8.6-7.12 — AMC hut hike
It was a bit odd that only Aunt Sallie, Dad and I were going on the annual overnight hike at an Appalachian Mountain Club hut. Usually, there are at least four or five of us, if not seven or eight. But none of the Boreyko kids were able to make it up this year — Caitlin in Australia, J-bo just moved to Tennessee, Kristen busy at home and Brad with the Army — and Lou, originally scheduled to join us, was having foot issues. So it was just the three of us.
And I was alone for most of the first day. Yearning to hike new trails and summit Middle Carter and South Carter for the second time as part of my mission, now, to gain the tops of all 48 New Hampshire 4,000-footers twice — I’m about halfway there — I asked Sal and Dad to drop me at the Imp Trailhead, a little bit north of the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, the most direct route to the Carter Notch hut. My trip to the hut would be 9.5 miles, giving me a nice day of hiking before the always-amazing (and filling) dinner served by the Croo.
Starting from the northern trailhead of the Imp — there are two trails that later intersect, but the southern trail doesn’t go over the Imp — I hiked a somewhat strenuous 2.2 miles to the Imp, an open ledge providing my first excellent views of the Presidential Range just across Route 16 and, um, up a little bit. The sky was clear but also featured an array of interesting clouds, which make photos that much more beautiful. And despite hiking in the Presidentials dozens of times and seeing them on many occasions, that view could never possibly get old. They are so majestic.
I continued on from the Imp, climbing steadily for 0.9 miles to the North Carter Trail and then a long 1.2 miles, still at a steep grade, to the Carter Moriah Trail/Appalachian Trail on the ridge. From there, the ridge was mostly wooded, but did offer a handful of open rocky ledges with breathtaking views not only of the Presidentials to the West, but Maine mountain ranges to the north and east.
I didn’t spent much time stopping, because I knew what was ahead of me — the 360-degree views of Mt. Hight, one of the coolest summits in all of the White Mountains. After fairly easy ascents and descents of the Carters, I made the steep push for half a mile up to Hight, reaching it just before 3 p.m. I plopped my Camelback down, took off my hat, and gazed around.
“Para... Para... Paradise!”
It really was. The wind was gusting up to about 25 mph, making me a bit chilly when stationary, so I donned all my extra clothes, making the carrying of the mesh pants, fleece and rain jacket/windbreaker already worth the trip. I couldn’t believe it, but I had the mountain almost entirely to myself. A guy came over it for a few minutes, and he told me about his experience hiking the Knife’s Edge on Mt. Katahdin in Maine — that, for the most part, it’s 10 to 15 feet wide. As he put it, and I’m paraphrasing, “It would take two or three missteps to fall off.” I’m ready for it.
Otherwise, I had the beautiful mountain to myself. It’s not an official 4,000-footer at 4,675 feet because it doesn’t drop the required 300 feet before climbing its highest neighbor, Carter Dome (4,832 feet). That’s a shame. It should be included.
A tad after 4 p.m. — having almost finished my book, “Three Nights in August,” about Tony La Russa and the mind of a manager during a three-game baseball series; very good, very insightful — I decided to make moves. I quickly hiked the 0.8 miles to the top of the Dome, and its limited views, and then headed down the steep trail to the hut, which sits at just 3,288 feet. I stopped for a few minutes at Pulpit Rock, an awesome ledge overlooking the notch. From it, you get a great view of the huts, the two small lakes and the boulder field, called the “Ramparts,” just north of the huts.
The evening at the hut was, as usual, very enjoyable, with the highlight for me being the introduction to a new traverse/ultra hike. Two of the Croo members spoke about the hut-to-hut traverse, which involved gaining all eight AMC huts, spread throughout the Whites, consecutively without stopping. The hike is approximately 49 miles and, according to the Croo members, takes about 19 or 20 hours. One guy, in fact, was planning on starting it that night at 2 a.m.
I have added it to the list.
Before it got dark, I slipped back on my hiking boots and did a little exploring in the Ramparts, working on my boulder-to-boulder climbing skills and using hand- and footholds. It was fun and adventurous, and had me ready for bed by the time the sun went down.
Day 2 of the hike was much more low key and relaxed. I decided to stick with Dad and Aunt Sal, who were hiking up Carter Dome to Mt. Hight, since they hadn’t seen it on their first day, and then down the Carter Dome Trail to where it connected with the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. This time when we reached Hight, around lunchtime, it was crowded with a cadre of Appalachian Trail hikers and others out for day hikes. The weather, again, was incredible — a rarity for this section of the Whites — and the picture-taking opportunities were ubiquitous. I enjoyed meeting two people who had brought their dogs up the mountain, including a muscular-looking Doberman Pinscher who, apparently, was hiking the AT with its master. I wouldn’t put the feat past it. The dog wasn’t even breathing hard after the ascent of Hight.
The descent from Hight was slow, but the trail, although wooded was made beautiful by the brook that joined us for the final few miles. And toward the bottom, Dad and I stopped at a pool to jump in and cool off.
It was the perfect ending to another memorable AMC hut overnight hike.
