N
NH_Mtn_Hiker
Guest
Date(s) Hiked:
August 7, 2004
Trails(s) Hiked:
19 Mile Brook, Carter-Moriah, Carter Dome, North Carter, Imp (south)
Total Distance:
My Route----- 13.7 miles, 4850' elev. gain, 6 peaks
Group Route- 10.5 miles, 3500' elev. gain, 3 peaks
Difficulty:
Moderate to Moderate +
Conditions:
Partly Cloudy, Occasional light drizzle, Temps.=40's on ridge to 50's in valley
Special Required Equipment:
None
Trip Report:
This trip was suppose to be a simple loop over South and Middle Carter, but I couldn't see bagging those two Carters today and the two Wildcats next weekend and then having to make a special trip up to get Carter Dome. So last night I sent our group leaders an email telling them I was going up early to bag Carter Dome and I would wait for the group at Zeta Pass.
I was on the road this morning at 3:45 and after an uneventful trip (always good), I reached the 19 Mile Brook Trail parking area at 6:15. I thew on my boots and grabbed my pack and headed up the trail. The rest of the group wasn't due to arrive til 8:00. When 8:00 rolled around I had just left the Carter Notch Hut and was having a snack next to one of the two nicest mountain ponds I've seen. The other nice pond was about 100' away, and swimming is permitted in both. The Trail to this point was a relatively easy climb with a small descent the last .3 miles to the hut.
At about 8:05 I was starting the steep climb up the Carter-Moriah trail towards Carter Dome. This was the most difficult part of the hike, but it went quickly enough. There were several places along the ridge providing views, particularly to the south-west. By 9:00 I was at the summit of Carter Dome. There are two large cairns at the nearly flat summit separated by about 100'. I wasn't sure which marked the true summit, so I tagged them both.
At about 9:20 I reached Mt. Hight (no e). The nearly bare summit of Mt. Hight provides the best views on the ridge. From here the trail north is a very steep, rocky descent , but by 9:30 I had reached the rendezvous point, Zeta Pass.
At the pass, I had a snack, a brief nap, and then chit-chatted with some other hikers, including an AT through hiker who was celebrating completing 6/7ths of the trip with a couple of bite size candy bars. Then rest of the group arrived.
MtnMagic, Ghostdog, Dirt_girl, Julie, Dave, Peggy, and Diane came up via 19 Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail arriving at 10:40. By this time I had thown on my thermal shirt and was still shivering in the 47 deg. air. It was time to hike. After brief pleasntries and a little rest for the recent arrivals we headed north towards South Carter.
The summits of South Carter, Middle Carter, and Mt. Lethe are treed in offering little for views. However there were a few places along the ridge providing views either east or west. The little bogs along the way were interesting... and flat.
Reaching the junction of North Carter Trail the group paused for lunch. Being unable to pass up the chance to bag another nearby peak, I continued north and bagged North Carter, another treed in summit. (there is a ledge just south of the summit that offers good views to the east) I returned to the group having been gone only about 15 minutes.
After lunch we headed down the North Carter Trail to the south branch of the Imp Trail. We followed the rough Imp Trail to the junction with the logging road that leads to Camp Dodge. (We'll call this Camp Dodge Cutoff ) We followed Camp Dodge Cutoff to Camp Dodge and on to Rt 16 which we followed south to the parking area, stuffing our faces with Blueberries from the roadside as we walked.
By taking the Camp Dodge Cutoff, we eliminated the need for spotting cars at the Imp trail without changing the total hiking distance noticably.
Note: We noticed some of the distances on the trail signs we encountered were very inaccurate.
Peaks bagged today: Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter, Mt. Hight, Mt. Lethe, and North Carter. Time for some rest.
August 7, 2004
Trails(s) Hiked:
19 Mile Brook, Carter-Moriah, Carter Dome, North Carter, Imp (south)
Total Distance:
My Route----- 13.7 miles, 4850' elev. gain, 6 peaks
Group Route- 10.5 miles, 3500' elev. gain, 3 peaks
Difficulty:
Moderate to Moderate +
Conditions:
Partly Cloudy, Occasional light drizzle, Temps.=40's on ridge to 50's in valley
Special Required Equipment:
None
Trip Report:
This trip was suppose to be a simple loop over South and Middle Carter, but I couldn't see bagging those two Carters today and the two Wildcats next weekend and then having to make a special trip up to get Carter Dome. So last night I sent our group leaders an email telling them I was going up early to bag Carter Dome and I would wait for the group at Zeta Pass.
I was on the road this morning at 3:45 and after an uneventful trip (always good), I reached the 19 Mile Brook Trail parking area at 6:15. I thew on my boots and grabbed my pack and headed up the trail. The rest of the group wasn't due to arrive til 8:00. When 8:00 rolled around I had just left the Carter Notch Hut and was having a snack next to one of the two nicest mountain ponds I've seen. The other nice pond was about 100' away, and swimming is permitted in both. The Trail to this point was a relatively easy climb with a small descent the last .3 miles to the hut.
At about 8:05 I was starting the steep climb up the Carter-Moriah trail towards Carter Dome. This was the most difficult part of the hike, but it went quickly enough. There were several places along the ridge providing views, particularly to the south-west. By 9:00 I was at the summit of Carter Dome. There are two large cairns at the nearly flat summit separated by about 100'. I wasn't sure which marked the true summit, so I tagged them both.
At about 9:20 I reached Mt. Hight (no e). The nearly bare summit of Mt. Hight provides the best views on the ridge. From here the trail north is a very steep, rocky descent , but by 9:30 I had reached the rendezvous point, Zeta Pass.
At the pass, I had a snack, a brief nap, and then chit-chatted with some other hikers, including an AT through hiker who was celebrating completing 6/7ths of the trip with a couple of bite size candy bars. Then rest of the group arrived.
MtnMagic, Ghostdog, Dirt_girl, Julie, Dave, Peggy, and Diane came up via 19 Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail arriving at 10:40. By this time I had thown on my thermal shirt and was still shivering in the 47 deg. air. It was time to hike. After brief pleasntries and a little rest for the recent arrivals we headed north towards South Carter.
The summits of South Carter, Middle Carter, and Mt. Lethe are treed in offering little for views. However there were a few places along the ridge providing views either east or west. The little bogs along the way were interesting... and flat.
Reaching the junction of North Carter Trail the group paused for lunch. Being unable to pass up the chance to bag another nearby peak, I continued north and bagged North Carter, another treed in summit. (there is a ledge just south of the summit that offers good views to the east) I returned to the group having been gone only about 15 minutes.
After lunch we headed down the North Carter Trail to the south branch of the Imp Trail. We followed the rough Imp Trail to the junction with the logging road that leads to Camp Dodge. (We'll call this Camp Dodge Cutoff
) We followed Camp Dodge Cutoff to Camp Dodge and on to Rt 16 which we followed south to the parking area, stuffing our faces with Blueberries from the roadside as we walked.By taking the Camp Dodge Cutoff, we eliminated the need for spotting cars at the Imp trail without changing the total hiking distance noticably.
Note: We noticed some of the distances on the trail signs we encountered were very inaccurate.
Peaks bagged today: Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter, Mt. Hight, Mt. Lethe, and North Carter. Time for some rest.
