Moriah / Carters / Wildcat Traverse

Date	Memorial Day Weekend ~ Click below to view trip report	Miles	Elevation Gain
5/28	North Kinsman, South Kinsman, Cannon Mountain	13.0	4,400
5/29	Moriah / Carters / Wildcats Traverse	20.0	8,150
5/30	Semi-Pemi Loop (Garfield, Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, Flume)	26.2	6,600

Date of Hike: 5/29/11

Carter-Moriah Trail: 13.8 miles

Wildcat Ridge Trail: 3.0 miles

Ski Trails (Upper Polecat, Middle Wildcat, Lower Wildcat, Wild Kitten): 3.2 miles

Total Miles: 20.0 (8,150 elevation gain)

Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:

- With the weather improving it was time to start hiking big traverses, up first the Wildcat/Carter/Moriah Traverse.  The first 8.5 miles I'd be hiking solo from Moriah to North Carter where I'd meet up with Alton and Patrick and hike over the Carters and Wildcats.

- On Trail at 5:30am, Moriah, 7:30am, North Carter 9:45am, Height 11:30am, Carter Dome, 12:00pm, Wildcat A 1:15pm, finished 3pm. Temps in the 60's in and out of the clouds with hazy views and light wind.

- I'm not a huge fan of the Carter Moriah Trail past Mount Surprise, it always takes me longer to get to the summit than it seems it should.

- From Moriah to North Carter would be my first time on that section of the Carter-Moriah Trail.  From Mount Moriah to the Stony Brook Trail junction is simply beautiful walking in and out of the scrub over ledges with terrific views of the Carters and the Presidential Range. I wouldn't want to be out there in the winter though, looks like it'd be tough to follow the trail in the snow.  I also really enjoyed the steep ascent up to North Carter which has a few tough scrambles.

- I ran into a bunch of people backpacking the Carters and Moriah along the way.  Some were happy but others looked spent and miserable!

- At the North Carter Trail junction I proceeded to hike at a solid pace over the Carters and Wildcats.  I stopped at Mont Height where views were good to the north but socked in everywhere else.

- The hike up to Wildcat and over the ridge drained me.  This hike has lots of elevation gain and it's over unforgiving terrain but I sucked it up and kept on moving.

- I took the ski slopes back down, staying on the Polecat Ski Trail for awhile then cut back across the mountain under the ski lift, and wrapped back down going under the zip lines.

- While heading down the slopes the Views across to Washington opened up make for some spectacular scenery!

 Carter-Moriah Trail heading away from Moriah towards the Carters

 Imp and Moriah Mountains from just below North Carter

Hiking down the Wildcat Ski Trail with Mount Washington in view

Wildcat / Carter Traverse

Date of Hike: 9/5/10

Lost Pond Trail: .9 miles
Wildcat Ridge Trail: 5.0 miles
Carter-Moriah Trail: 5.9 miles
North Carter Trail: 1.2 miles
Imp Trail / Bushwhack: 3.0 miles
NH Route 16: 4.0 miles
Total Miles: 20 miles (6,500 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- This summer I had been hiking all over the Presidential Range and Pemigewasset Wilderness but had yet to venture out to the Wildcat-Carter range so I figured it was time to do a long day hike on the Appalachian Trail.
- On Trail at 8am, finished at 6pm.  Temps in the low 60's below treeline, and high 40's above 4,000 feet with 25 plus MPH wind gusts, with good views.
- The Wildcat Trail always seems to kick my ass pretty good, it is relentlessly steep from Pinkham Notch up to Wildcat "E" Peak. The good news is that there are some pretty fun rock ledges with outstanding views down into Pinkham Notch and even better views across of the Gulf of Slides, Tuckerman, and Huntington Ravine up to Mount Washington and the northern Presidential Range.
- The Wildcat Ski Area lift runs up to the col between "E" and "D" Peak and is a nice place to relax and take in the views before heading along the numerous up and downs across the rest of the Wildcat Ridge. Also the observation deck on Wildcat "D" Peak has been rebuilt so you can take in some great views from there as well.
- From Wildcat "D" across to "A" is a bit of a pain in the butt as you are mostly in the woods traveling up and over "hog-backs" along with rough footing through a narrow trail. Luckily by this time I was able to hike at a good pace and make good time to Wildcat "A" Peak where I enjoyed great views of Carter Notch and the Carter Range.
- The descent to Carter Notch is steep followed by a steep ascent back up to Cater Dome.  While hiking this section all I could hear was the wind above and the loud barks from a dog near the hut below, he barked all the time and was wicked loud, it never shut up, I love dogs but this dogs bark was so bad I skipped out on visiting the hut!
- From Carter Dome I made sure to go up to Mount Height which has some of the best views in the White Mountains.  Views to the east were incredible although views of the Presidential Range were clouded in.  It was very windy and cold on the summit and to stay warm I had to put my hat on while taking a break to relax and refuel.
- The hike over South and Middle Carter was uneventful as usual. South Carter is a wooded summit with no views and Middle Carter has decent views to the east and north.  Both summits have a hand made stick summit sign which are hard to spot but pretty neat.
- The rest of the hike was new to me, I had never been over to North Carter but found it alot of fun, the hiking was pretty fun dropping down to Mount Lethe with good views and a pretty cool section of bog bridges.
- The hike down the North Carter and Imp trails was a drag as I was in the woods and it started to lightly rain.  The highlight was after about two miles on the Imp Trail I bushwhacked over Cowboy Brook southwest to Route 16, it was an easy bushwhack through mostly open and mossy woods.  My original goal was to come out onto the Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail but I didn't go south enough and ended up coming .3 miles north of the trailhead which was good enough.
- Now came the fun part of playing let's not get hike by a car for four miles back to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.  I tried to hitch a ride for about 15 minutes before it became pointless.  Being labor day weekend the notch was swarming with tourists so I knew they wouldn't stop, so I just enjoyed the walk back to PNVC.
- Back at the car I got my sock full of quarters out and took a nice luke warm shower in the pack room.  The hike over the Wildcat and Carters was a fun hike as  I passed by a few dozen people and a couple of dogs along the way, most of which were having fun.  The hike up to Wildcat "E" Peak is a favorite of mine eventhough it kicked my ass again.  Hopefully someday I'll be able to go back and do the Wildcat-Cater-Moriah Shelburne Traverse and beat feet up to Wildcat "E" Peak!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Wildcat Ridge Trail

Looking South to Mount Chocorua

Carter Notch Lake and Wildcat "A" Peak

North and South Baldface

Mount Height, Carter Dome, Wildcat A - D

Date of Hike: 11/22/09

Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail: 1.9 miles
Carter Dome Trail: 1.9 miles
Carter-Moriah Trail: 2.6 miles
Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail: .4 miles
Wildcat Ridge Trail: 2.8 miles
Polecat Ski Trail: 2.6 miles
Route 16: 2.5 miles
Total Miles: 14.7 (elevation gain, around 5,000)

Trip Report:
- On trail at 7:45, finished at 3pm. Weather was in low 30's to low 40's, no wind, sunny, no clouds, fantastic 75+ miles views
- All trails in good shape, very little ice on ridges, no blow-downs anywhere
- Carter-Moriah trail to Mount Height becomes very steep
- Views on Mount Height are phenomenal!  You have a clear view of the northern Presidential range including up close views of Tuckerman and Huntington Ravine as well as the Great Gulf, and Madison Gulf, as well as terrific views to the north and east into Maine
- Big group of teenagers at Carter Notch Hut, they had good equipment and must have been part of a hiking club
- The buildings at Carter Notch seem to be newer, lots of improvements seem to have been made over the past few years
- Climb up to Wildcat A was excruciating, elevation gain over 1,000 feet in just .7 miles, the first .4 is up-up-up then comes very annoying switchbacks the last .3 miles
- Met a "hippie type" person on summit of A Peak, he was there with his dog, he and the dog smelled like weed!
- Caught second wind on the ridge over B, C, and A peak
- Killer views from the ski station of Washington, Adams, and Madison
- There was a trail runner there with a can of bear mace, kind of overkill
- Spent a good half-hour at summit stuffing my face with PB&J sandwiches and M&M's!
- Walk down Polecat ski trail was great, had the ravines of Washington in front of me the whole way!
- Walk back on route 16 was tiring, thought about hitching but I gutted it out, fat tourists driving by gave me the weirdest looks!
- Hiked at a quick pace, I did 5,000 feet elevation gain in 5 hours...I slept 11 hours when i got back to RI!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Carter Dome from Mount Height

Mount Washington from Mount Height

Carters from Carter Dome

Carter Notch Hut and Wildcat A Peak

View from Wildcat Ski Station

Madison Gulf, Mount Adams & Madison from Polecat Ski Trail

Wildcats and Carter Dome

Date of hike: 8/16/08

Lost Pond Trail: .9 miles
Wildcat Ridge Trail: 5.1 miles
Carter-Moriah Trail: 2.6 miles
Carter Dome Trail: 1.9 miles
Nineteen Mile Brook Trail: 1.9 miles
Total Miles: 12.4

Trip Report:
- Solo hike, weather was terrific (65 degrees) up until Carter Notch Hut
- Wildcat Ridge Trail was steeper than I expected!
- Magnificent views from the top Wildcat ski area into the ravines of Mount Washington and the Northern Presidentials
- Within minutes of summiting Carter Dome, temperature dropped 10-15 degrees, wind picked up, sky turned black, rain, hale, thunder and lightening all around me
- Ran down trail to Zeta Pass to safety and aborted my original plans on hiking the rest of the Carter-Moriah Trail to Mount Moriah

Pictures: Forgot my camera!

Carter Notch Pond

Carter Dome (4,832 feet)

Cater Dome and Carter Notch from Wildcat "A" Peak

Carter Dome is the southern most mountain in the Carter Range sitting high above Carter Notch and across from Wildcat 'A' Peak. The summit has obscure views at best, there used to be an old fire tower that was taken down several years ago taking away the magnificent views.  To reach the summit from the west via  Pinkham Notch (Route 16) is by the Nineteenth-Mile Brook Trail and then a steep climb up the Carter-Moriah Trail or hiking the Nineteenth-Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail. From the East (Wild River Wilderness) the Black Angel Trail and the Rainbow Trail are remote, beautiful, and provide easy grades although longer mileage wise.

Trails I've Hiked

-Nineteeth-Mile Brook Trail and Carter-Moriah Trail: 5.0 miles 3,500 feet elevation gain.  The Nineteenth-Mile Brook Trail has easy to moderate grades and good footing most of the way and is a very popular trail as it ends at the Carter Notch Hut.  The Carter-Moriah Trail asecends north 1.2 miles and 1,550 feet from the Nineteenth-Mile Brook Trail, the trail is very steep at first then ascends moderately and has rough and rugged footing but there are great views down into Carter Notch and across to Wildcat 'A' Peak from outlooks.

-Carter Dome Trail: 5.0 miles, 3,400 feet elevation gain (via Nineteenth-Mile Brook Trail). The Carter Dome trail has easy to moderate grades with good footing, there are a series of several short switchbacks!

Trip Reports:

August 13th, 2016: MMD 50K 2016

April 17th, 2016: Up NH 16, Camp Dodge Cutoff, Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, across Carter-Moriah Trail and Wildcat Ridge Trail, down Polecat Ski Trail

January 31st, 2016: Up Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, across Carter-Moriah Trail, down North Carter Trail, Imp Trail, and Camp Dodge Cutoff

March 28th, 2015: Up Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail, across Carter-Moriah Trail, down North Carter, Imp, and Camp Dodge Cutoff

January 17th, 2015: Up Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail, across and down Carter-Moriah Trail, up and across Wildcat Ridge Trail, down polecat ski trail, road walk on Route 16

December 22nd, 2014: Up Polecat Ski Trail, across and down Wildcat Ridge Trail, up and across Carter-Moriah Trail, down Imp Trail, Camp Dodge Cutoff, and Route 16

October 12th, 2014: Up Mount Meader Trail, down Basin Rim Trail, up Black Angel and Carter-Moriah Trail, Down Rainbow and Wild River Trail, up Eagle Link Trail, across Meader Ridge Trail and down Moutn Meader Trail

June 22nd, 2013: Wildcat/Carter Traverse

May 5th, 2012: Wildcat/Carter Traverse

July 30th, 2011: MMD - More and More Difficult: "Pinkham Notch Loop" Dolly Copp Road, Route 16, Up North Branch of Imp Trail, across Carter-Moriah and Wildcat Ridge, down Polecat Ski Trail, up-over-down Lila's Ledge to Old Jackson Road, Up Tuckerman Ravine and Lion Head to Washington, across Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison via Gulfside, Clay Loop, Jefferson Loop, Isreal Ridge/Lowe's Path, and Osgood Trail, down Daniel Webster-Scout Trail, road walk back to Barnes Field

May 29th, 2011: Moriah/Carter/Wildcat Traverse

September 5th, 2010: Wildcat/Carter Traverse

February 13th, 2010: Up Nineteen-Mile Brook, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail (South & Middle Carter), on to Carter Dome, down to Carter Notch, up and across Wildcat Ridge Trail, down Polecat Ski Trail

November 22nd, 2009: Up Nineteen-Mile Brook, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, up and across Wildcat Ridge Trail, down Polecat Ski Trail

August 16th, 2008: Lost Pond Trail, up-across-down Wildcat Ridge Trail, Up Carter-Moriah Trail, down Carter Dome and Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail