| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Wildcat E, Wildcat D, Wildcat C, Wildcat B, Wildcat A, Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter, Mt. Moriah, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Wildcat Ridge Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Stony Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 30, 2016 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
N/A |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Glenn Ellis crossing was totally doable. All other crossings are very minor and not to be worried about. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Not much in the way of blowdowns. The area is in really good shape considering the time of year. There was one or two duck-unders along the Carter ridge, but it's all easy stuff. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
It's a bit sketchy up there for dogs right now. I wouldn't bring mine, even if he was old enough. |
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 | Bugs: |
They're coming.. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Water bottle hanging from a tree on the way up C-M to Carter Dome from the notch; an old, orange tee-shirt about a mile down C-M from North Carter. |
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 | Comments: |
We bare-booted all the way up Wildcat Ridge to the summit of D Peak with ease. From there, we used our micros to navigate the ridiculous ice from D Peak to A; all of the cols have significant, hard ice that made our spikes next to useless. The trip down to the notch from A was an adventure, to say the least. The ice was still very hard in the morning, and that coupled with a few inches of snow on top made for a heinous descent. We could have (and should have) used crampons, but we just hugged trees all the way down. Carter Dome from the hut is in good shape, with some sticky ice up top. Stable monorail from the Dome to Hight. From Hight to Zeta Pass was another ridiculous descent. Again, crampons would have been totally justified. The ridge over the Carters was easy--we did it mostly in our trail runners with no spikes at all. Coming down North Carter toward Imp Shelter was nuts, as we expected, but the ice seems to be melting quickly. Still, bring traction. After the initial drop from N. Carter, we jogged without spikes all the way to Stony Brook, where we encountered dry, summer-like trail conditions. There was a little bit of snow up high on Moriah, but not for long I would assume. Stony Brook from the jct. with C-M is all dry and awesome. |
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 | Name: |
Nate Weeks |
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 | E-Mail: |
npweeks@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2016-04-30 |
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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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