| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Middle Carter, South Carter, Mt. Hight, Carter Dome, Wildcat A, Wildcat B, Wildcat C, Wildcat D, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Camp Dodge Cutoff, Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail, ski trails |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, November 2, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Wildcat lodge, biked to Camp Dodge and left bike in woods. About the easiest 4 mile bike you'll ever do, but chilly at 9am. Missed the sign in the WC lot that hikers should use lot B (to the right when you pull into the lot)...the normal bridge to access the base lodge from the trails is not there. I ended up crossing the river on a pallet and some boards people had left to get back to my car...glad nobody was around so I didn't have to have the them: "WTF are you doing?" me: "I'm not sure." conversation. In retrospect you are supposed to keep going past the lodge and there is a way to cross the river further south. In my defense, the signage placement seems to be designed for people heading up Polecat and not people doing a loop. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None on this route. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
1 happy Shepherd doing a quick up/down Wildcat. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
My 6th time on the Carters and 3rd on the Cats. These was by far the most challenging conditions I've encountered on this route...much harder than straight Winter. Chilly bike ride from Wildcat to Camp Dodge, then started on bare trails (Imp) up to about 3000' where patches of ice started to form. Easily avoidable by rock hopping up to Moriah-Carter Trail on the Ridge. Started with bare boots, but there were some significant ice waterfalls on some of the ledges which required care to avoid. About 1" of snow on top covered some of the icy spots (if you see a flat patch of snow, don't step on it)...used trees and butt scoots down some of the ledges. Put on micro spikes but the icy patches where the spikes were helpful were pretty spaced out so ended up taking them off at S. Carter. They are going to need a good sharpening after today. If I had to do it again I wouldn't have used them at all. Definitely have to be prepared to go slowly and carefully.
Much less ice from S. Carter to Zeta Pass and up to Mt. Hight. Any ice on this stretch was easily avoidable, and not much snow. Mt. Hight was amazing as always on a clear day, had it completely to myself. No wind, and so clear I could see hikers on Madison. Uneventful and still not much ice up to Carter Dome and down to the Notch...the steep section climbing down did not have much ice and was no more challenging than usual.
The climb up from the notch to Wildcat Ridge had some significant ice that required care, although I passed a couple who were descending and they had an infant and were feeding it a bottle while they descended...some serious multi-tasking.
The Wildcat Ridge Trail has some significant ice flows on some of the ledges but with judicious use of bare rocks, trees, and butt slides was navigable...at no time did I think "maybe I should put the spikes back on." but the pace slowed considerably.
A great day...only saw 7 people all day, wraps up my Round 3 and as I approach a third of a grid I guess I can start saying 186/576. Pics in the link below. |
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 | Name: |
Borealis |
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 | E-Mail: |
kdwelch1@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-11-02 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/10150613164 |
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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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