Carter Notch, 2-3 July 2001
On 2 July 2001, I stayed at the
Appalachian Mountain Club's Carter Notch Hut, with Dave Anderson
and his brother Chris. There is great hiking here, and some of the
most dramatic views in the White Mountains, but also some of the
steepest and roughest trails.
Most of these pictures are low resolution, about 60k. The high
resolution pictures are about 360k, and will take substantially longer
to download if you're using a slow connection -- they are marked
[HI-RES].
Some pictures need some exposure and color correction. I'll get to
this as soon as I can manage.
Monday, 2 July
08:45 Leave Concord MA
We took route 93 north to 104, and drove through Meredith and Conway.
This is all very pretty landscape, and we made good time until we
approached Conway, where there were massive traffic jams -- we spent a
good hour sitting in traffic in Conway and North Conway.
The only entertainment was two kids on crotch rocket motorcycles, just
ahead of us, who were obviously frustrated by the traffic and itching
to get moving. They slalomed and weaved whenever we moved, stood on
the pegs, balanced on one knee on the saddle, did brakestands (holding
the front wheel locked while spinning the rear wheel, burning rubber),
and generally screwed around. Bored, we started a pool on how many
times they would stall out in the traffic jam -- Dave won, at five
stalls that we could see. Chris did not get to see "the whole
enchilada" (dropping a bike), though.
13:00 Grabbed some sandwiches in North Conway. Locals at the shop
complained about the traffic. Apparently it's always heavy here, but
this was really awful, being Fourth of July holidays and all.
13:30 Start hiking on the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, from the Route 16
parking lot. The White
Mountain National Forest charges you to park here, but it's only
$3.00 and they have little self-service envelopes in a box at the
trailhead, so you don't have to make an extra trip for a parking pass.
The Nineteen Mile Brook Trail is the easiest route to Carter Notch Hut
... it's really very nice, well groomed and a moderate steady grade
the whole way. Along the way, we saw quite a few flowers, including
one lady's slipper (which was old and dried).
A pretty little orange flower, very vivid color.
There are lots of these tiny white star flowers in the undergrowth.
Mood shot of ferns, moss, clover, and undercover.
This yellow flower, like a micro daffodil, is one of my favorites.
16:00 Arrive at Carter Notch Hut. Besides the hut itself, there are
two bunkhouses and a latrine, in a beautiful setting close to two
little ponds. Susan, the caretaker, is very friendly and helpful.
Although we were careful to make reservations in advance, she says
they have lots of room here (about seven people staying the night,
they have beds for fifty).
Chris and Dave at the first Carter Pond.
Dave and Chris relax in front of our bunkhouse.
The weather today was cool and dry, and would be very pleasant if it
weren't so windy. It's not bad here in the lee of the bunkhouse, but
the hut has a windmill for electric power, and we can hear it roaring
in the gusts.
Same place, this time showing the majestic crag of Carter Dome
towering over the notch. In the upper left corner of this shot, you
can see a distinctive mushroom shaped rock at the top of the crag.
Remember this, because tomorrow we'll be looking
down from there.
16:40 We head out to climb Wildcat (which is the other side of the
notch from Carter Dome). This is a short but aggressive hike,
climbing over 1000 feet in about half a mile (thus averaging about
2.5:1, and there are lots of flat sections)! From the overlook at the
Wildcat summit you can look almost straight down at the hut.
Chris looking down from Wildcat to Carter Notch Hut.
Chris and Dave at the Wildcat overlook, with Carter Dome in background.
A telephoto shot from the Wildcat overlook, zoomed in on the Hut (gray roof)
and outbuildings (green roofs) and one pond.
Dave and Chris in profile. It's quite windy up here, but we're all
still hot from the climb up, so the coats are set aside.
Dave and I looking at Carter Dome, with the hut in the shadows beneath
us. I'm wearing my patriotic bandanna, for Fourth of July.
I pose in front of Carter Dome. I'm using my PVC didjeridu as
a hiking stick, as I've gotten into the habit of doing, to save my
knees, distribute wear and tear on different body parts, and for
balance and support. And it's fun to play too.
18:15 We wandered around the Wildcat summit a bit, hoping for a view
of Mount Washington, but it became clear that we'd have to go a long
way down the ridge, losing a lot of altitude, so we bagged that idea
and headed back down to the hut.
19:00 Back at Carter Notch Hut.
I pose at the first pond, in front of Wildcat. This is the crag we
were just looking down from, in the previous pictures. Notice I'm
wearing my coat now, because the wind gets very chilly if you're not
exercising hard.
Chris and Dave relaxing (again) at our bunkhouse. The crag of Carter
Dome is bright in the late afternoon sun, sorry for the overexposure.
19:30 Dinner at the Hut. Dave and Chris brought lots of leftovers
from the party yesterday, lots of rice & beans and pasta salad with
veggies. They also had jerk pork which I didn't eat. There were
maybe half a dozen guys in the hut, almost all through hikers on the
Appalachian Trail.
Some of these guys are really dedicated, there was one older Swiss guy
heading north, and a younger guy heading south (he started at Katahdin
in May).
Two shots of the nearly-full moon, rising like a silver coin
right in front of our bunkhouse (the first shot is from under the
porch roof).
Two shots of the crags of Carter Dome, in deepening twilight.
One last shot of the rising moon just after sunset, with salmon-pink
clouds and red haze on the horizon.
21:00 Lights out. We did just about 3000 feet of ascent and 1000 feet
of descent today, much of it with full packs, and we're all tired. I
didn't sleep particularly well, though, maybe because my new sleeping
bag is much more confining than I'm used to...
