| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter, North Carter, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Wild River Trail, Highwater Trail, Black Angel Trail, Carter Moriah Trail, Moriah Brook Trail, Imp Shelter Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 23, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
The access road was in good shape as was the lot. It had a fair number of cars in it when I returned; but I assume these were campers. We got to see Becca and Amy as they were leaving for their hike. It's nice to see smiles after a long drive. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable) |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Rock hops. The many Moriah Brook crossings weren't bad today, but Pepper waded some of them. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
There are blowdowns of every shape and kind all along this whole route. I think the broken stems and branches were most surprising in their quantity. I threw a lot out of the trail but I hardly made a dent in places, and due to time constraints I never used my saw like I normally would have done. The biggest concentrations of blowdown are on Carter Moriah below the North Carter steeps all the way to the Moriah Brook trail, and then on the Moriah Brook trail until it pulls far away from the Moriah ledges. There is a lot of stepping around, some stepping over and some crawling. The ones on Moriah Brook are perhaps the most serious because the trail on descent can be difficult to follow and "natural momentum" tends to take one downhill instead of swinging left and running below the ledges. Pepper and I had been on the trail recent enough previously to stay on it while avoiding the blowdowns, but I could see where someone unfamiliar would find it difficult. Signs are in place. The bridge has a sign limiting human use to 2 people at a time. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Plenty of water for Pepper's sip n dips, but the crisp temps and breeze kept him pretty comfy, so he rarely dipped. The Wild River trails had nice pawpaths. We saw four other dogs today, two of which had come up Moriah Brook. Sadie in particular was a delight. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This was Plan B and it was a great day for this hike, with cool temps and a nice breeze. Black Angel had a coating of some new snow on it starting around 3800' and very spotty small patches of old snow from winter. It has a faint footbed in places down low, and a couple of brushy spots and blowdowns, but overall it was in pretty good shape for a wilderness trail. Newbies might be uncomfortable with it however. I love this trail. There was a surprising amount of snow on Carter Dome above Black Angel. It was fairly solid, although we did see a few soprano making postholes. There was only spotty remnants from Carter Dome and thereafter. The North Carter steeps weren't all that bad; the ice and snow was spotty, but I took it slowly going down. It is always easier to go up that section. Below the steeps the blowdown festival began. The trail crew will have some work to do. The Imp Shelter spur was fine; there were quite a few people using it and/or tent sites. Upper Moriah Brook is a mess; hopefully the trail crew will drop down off Carter Moriah to clear this up. There are scattered blowdowns and mud below the upper section, but that's par for the course. But the upper section needs work; newbies could get lost. Middle Moriah Brook is a delight, as is the brook. The beaver section right now is still manageable, but I did watch two beaver's quietly swim around their domain watching us, and if the water rises much higher a couple sections of trail will be hard to skirt around. This was a great day for this hike. I should have started this longish hike earlier but hiking out with the low sun hitting only the ridges and tree crowns, on a nice path, with a wonderful brook below, was so nice. Thanks Pepper for a long and splendid day. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail dot com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-05-23 |
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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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