The Moriah-Carter Range

Memorial Day Weekend - May 26 & 27, 2012

I was in Maine on a camping overnight, and the closest New Hampshire Forty-eights happened to be in the Moriah-Carter range, which forms the northern east side of Pinkham Notch, opposite the northern Presidential Range.

I headed up to Gorham, where I was supposed to meet a couple of friends, but we weren't able to connect. The weekend was forecast to be unseasonably warm. I went to a café and asked the girl behind the counter if she could tell me where the trailhead to the Moriah Trail started; she told me a drive a short way up the road to Bangor Road, where, at the end of a short residential drive, I found the trailhead. I was a bit unsure if overnight parking would be an issue, since it was basically in a neighborhood, but I parked along a wood fence, out of the way, and hoped for the best. I figured if the residents had a problem with hikers parking near their houses, signs would be posted, but I saw none.

I headed up the Carter-Moriah trail, carrying my new Gregory 38L pack, a significantly smaller load than my Osprey 65 I've had as my primary backpack the last couple of years. I'm carrying a tarp now, instead of my tent, which is 9 oz. compared to upwards of 3 lbs. It's nice to have a reduced weight, especially on terrain as rugged as this. Starting at about 9:30 AM, the hike up to Moriah was a pretty relentless uphill (something, isn't it, these mountains and their relentless uphills) for about 4 miles. It was muggy and hot in the woods. My recent back-of-the-envelope calculations is that I average between 1.5 MPH (over difficult terrain) to 2.5 MPH (over flatter, easier grades). The summit of Moriah was pleasant, with a nice view South of the rest of the range and across Pinkham notch. It was sunny, and I rested awhile on a large, hot slab of granite and chatted with two or three other hikers. From the summit I headed South on Appalachian Trail, following the white blazes that guide hikers over the entire 2100+ miles of the famous long-distance trail.

Something important to remember when hiking in these mountains: Consult your White Mountain AMC guide. If you don't have an AMC White Mountain guide, get one, and get the newest version you can. The guide warned the Carter-Moriah trail had very little water, so I brought an extra liter (my 2-liter Platypus bladder + a Gatorade bottle). Sure enough, due to that and the heat and humidity, I was tapping the last drop out of my third liter as I approached Imp Mountain shelter, where the next water source was. I was glad I'd checked out the trail description.

Imp Mountain shelter

 There were very few people at the campsite/shelter when I arrived at about 3 PM. I took a spot in the shelter and relaxed, filling up on water from a nearby brook and cooking an early dinner. A bunch of Boy Scouts piled in around dusk, which was a bummer, and pretty much filled out the rest of the space. I slept uneasily and rose as early as possible. After a badly prepared cup of coffee I was off, hitting the trail south at about 6.

The hike up to Middle Carter was magnificent. Steep, granite swaths with sweeping views north; Gorham got smaller and smaller in the distance. Once up on the ridge it was pretty easy going, until the steep decent into Carter Notch. Again, the views of the notch and across, to the imposing Wildcat Mountain, were phenomenal, but it was definitely work to get down.

I stopped at the Carter Notch AMC hut to refill water and have a bite to eat, and met a young couple from Somerville. They kindly made me a quesadilla (you can use the kitchen at the hut) and we chatted about pack weights and such. It was about noon, and after a short breather I loaded up and headed out to face Wildcat Mountain.

I'd heard hikers speak of Wildcat in hushed, dreaded tones. A thruhiker I met in Western Mass on the AT, when I mentioned climbing Mt. Washington, scoffed, saying "Mt. Washington is easy, just a bunch of parents and their kids...but Wildcat..." He was right, it was tough. 1200 feet of vertical elevation in .7 miles tough. And, climbing it at noon on the hottest day of the year so far just added to the intensity. But, after many miles in these mountains has taught me that the steeper the grade, the sooner the pain will be over. Silver lining, and all that.

Magnificent views presented themselves soon, and then a pretty mild ridgewalk across the secondary Wildcat peaks, to Wildcat D, the last and sixth 4000-footer of this particular journey. I stopped at the tower, a simple wooden structure that enables visitors to get up above the trees enough to view Mt. Washington from across Pinkham Notch. You can take the tram up from Rt. 16 to this tower, since it's a ski mountain, and there were lots of non-hikers, in their cotton T-shirts and sneakers, glancing at Washington for a few moments, somewhat interested, before going back down. A lot were complaining about the 100-yard walk from the tram to the tower. As I sat against the guardrail, covered in sweat and grime, and having been that tourist who takes the easy way to the summit of a great mountain, I thought about how much different things look when you actually climb it; how much more it means to look out upon the miles and miles of such amazing landscape knowing you've conquered it with your own blood, sweat, and tears.

view of Rt. 16 on the decent from Wildcat

The decent from Wildcat was harrowing. Exposed rock, ladders, but sweeping views of the notch kept things interesting. I actually got off-trail briefly, after a wrong turn and scrambling down a steep incline, and though I could hear the motorcycles roaring down 16, I was alone in the White Mountains, and I felt a flutter of panic. I tried to remember all the things to do; don't freak out, sit down, get out your map, take a drink of water. Within minutes I found a side trail that led to the road, but it was enough to remind me to stay on my game. Especially nearing the end; I'd been hiking for 10 hours and I was tired, and that's when mistakes are made. Please, especially if you're hiking alone up here, keep your wits about you. Take the time to think very carefully about every move; it could, even in the best of conditions, be the difference between life and death.

After soaking my feet in a river and cleaning up a bit, I walked to a parking area where I found a nice young couple from New York who gave me a ride back up Rt. 16 to my car. Amazing how little time it takes to drive the distance it took 15 hours to hike!

What I brought: My Gregory Savant 38L pack; no tent. Ditched the pump filter and used purification tablets, the taste isn't bad and they're a lot lighter and smaller than the pump.

What I didn't need: tarp (though, so light and small, I'll keep it in the pack all the time) - along with bug net.

What didn't work: flip-flips for camp shoes. Flatter and easier to pack, but if wet your feet slide around, becoming unstable. I'll stick with my croc knock-offs next time

Food: brought a bit too much, but Siracha sauce was a good added perc.

Glad I had: Extra Liter Gatorade bottle. Merrill Vent shoes worked well. (replaced after tearing the old pair apart last hike, REI replaced them, no questions asked)

What I should have brought: a light paperback - had a lot of time to kill at camp on the first day.