| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Moriah, Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome , Wildcat A, Wildcat B, Wildcat C, Wildcat D, Wildcat E, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rattle River Trail, Kenduskeag Trail, Carter Moriah Trail, Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail, Lost Pond Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Car spot, left one at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, left other off Route 2, Rattle River TH |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Crossed the Rattle River several times, water levels are low, all easy |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
pretty minor, mosquitos on Mt Hight in pm, black flies along the Wildcat Ridge. no bug spray needed. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
6/16/21 Began hike at 5pm and hiked in 1.7 miles to the Rattle River Shelter. Nice tent sites up the hill, to the right of the privy. elevation gain 531 ft. (40 mins)
6/17/21 Followed the Rattle River for a couple miles, crossing a few times. Decided to collect some water at the last crossing. Glad we did, as we Would not see water during the next 8 miles and ran out of our original 2L that we were each carrying. (I believe there is a water source at the Imp Shelter.)
The climb up to North Carter is very steep with some wet ledges. Careful footing required. GPS signal was not reliable to load the Alltrails map, plan to carry a map. There are no signs marking North, Middle and South Carter. There is a short side spur at South. Note: there is a sleath site at the junction of Carter Moriah and North Carter Trail and one after Middle Carter, heading south.
We descended to Zeta Pass (no camping area) and since we had not found a sleath spot we made the climb up to Mt Hight at 7:30pm. A good size sleath site was just south of the summit on the right. We set up camp and returned to the summit for a stunning sunset with the sun sinking behind Mt Madison. Elevation gain for the day was 5,426ft. 11.4 miles (11 hours on the trail with breaks)
6/18/21 The trek up to Carter Dome was fairly easy. The drop into the notch is an elevation loss of 1,000 in a mile. Quite steep. Refilled our water bladders with 2L, should have filled to 3L, as we ran out of water about 2 miles from the parking lot. The climb up to Wildcat A, was steep but not too bad compared what we had done the day before. The trek across B, C and D was not difficult. Descending on the Wildcat Ridge Trail was a tough 2 miles with 2,000 ft of elevation loss. It was insanely steep in some sections, slows your pace right down. Not something you want to do when the rocks are wet. Elevation gain for the day was 2,034 ft, 8.5 miles. (8 hrs on the trail with breaks) Total for the traverse 21.9 miles |
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 | Name: |
Diane Stuart |
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 | E-Mail: |
stucroftfarm@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2021-06-20 |
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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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