THE NUMBERS
Miles hiked: 15.8
Summits: 6 (South Carter, Middle Carter, Hight (2x), Carter Dome (2x))
Dogs on the trail: 2
Weather: Pretty warm during the day (high 70s, low 80s); low 50s, high 40s at night
It was a bit odd that only Aunt Sallie, Dad and I were going on the annual overnight hike at an Appalachian Mountain Club hut. Usually, there are at least four or five of us, if not seven or eight. But none of the Boreyko kids were able to make it up this year — Caitlin in Australia, J-bo just moved to Tennessee, Kristen busy at home and Brad with the Army — and Lou, originally scheduled to join us, was having foot issues. So it was just the three of us.
And I was alone for most of the first day. Yearning to hike new trails and summit Middle Carter and South Carter for the second time as part of my mission, now, to gain the tops of all 48 New Hampshire 4,000-footers twice — I’m about halfway there — I asked Sal and Dad to drop me at the Imp Trailhead, a little bit north of the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, the most direct route to the Carter Notch hut. My trip to the hut would be 9.5 miles, giving me a nice day of hiking before the always-amazing (and filling) dinner served by the Croo.
Starting from the northern trailhead of the Imp — there are two trails that later intersect, but the southern trail doesn’t go over the Imp — I hiked a somewhat strenuous 2.2 miles to the Imp, an open ledge providing my first excellent views of the Presidential Range just across Route 16 and, um, up a little bit. The sky was clear but also featured an array of interesting clouds, which make photos that much more beautiful. And despite hiking in the Presidentials dozens of times and seeing them on many occasions, that view could never possibly get old. They are so majestic.
I continued on from the Imp, climbing steadily for 0.9 miles to the North Carter Trail and then a long 1.2 miles, still at a steep grade, to the Carter Moriah Trail/Appalachian Trail on the ridge. From there, the ridge was mostly wooded, but did offer a handful of open rocky ledges with breathtaking views not only of the Presidentials to the West, but Maine mountain ranges to the north and east.
I didn’t spent much time stopping, because I knew what was ahead of me — the 360-degree views of Mt. Hight, one of the coolest summits in all of the White Mountains. After fairly easy ascents and descents of the Carters, I made the steep push for half a mile up to Hight, reaching it just before 3 p.m. I plopped my Camelback down, took off my hat, and gazed around.
“Para... Para... Paradise!”
It really was. The wind was gusting up to about 25 mph, making me a bit chilly when stationary, so I donned all my extra clothes, making the carrying of the mesh pants, fleece and rain jacket/windbreaker already worth the trip. I couldn’t believe it, but I had the mountain almost entirely to myself. A guy came over it for a few minutes, and he told me about his experience hiking the Knife’s Edge on Mt. Katahdin in Maine — that, for the most part, it’s 10 to 15 feet wide. As he put it, and I’m paraphrasing, “It would take two or three missteps to fall off.” I’m ready for it.
Otherwise, I had the beautiful mountain to myself. It’s not an official 4,000-footer at 4,675 feet because it doesn’t drop the required 300 feet before climbing its highest neighbor, Carter Dome (4,832 feet). That’s a shame. It should be included.
A tad after 4 p.m. — having almost finished my book, “Three Nights in August,” about Tony La Russa and the mind of a manager during a three-game baseball series; very good, very insightful — I decided to make moves. I quickly hiked the 0.8 miles to the top of the Dome, and its limited views, and then headed down the steep trail to the hut, which sits at just 3,288 feet. I stopped for a few minutes at Pulpit Rock, an awesome ledge overlooking the notch. From it, you get a great view of the huts, the two small lakes and the boulder field, called the “Ramparts,” just north of the huts.
The evening at the hut was, as usual, very enjoyable, with the highlight for me being the introduction to a new traverse/ultra hike. Two of the Croo members spoke about the hut-to-hut traverse, which involved gaining all eight AMC huts, spread throughout the Whites, consecutively without stopping. The hike is approximately 49 miles and, according to the Croo members, takes about 19 or 20 hours. One guy, in fact, was planning on starting it that night at 2 a.m.
I have added it to the list.
Before it got dark, I slipped back on my hiking boots and did a little exploring in the Ramparts, working on my boulder-to-boulder climbing skills and using hand- and footholds. It was fun and adventurous, and had me ready for bed by the time the sun went down.
Day 2 of the hike was much more low key and relaxed. I decided to stick with Dad and Aunt Sal, who were hiking up Carter Dome to Mt. Hight, since they hadn’t seen it on their first day, and then down the Carter Dome Trail to where it connected with the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. This time when we reached Hight, around lunchtime, it was crowded with a cadre of Appalachian Trail hikers and others out for day hikes. The weather, again, was incredible — a rarity for this section of the Whites — and the picture-taking opportunities were ubiquitous. I enjoyed meeting two people who had brought their dogs up the mountain, including a muscular-looking Doberman Pinscher who, apparently, was hiking the AT with its master. I wouldn’t put the feat past it. The dog wasn’t even breathing hard after the ascent of Hight.
The descent from Hight was slow, but the trail, although wooded was made beautiful by the brook that joined us for the final few miles. And toward the bottom, Dad and I stopped at a pool to jump in and cool off.
It was the perfect ending to another memorable AMC hut overnight hike.
THE NUMBERS
Miles hiked: 15.8
Summits: 6 (South Carter, Middle Carter, Hight (2x), Carter Dome (2x))
Dogs on the trail: 2
Weather: Pretty warm during the day (high 70s, low 80s); low 50s, high 40s at night
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment