| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Middle Carter, North Carter, Mt. Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Camp Dodge Cutoff, Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Stony Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at Great Gulf and Stony Brook. Inch of snow from morning had melted by afternoon. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock-hoppable |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Carter Moriah Trail from Middle Carter to Stony Brook junction could use some winter trimming. It was very tight. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
A few inches of wet sticky snow made choosing appropriate footwear difficult. Snow balled up badly on snowshoes/microspikes but a bit too much snow and not enough traction for bare booting. On the trail up Imp and North Carter, one of us snowshoed and one bare booted - neither was easy. Firm base prevented postholing. Up on the ridge, there was more snow and less solid base so we both used snowshoes across the less-traveled stretch to Moriah. We knew the descent off North Carter would be a little dicey - but it was even worse than we expected. No ice but the slick wet snow on top of solid base was treacherously slippery. Karine ended up taking off snowshoes to plunge step down the worst sections. But we made it down! Got soaked across the ridge pushing through the ice/snow covered tree branches which blocked the trail from waist level up. If I'd had my saw with me, this trail would be newly trimmed for winter-travel. :)
From Stony Brook junction to Moriah summit was well-tracked by a mix of bare booters and snowshoers. Clouds lifted as we approached the summit and we had lovely views of the northern presis. Sadly, we did not linger on the summit as it was taken over by 3 guys who had erected a 12 ft antenna and were playing with a CB radio at full volume (that we could hear 1/4 mile away). While I'm sure they enjoyed their wilderness experience, they seemed to have little regard for anyone else's.
Descent down Stony Brook was lovely as the sun came out and helped dry out our ridiculously wet gear and we made it down faster than expected.
Challenging day out in tough April conditions but good to knock off a few stragglers and enjoy another day in the mountains.
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 | Name: |
Jeff & Karine |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2013-04-13 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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