| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Carter Dome, Mt. Hight, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Two crossings on Carter Dome Tr (between 19MB and C-M junctions) were NOT ice bridged. Water level was low so we were able to step through it, putting a snowshoe in shallow water. With the rain over the coming days this could change dramatically and make these crossings more precarious. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A few larger blowdowns on Carter Dome Tr that we crawled under |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
summary: snowshoes 100%
trails: Carter-Dome Tr from 19MB to the ridge is reasonably broken out now with our four tracks (two people out/back), C-M/CDT between Zeta Pass and Carter Dome is rough broke, and C-M on the north side of the Mt Hight loop is rough broke.
What started out as a last-day-of-autumn plan (Wed 12/21) to do a CCW loop of the (3) Carters turned into an epic trailbreaking effort, and a reduction of the day's objectives. Two of us started at 19MB Trailhead, essentially put snowshoes on immediately. 19MB Tr was nicely tracked out already but still very soft and uncompacted. As for Carter-Dome Tr, we had heard there was some previously broken trail, which was true, but only a fairly short section of it. We proceeded to break trail uphill on CDT through minimum 20" of fresh, uncompacted snow with no base. Snow increased to 30" in places, and in sections with any drainage or rocky trailbed that created voids, up to 40" or more. We were quite literally wading through sections and pushing snow aside with body & hands. It was exhausting and slow going but we attained the ridge (Carter-Moriah Tr / Zeta Pass.) There, the C-M was entirely unbroken, so it became forgone that South and Middle Carter were off the table for the day. As we each had different time constraints, we hiked together to the C-M / Carter Dome Tr split (i.e. northern junction of the Mt Hight loop) and agreed to part ways, knowing we would later be more easily backtracking on our recently broke trail segments. He broke out/back (north side) to Mt Hight, and I broke out/back to Carter Dome. Along the ridge, there were some short sections where snow had self-compacted due to the sun, and it was slightly easier going (less deep plunging), but in general the depth along the ridge is about 3', as measured by trekking pole probe as well as blaze height on the trees. I summited Carter Dome approx six hours from our start; descent took a mere 2.5 hours. |
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 | Name: |
Eric H, Ken C |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-12-21 |
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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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