| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Pine Mountain, Carter Dome, Mount Hight, South Carter, Middle Carter, North Carter, Mount Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Pine Mountain Tr, Chapel Rock Spur, Pine Mtn Horton Center Rd, Dolly Copp Rd, Campground Rd, Great Gulf Link, Great Gulf Tr, Route 16, 19 Mile Brook Tr, Carter Moriah Tr, Gorham Roads |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 16, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room in the Pine Mountain Trail parking lot on the corner of Railroad St and Church St. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I don't recall having issues on any water crossings on this route, but to be fair, I think that may be because some of the trails themselves are basically streams at this point. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A couple blowdowns here and there but nothing of note. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The Carter Notch Hut caretaker told me they got 3" of rain in the recent storm. Overall, conditions were extremely wet for most of this route. I'd expect they would be noticeably better by tomorrow, though.
Climbing up and over Pine Mountain wasn't too bad, mostly a mix of dry trail, wet trail, and relatively minor mud. The conditions on this part of the day were pretty much as good as I could have realistically expected. The Great Gulf Link and the very short stretch of the Great Gulf Trail were also in pretty good shape. 19 Mile Brook was decent with only a few really wet spots up to the Carter Dome Trail intersection, then between there and the hut I felt like I was climbing up a stream bed. I was able to rock hop pieces of it, but by that point, I mostly just accepted that my feet were going to be very wet all day. Above the hut heading to Carter Dome, the trail was more just damp with a lot less standing or running water. The only real stretch of significant/unavoidable snow I encountered was between the summit of Carter Dome and the intersection of the Carter Dome Trail and the Carter Moriah Trail. There was a fairly consistent monorail for this 0.4 mile stretch that was typically 2-3 feet tall and was often less than 8" wide. Shockingly, I did not posthole once and never felt the need to wear spikes. The Carter Moriah trail heading to Mount Hight and down to Zeta Pass was almost entirely snow free, and not terribly wet. The stretch of trail between Zeta Pass all the way to North Carter was 99% snow free, as well. Descending the north side of North Carter had a few small patches, but they were mostly avoidable. All the rocks were soaked, but I was able to descend safely when I watched my step. Between that ~0.3 mile rough stretch and the summit of Moriah, the conditions were a little better but still quite wet. The first 2.5 miles descending from the summit of Moriah down to Gorham were pretty frustrating with all the wetness and bad footing, but conditions improved dramatically after Mount Surprise.
I ended up doing about 27 miles and 8,500' of gain in total. If you want to avoid the worst of the runoff from the storm, I would recommend hitting Pine Mountain. Otherwise, the Carters and Moriah will need a few more days to dry out. |
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 | Name: |
Colin Smith |
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 | E-Mail: |
colinsmith0427@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-05-16 |
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 | Link: |
 https://https://www.strava.com/activities/18534176614 |
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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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