.May 13, 2006
Today I will attempt to complete a small 2.6 mile section of the Appalachian Trail. The trick is that I have to hike a lot of bonus miles to get to it.
Today's weather is cold and rainy. I got a late start today because I was hoping the weather may clear. When I got to the parking lot at 10 o'clock, there were two other hikers who were just starting. It gave me some comfort knowing that someone else was crazy enough to hike today. In fact, there are probably only three people in the whole area crazy enough to hike today, and here we all were in one spot. What are the odds?
I headed off on the Stony Brook Trail.
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At the very start of the trail, there is a bridge over Stony Brook. With a week of rain and all the snow melt, Stony Brook is not a brook but a raging river.
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After about 20 minutes I caught up to the two hikers who had left before me.
"Where are you headed?" I asked
"Mount Moriah, and you?"
"North Carter Mountain."
"Have a nice a hike."
"You too."
The map showed that the trail crossed the "brook" in one more place. I was hoping there would be a bridge but no such luck. Crossing this was not just a matter of staying dry, but staying alive. The current could easily knock me off my feet and sweep me down into the rocks.
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I waited for the two other hikers to catch up. When they came, we looked together up and down the brook for a crossing, but we found none.
"I guess we'll go back and take a different trail up to Mount Moriah" said one of the hikers.
The other hiker added, "You could go back and go up the Imp Trail."
"I guess I'll give that a try."
As I walked back to my truck, I thought of the other trail. I had tried it back in November and got snowed out. I had some other facts going against me as well. The Imp trail would add a couple of miles to the trip and I already had 2-3 bonus miles on this trail. It also means I will have to summit North Carter twice, but I'm already out here so I guess I can give it a try.
The Imp trail may not have had a river to cross, but it had its share of water as well. The picture below is not a small waterfall and it is not a brook I had to cross but the actual trail I had to hike up. My feet were constantly in water.
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About 2/3 the way up the mountain I once again ran into snow.
It seems that winter in the White's just won't end. I pressed on and finally reached the Carter-Moriah Trail (also the AT). The temperature had dropped dramatically by this point and the rain continued.
It took me nearly 5 hours to get from my house to here, and I was just starting the Appalachian Trail. I hiked the .3 miles up to the summit of North Carter. At 4,539 feet it is well over 4,000 feet but is not an official 4,000 footer. There is not enough of a drop between itself and nearby Middle Carter.
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The map shows a scenic view from this area, but not today, just clouds and fog.
The snow was one to two feet in places. I drove my hiking pole into the snow to show the depth.
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The trail ahead would drop in elevation nearly 1500 feet. It was extremely steep and all ice. I made it a couple of tenths of a mile down. Without crampons, my pace had slowed down to a snail's pace. I re-evaluated the situation. With such a treacherous trail and all the elements coming in place for hypothermia, I felt it was no longer safe to continue. I made the long hike back to the truck. This was strike two for trying to complete this small section of trail.
After I got back I decided to drive to Pinkham Notch. I was hoping to buy some hiking stuff in the store there. On the way I pulled off to get the picture below. The summit of Mount Washington is on the far right behind the clouds. As you can see there is plenty of snow left in the Whites.
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In the parking lot at Pinkham Notch, I had a little friend come up to me. This fox apparently is used to getting handouts from people and let me get within a couple of feet.
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There were lots of hikers with skis. Tuckermans Ravine is about half way up Mount Washington. It is a popular place to ski even late in the spring. I got what I was looking for in the store and headed home.
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