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September 24, 2005
Today I will climb the Wildcat Ridge Trail which is in the southern half of the Carter-Moriah Range. I have my hiking companion Snoopy along. The 5 Wildcat peaks are alphabetized. The highest one is just plain Wildcat with no letter but I will refer to it as 'A'. The others are Wildcat B, C, D, and E. Two of these (A and D) qualify for my 4,000 footer list but I have already done 'A'. It is also possible to get to Wildcat D by taking the gondola (sky ride) to the top.
Once I left the parking lot the trail takes Snoopy and me through a small tunnel under Route 16. The trail splits going to Glen Ellis Falls to the right. Maybe I'll hit that later. I continue on for a couple of minutes and hit the Appalachian Trail. A-huh! This is what I'm looking for. It is time to get some new A.T. miles in. To the left is a 1 mile section of trail past Lost Pond and up to Pinkham Notch. I will do this later if I have time and energy. A few moments later, the climb begins up to Wildcat E. Climbing up to Wildcat E will prove to be the most challenging part of the day. After 45 minutes of steep climbing I turn to enjoy the view. It was a beautiful day and the view was great. I looked down and could see the parking lot on the other side of Rte 16. I could barely make out my truck. Next I catch up with a married couple who come to find out are also hiking the '48 White Mtn 4,000 footers.'
"How many have you done?" I asked.
"38!" they replied together, "How about you?"
"Seven." I replied somewhat embarassed by the low number, but hey, at one point they were only at 7. We talked a few more minutes and then I carried on ahead of them, pushing upward to the top of Wildcat E.
From here the trail went down and then up again until I came out of the woods into a clearing. This was Wildcat D and where the top of the gondola was. There were people walking all around, some in hiking clothes, but most in everyday clothes giving away that they did not hike to the top.
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Two women noticed me come out of the woods and asked,"Oh, where does that go?" as if it was some small little trail that maybe went to another scenic view.
"I don't think you want to go that way." I said.
"Why not?"
"Because that will take you all the way back down to Route 16."
"Wow! Did you just come up that?"
"Sure did."
"You're right we don't want to go that way." They promptly turned around and went back the other way.
The views of Mountain Washington and the surrounding area are terrific and that is much of the reason why I give this hike a 5 star rating. It was very cool watching as the gondola dropped people off and picked them up. Many don't realize it but this is not quite the top of Wildcat D. After cutting across the clearing the A.T. starts climbing again. It is a steep rocky climb but after a very short hike of only a minute or two I came across a wooden platform with seating. Now I can add Wildcat D to my list of completed 4,000 footers. I've read stories of some who ride the gondola up and then hike the two minute climb to the top to 'bag' the summit. Some call this cheating. Although I personal would not do it this way, I guess however you decide to 'bag' the summits is up to you. If you want to be helicoptered in to the 48 peaks I say 'Go for it.' But me, I like the feeling of accomplishment from climbing it.
I continued on up to Wildcat C, then B and finally A. The trail through this section is up and down. The summits are not treeless and have no signs stating that you are on the summit. As a result, I found it difficult to tell when I got to the top of C and B. At the top of 'A' I found a small sign on a tree that read 'Vista'. I walked out a few steps and there was another great view. From here I was able to see down to the Carter Hut and Carter Lakes. This was a familiar site for me since I have been here before when I climbed Wildcat A coming up from Carter Notch.
Now it is time for my bonus miles back. I stopped at the platform on Wildcat D where I met another couple with 2 children. They are also hiking the 4,000 footers. They have hiked 42. This time I was able to say "8" having adding 1 more since this morning. They had a daughter I would guess about age 14 and a son about 11. They said they have been working on the 4,000 footers for several years. Their children must have been quite young when they started. They brought cooking equipment up the mountain and were making a hot lunch. Snoopy began begging for food. He was in luck. They dropped a few noodles, and they asked if he could have it. As soon as I said yes, Snoopy devoured it.
I made the long hike down back to the bottom of Wildcat E. It was early yet so I decided to hit the 1 mile section of trail from here to Pinkham Notch.
I came across beautfiul Lost Pond where Snoopy decided to stop for a rest...
...then he decided to get a little more comfortable...
...and then he really got comfortable.
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I hated to wake him but we had another one and a half miles to cover. I've been to Pinkham Notch many times. It is the largest hiking center in the Whites. There is a restaurant, store with hiking equipment, lodging, bathrooms, and showers.
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Having Snoopy with me, I couldn't go in today. So Snoopy and I walked about 1 mile down Route 16 to the truck.
Snoopy had had enough for the day, so I let him rest in the truck while I went to check out Glen Ellis Falls.
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This is a good stop for people of all fitness levels. It is only a couple tenths of a mile from the parking lot with good footing. It is a beautiful waterfall with a 64 foot drop. The mist from the waterfall was refreshing after a long hot day.
