May 16, 2010
I had a big day ahead, a traverse of the Carters and Wildcats. I parked my truck at the Wildcat ski lodge and road my bike 4 miles up to the upper Imp Trailhead. I hit the trail at 8:40.
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My first stop would be "The Imp" or as it is listed on my map "Imp Face".
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I passed a small waterfall
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Up some steps
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Nearing Imp Face
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I could also see south to the ski slopes of Wildcat, my final destination of the day.
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Another minute up the trail was a nice lookout.
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Then I was back in the snow. This is mid-May right???
Then I reached the junction with the North Carter Trail
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There's still lots of snow out there.
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I reached the ridge and proceeded to head toward Middle Carter.
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View looking to the northwest
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I passed the summit of Middle Carter and got this view of the Presies further down the trail.
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Looking ahead
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Looking back to Middle Carter
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"Messy" trail before reaching South Carter
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I went over South Carter before heading down to Zeta Pass. Before hitting Carter Dome, I decided to take the longer route over Mount Hight, the best stop of the day.
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Reaching treeline.
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Almost there.
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For a 360° clip from the summit click here.
On to Carter Dome
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Will I ever be able to hike without snowshoes again??
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Looking back to Mount Hight
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The summit sign on Carter Dome.
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I reached a big milestone today. This was Grid Peak #500.
I then made the steep climb down to Carter Notch.
Looking down to the hut and pond
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Looking across to Wildcat A
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One of the two Carter Lakes
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View to the northwest as I headed up Wildcat A
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Carter Dome from Wildcat A
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Washington from Wildcat C
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Snow free section of trail before Wildcat D
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Looking over to Wildcat E
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Out of all the times I've hiked the Wildcats, I've only been over to "E" once. Seeing this was my final Grid hike to the Wildcats, I figured I would go over there. It just took a few minutes.
Top of the ski area
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A little info on the A.T.
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I headed down the ski slopes. Here's a view looking back up.
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I reached the lodge at 5:30.
Most importantly, I remembered to stop and pick up my bike at the Imp Trailhead.
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