| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter Trail, Imp Trail, Camp Dodge Cutoff |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot is plowed |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
19 Mile Brook Trail and Imp Trail both follow along brooks and streams and have some crossings that are easy to hop, especially with all the snow. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
|
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
After benefiting from others breaking trail all year, it was our turn to carry the load. We wore snowshoes and broke trail through about a foot of fresh powder on top of hard packed snow and blue ice all the way up to Carter Dome from the storm on Monday night. The trail was easy to follow, but near the summit the Carter Dome Trail was very narrow and slanted and hard to get good footing with snow shoes on. Would recommend going up via Mt. Hight instead even though it adds a little mileage. Descent to Carter-Moriah Trail was relatively easy, but at that point it was getting warmer and the snow was getting hit by the sun, so it went from bad to worse as the powder turned into wet, sticky snowball snow. We had to shake off snow shoes every couple of steps or deal with an extra 20 pounds of snow on each foot. The trail markers were also few and far between, so we lost the trail at some point and bushwhacked through some very thick woods trying to get back on (see Strava link - please be wary of following our tracks here). Conditions stayed like that pretty much all the way to the intersection with North Carter Trail, so keep an eye out for that because the snow is so high that it can be easy to miss the sign for the turn off. After summiting Middle Carter we were so fed up with the snow shoes that we took them off and ran down with just regular trail shoes on - we had micro spikes with us but they would have had the same problems with taking on snowballs, so we opted without, which was a little risky because of the ice below the snow but overall probably the fastest and most painless way down. As we descended into the shade, trail returned to powdery and less deep but very slippery hard ice beneath, and by the bottom of the Imp Trail there was just a small amount of crusty snow and several brook crossings with exposed rock. We emerged at Camp Dodge Rd to cut off the end of the Imp trail (keep an eye out for a left turn to take a short trail to Camp Dodge Rd. after crossing a relatively wide brook), which has no snow. Walked back to the parking lot along the main road. Tiring day! |
|
 | Name: |
Katie & Jim |
|
 | E-Mail: |
katie@theendurancedrive.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2020-03-26 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://strava.com/activities/3217861462 |
|
|
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. |
|