Tuesday, 3 July
07:00 Breakfast at the Hut. Although the caretakers don't get up
super early, they keep a huge urn of water simmering on the stove, so
we can all make tea, coffee, and oatmeal. We had hard boiled eggs,
and a moon cake from Chinatown.
Weather conditions on Mt Washington, via the ham radio: temperature 38
Fahrenheit (low of 24 yesterday, an all-time record low for July!),
wind W 14 mph, gusting to 36, 65% humidity, pressure 23.99 in Hg and
rising, 65 miles visibility! Forecast conditions: mostly cloudy,
mostly dry ground, some ice, high 40-45 F at summit, 5-15 mph W winds.
Hanging out at the bunkhouse after breakfast. Chris is intently
studying the beer menu for the Sunset Grill & Tap, which I brought
along as a sort of incentive. The crag of Wildcat is in the background.
08:30 Leave the Hut. Our packs aren't quite as heavy as yesterday,
but we're still carrying quite a bit more weight than when we climbed
Wildcat, and the ascent of Carter Dome is just as steep, longer, and
has fewer flat spots, so we're girded for some hard work.
Chris and Dave at the first Carter Lake, just before we start up the
Carter-Moriah Trail to Carter Dome. In contrast to yesterday, there's
almost no wind, so it's much more comfortable.
The first leg of the climb is really very steep, I estimate about 800
feet of ascent in the first 0.3 mile (2:1 grade), and most of it is
"stairway" like this one. Hats off to the AMC volunteers who have set
the boulders into this kind of stairway -- tough as it is, it would be
much harder if the trail were rough and eroded.
Two more shots of Dave climbing a stairway, these shots are angled
about 45 degrees upward. I was taking my time all along here, using
my stick extensively to spare my knees, which is time consuming, but I
don't mind being the slowpoke if I can walk home tomorrow without pain.
At about 0.3 mile, there's a fantastic overlook of Carter Notch. This
shot shows the Hut and one pond, and the toe of my boot.
Same viewpoint, showing Wildcat crag looming over the Hut.
Here I am enjoying the view.
Mushroom Rock
Slightly higher up the trail, there's a side trail to the top of
the crag, with even better views of Carter Notch.
Remember the Mushroom Rock that we saw
yesterday? Now I'm right next to it. It's about 30 yards away here,
maybe four stories tall.
Fantastic view from the crag, showing the Hut and both ponds, with
Wildcat crag looming over it.
[HI-RES] This is a high-resolution shot of the same view.
From here on, the trail becomes much more moderate in slope, and a lot
more fun to hike. At 0.7 mile, there's a side trail to a spring.
Here's Dave coming back with water.
10:15 - 10:30 Summit of Carter Dome. Not much views to be had here,
because it's wooded, but we do get to see Mt Washington now. This is
the highest elevation of our hike, 4832 feet (1550 feet above the
Hut), so we celebrated with Clif bars.
Dave and I at the summit sign.
Dave and Chris at the summit sign.
With a little fiddling around, we managed to get my camera to take a
timer shot of all three of us at the Carter Dome summit.
11:15 We arrive at Mount Hight, which is not as high as Carter Dome,
but has fantastic views -- the best views in the Carter range, we're
told, with Mount Washington to the west, the Baldfaces to the east,
and Carter Dome just to the south. Wow! This is a real reward for
hauling ourselves and our packs all this way!
[HI-RES] Dave poses in front of Mount Washington.
Notice that Tuckerman Ravine is still full of snow!
[HI-RES]
Me, in front of the Baldface range. Click
here for my Baldface hike page and pictures.
[HI-RES] Dave and Chris in front of Mount Washington.
[HI-RES] Timer shot, all three of us in front of Mount Washington.
11:45 Leave Mount Hight, heading down into Zeta Pass. This is yet
another Very Steep Trail (tm), with stairway sections mixed with just
plain rough steep sections. My stick is a lifesaver on this kind of
terrain.
12:15 At Zeta Pass. From here we head down Carter Dome Trail, which
has somewhat steep sections, but nothing like the stairways we've seen
before.
13:15 Crossing a brook, where there's a nice little cascade. We met
Susan, the Hut caretaker, here, she's been racing along with hiking
poles. We filtered some water from the cascade for a drink ... Susan
says it's probably safe to drink as is, but we have the filter, might
as well not take the chance.
13:45 Meet the Nineteen Mile Brook trail again, and head on down to
the car. We're all getting a little bit sore and tired at this point,
but the Nineteen Mile Brook trail is much much easier than the trails
we've been dealing with.
There are quite a few other people on the trail. We passed several
groups of kids, maybe Boy Scouts or school groups, on their way up.
There's a cute little dam about halfway down this trail, with what
looks like a water intake at the far end, presumably somebody's water
supply.
Here I am trying to decide whether or not to swim in the dam
reservoir. Tempting, but it was a coolish day, and we're all
impatient to get back to the car where the beers are sitting on ice.
15:00 Back at the trailhead, time for a beer!
We drove home via rt 302 and Bear Notch Road to the Kankamagus
highway, which is a less direct route than yesterday, but avoids any
traffic around Conway. It's also very beautiful, lots of fine views
as we drove along. We didn't hurry, stopped for sandwiches.
20:00 Back at Dave's home in Concord MA. And a lasanga dinner!
We did 1550 feet of ascent and 3300 feet of descent today, in about
6.5 miles. Let's see how we feel tomorrow...
This page maintained by
Wil Howitt
Last updated 4 July 2001
