Middle & South Carter, Carter Dome, Wildcat A & D Peak (#18, #19, #20, #21, #22)

Date of Hike: 2/13/10

Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail: 1.9 miles
Carter Dome Trail: 1.9 miles
Carter-Moriah Trail: 6.8 miles
Wildcat Ridge Trail: 2.7 miles
Polecat/Tomcat Ski Trails: 2.5 miles
Total Miles: 15.8 (6,200 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Left RI at 3am, on trail at 7am, finished around 3:30
- Temps in the mid teens to high twenty's, wind gusts around 25mph out of the NW above 4,000 feet. Cloudy skies until noon then clear skies with 75 miles plus visibility!
- Made good time up Nineteen-Mile and Carter Dome trails. Carter Dome Trail has a series of seven switchbacks on it which are pretty annoying, two of which are really long and boring!
- At Zeta Pass I switched from microspikes over to snowshoes and booked it over to South Cater, however as soon as I started over to Middle Carter the trail was hard to follow with some snow drifts. Unfortunately the White AT blazes on the trees that you always see when you don't need to see them were few and far between but I stayed on the trail except for one part and was able to get to Middle Carter summit without much of a problem
- Once I got back to South Carter I finally started running into a bunch of people, a dozen over to Carter dome and another eight or so down to Carter Notch
- The hike up to Carter Dome was a struggle at times, the trail was very choppy and narrow and the winds picked up near the summit
- Switched back to microspikes for the hike down to Carter Notch and on the steep parts I glissaded down being careful not to lose control and go into a tree, rock, or over a very long drop!
- Stoped in at Carter Notch Hut to refuel, warm up, and energize myself for the steep climb (1,050 feet in .7 miles) up to Wildcat A Peak
- In the "It really is a small world" outside the hut I bumped into Bill who was the guy who picked me up when I was trying to hitch-hike last month! We then set off for Wildcat and bumped into Jeremy (Rocket 21) who I met on Franconia Ridge in December, and Eric and we all set off to tackle the Wildcat Ridge. Both Jeremy and Eric have done a single season Winter 48 in the past which is a pretty amazing accomplishment!
- The Hike over the Wildcat Peaks was great and the views of the northern presidentials were kick ass!
- Once we got to the Wildcat Ski Area we descended the Polecat trail and enjoyed the close up views of Tucks and Huntington Ravine as skiers and snowboarders zoomed by us
- Back at the Parking lot Jeremy had his truck and let Bill and I get a lift along with him and Eric back to the trailhead which saved us a boring dreadful road walk!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Carter-Moriah trail

Carter Dome from Wildcat A Peak

Mount Adams and Madison

Mount Washington from Wildcat Ridge trail

Wildcat Ski Area

Views while hiking down Polecat ski trail

Video: Walking down polecat with skiers going by