fee for ski touring or mtn biking but not hiking at last report. There is a donation box on the Mt W side but not on Wildcat side that I saw, and the staff were very friendly. Hmm - better ask about dogs.
"Our trails are available free of charge for trail running, Nordic walking and bird watching."

Interesting; thanks for the updates. Not very long ago I was told by them that I was not to hike the Aqueduct Path nor park in their lot, which they said was reserved for tourists visiting their gift shop, etc.

Last time that I was on 19 Mile Brook Trail, I did not see a trail sign posted at the dam, which I will check out next time I am there. The dam has been missing the 2x8" planks over the weir for years, which would not be a problem when the water is low.

The Aqueduct Path really was a wonderful trail and the route we used to pack supplies into Cata (Carter Notch Hut) for the AMC, as the pack house was located at the northeast corner of their old upper parking lot. However, packing top-heavy loads across the planks at the dam was not for the faint of heart; fall upstream you get wet and possibly drown, fall downsteam you likely knock yourself senseless perhaps die.

 

[Elizabeth]

Not quite. It is part of the Great Glen Trails system, which charges a fee for ski touring or mtn biking but not hiking at last report. There is a donation box on the Mt W side but not on Wildcat side that I saw, and the staff were very friendly. Hmm - better ask about dogs.
"Our trails are available free of charge for trail running, Nordic walking and bird watching."

For maps, use an old AMC WMG, USGS Carter Dome quad, or Great Glen Trails map
http://greatglentrails.com/summer/outdoor-center-2/trail-map/
http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/?p=default&b=base1&q=44.2895092 -71.2150742&l=13
http://historical.mytopo.com/getImage.asp?fname=grhm42sw.jpg&state=NH

I checked out the Great Glen Trails website, which says that dogs are not allowed on any trails EXCEPT the Aqueduct Trail. However it is not clear whether that just means for paying guests in winter. If I had read your post beforehand, I would have tried anyhow and seen whether I got kicked out.

 

[RoySwkr]

>Not very long ago I was told by
>them that I was not to hike the Aqueduct Path nor park in their lot,
>which they said was reserved for tourists visiting their gift shop,
>etc.

Several years ago the FS bought most of the former Glen House property
for a whopping sum, but GH retained the right for their fee trail network
avoiding the need for a special-use permit. But from the USGS map I
posted above, it looks like they retained ownership of the aqueduct and
the path along it hence can forbid its use.

There is plenty of parking across Rte.16 by the Auto Road, and even more
at Wildcat where I parked for the loop

>Last time that I was on 19 Mile Brook Trail, I did not see a trail
>sign posted at the dam, which I will check out next time I am there.

I doubt that they want Aqueduct Path advertised as a connector, if
only due to dam liability. If the dam is posted, the brook can be
rock-hopped in normal summer conditions.

>The dam has been missing the 2x8" planks over the weir for years,
>which would not be a problem when the water is low.

I think they were only there in summer anyway, I did a backpack to the
hut in Oct 1962 when AP was still an official trail, and I seem to
remember jumping across the dam.

>The Aqueduct Path really was a wonderful trail and the route we used
>to pack supplies into Cata (Carter Notch Hut) for the AMC,

I believe they now use the woods road across the brook from 19MB Trail,
at least I have seen a structure and cars there and have met kids with
large frame packs on that road. After a cloudburst, they could use 19MB
to avoid crossing the dam.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Like Ed, I'd recommend the Polecat. Brutus has been down it several times (and up once) and the ski staff never had an problems with us.

As you probably know, once you leave Carter Notch, there's very little water going up/down the Wildcats, or along the ridge. That can be an issue in summer temps.

 

[Elizabeth]

Water for dogs on Wildcat Ridge

Interesting background on the Aqueduct Path.

As for water for dogs on Wildcat Ridge, we found plenty, probably due to how wet this season has been so far. Here, between Wildcat B and C:


11. At the Col Wash by Elizabeth W.K., on Flickr

Going down the PoleCat there were also a number of water bars with water in them, though I worried a bit about the quality of it (kind of greasy looking). However, the dogs do not seem to have gotten sick from it. The road walk was where they seemed thirsty and the ditch water available was not potable even for them. The Aqueduct Path would have come in handy had we known about it, as I imagine there are probably a couple of little streams crossing.