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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Lethe, Middle Carter, South Carter, Carter Dome, Wildcat A, Wildcat B, Wildcat C, Wildcat D, NH
Trails
Trails: Imp Trail, North Carter Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Wildcat Ridge Trail, ski trails
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, March 25, 2022
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parked at 19 Mile Brook Trail lot. This is a large dirt surfaced lot that is plowed after snowstorms. Today it was snow free and firm. Kiosk at end of lot. No privy. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: No significant water crossings on these trails. One swollen brook on Imp trail, but able to cross with exposed rocks. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Oy vay! New blow downs on North Carter. These weren’t here in February. Gonna need a saw and a friend… A couple of new blow downs after the summit of South Carter on the Carter-Moriah.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Eh… Today may not have been the best day for dogs as the super steep descent into Carter Notch may have been beyond their ability to negotiate. It certainly was beyond mine… Otherwise these are excellent trails for dogs. 
Bugs
Bugs: One mosquito eyeballing me over the Wildcats.  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: One REI glove at the junction with the Carter-Moriah and Carter Dome trails. Left on junction sign. 
 
Comments
Comments: Route:
Roadwalk on NH 16 > Camp Dodge Rd > Old logging rd > Imp Trail (South) > North Carter Trail > Carter-Moriah trail > Carter Dome Trail > Carter-Moriah > Wildcat Ridge Trail > ski trails > roadwalk on NH 16 back to parking.

Imp Trail (South): small wooden arrow affixed to a tree once leaving the old logging road coming off of Camp Dodge rd. Not blazed. Spikes worn due to the blue ice and lack of snow pack. Monorail predominant. I was able to stay directly on the center to avoid postholing. There were ample ice bridges over the wet sections of this trail in higher elevations. Nothing like the lake I swam through in February.

North Carter Trail: not blazed. Footbed was mostly monorail. Pathway simple to discern. Spikes helped in dealing with the blue and black ice. I elected to not put on my snowshoes due to the ice factor. Met the only other person I saw on trail today at the junction with North Carter and the Carter-Moriah. Best of luck with your tracing spree this weekend!!

Carter-Moriah: this is the AT and is blazed in standard white blazes for its entirety. Dang this sucker wore me out! It’s postholed to all heck, but I could not put on snowshoes. I’d go through a section that would be perfect for shoes only to be met with serious black and blue ice shortly thereafter. This ice was in sections that would send snowshoes into a dance audition for “The Whites Got Talent.” The snow was so crusted that I didn’t think I’d get far in snowshoes. There’s monorail, there’s trench, there’s some kind of snowy-icy surface that I don’t know how to classify… The most important note is this: I descended the ludicrously steep 0.8 miles down into Carter Notch. Dude. So, if cheap thrills are your game, have at it. I loathe this sort of Trail condition. This section is covered nearly completely in blue ice. The ice was mostly soft, allowing for my spikes to get fair purchase- only if I was going backwards. If I turned around… sssschhlick! I was headed down a grade that would certainly cause bone fractures. Man, I shoulda brought my crampons. And ice ax. So, good luck with that section.

Carter Dome: this small segment between the Carter-Moriah junctions is freshly blazed in blue. Monorail seems to be the predominant trail condition aside from posthole bombs. Again, I wore spikes as there are enough sloping icy sections that need a bit more traction than snowshoes can provide (though they are still super awesome).

Wildcat Ridge Trail: this is the AT and is blazed in standard white blazes. Postholed all to hell. I remained in spikes as again, all manner of snow surface conditions encountered. Ice, monorail, trench, ice again, monorail, oooohhh that’s a big slab of ice, monorail, dang what the heck do you call this type of snow ice stuff, trench… You get the picture. I caution that the steep ascent of Wildcat A may require crampons in the next few days. The ice was really thickening up.

Ski trails: the Wildcat Ski Resort has the hiker approved route and map on their site. They want hikers to access the trails outside of lift hours (before 0830 and after 1600/4:00pm). No fee charged. I wore snowshoes down the slopes as I would feel like a jerk postholing on a ski slope. It was a bit unnerving with skiers whizzing by super fast (in my defense I had been employing human foot climbing power all day) so I stayed as far to the side as I could.

Roadwalk: it’s just shy of 3 miles from the Wildcat Ski area back to 19 Mile Brook Trail. Most of it is downhill. But man, it was searing hot at 50 degrees after being in the 30s all day up at elevation.  
Name
Name: Remington34 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2022-03-25 
Link
Link: https:// 
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