Wildcats, Carters, & Moriah Traverse - 5/3/15

It was a beautiful spring day for a Wildcats, Carters, Moriah Traverse. Covering six 4,000-footers, up and down we went for 18 miles, enjoying some sunshine and good views. Warm temperatures and relatively good trail conditions all combined to make it a great hike. There is still lots of snow above 3000! Although it was a little sloppy, and we walked with soaking wet boots for over 8 miles, it was a fun day.  Thanks to Jason & Brent for a great hike!

Lost Pond 

Wildcat Ridge Trail 

Wildcat Ridge Trail 

Mt. Washington from Wildcat D 

Carter Dome and Range from Wildcat A 

Carter Lake beneath Wildcat A 

Nice views from Carter Dome 

A really nice afternoon on the Carter Range, looking at the Presidentials 

Still work to do in the trees before Moriah 

Nice views still before heading down into Gorham

Highlights:
Carter Dome - 10th Round
Wildcats, Middle & South Carter, Moriah - 9th Round
Wildcat A - 100th White Mountain 4,000-footer in 2015
6th Complete Wildcats, Carters, Moriah Traverse.
Beautiful, warm, spring weather and great views and company

Trail Conditions:
We bare-booted on a surprisingly packed monorail from Lost Pond Trail, up and across Wildcat Ridge Trail, down and up through Carter Notch to approximately North Carter, where we switched to snowshoes.  We wore snowshoes to just below Mt. Surprise on the descent, where it is mostly bare ground below that. Early in the day, we had a good, dry monorail from the cooler overnight temperatures, but slowly, the snow became softer and wetter, eventually soaking our boots completely through about halfway through the hike.  There are a ton of blow-downs and loose trees and branches across the Carters to Moriah.  Its been like that since winter, but everything is melting and broken trees are becoming exposed.  We moved a few off the trail when we could.  Although it was less traveled in the area between Imp and Moriah, throughout the hike, the trail was mostly easy to follow.

Hike Stats

Trails: Lost Pond Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail.

Distance: 17.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 7,053 ft.

Actual Book Time: 11:56
Garmin Adventure
Photo Album Link