Entering the White Mountains

This week started with some beautiful weather and scenery as I entered into the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  I departed the Rattle River Hostel in Shelburne, NH on Sunday morning and began the day by hiking north about 0.5 miles to the point at which I caught a ride into town on Friday.  I am sure it will be no surprise to most of you that the purist in me could not skip hiking this short section, even if it was on a road.  The electric power engineer in me caused me stop along the way and take a photo of the Shelburne hydroelectric station — a small, 3.7 MW plant on the Androscoggin River.

My hike eventually brought me within 0.1 miles of Mt. Moriah.  As I had time to spare and knew from previous hikes that I would have excellent views, I made the short side trip to the summit.  I was rewarded with 360 degree views, including my first glimpse of the northern Presidential range and my immediate concern, the Carter-Moriah range.

After spending the night at the Imp shelter, and meeting some interesting hikers, I continued on Monday along the Carter-Moriah range, crossing North, Middle, and South Carter Mountains before dropping down to Zeta Pass and ascending Mt. Hight.  Mt. Hight is the one mountain in this range with a bare summit and the views were extraordinary.

After reaching the treed-in summit of Carter Dome, the tallest peak on the ridge at 4832’, I began the descent to Carter Notch, where a I had a reservation at the Appalachian Mountain Club hut for a bunk, dinner, and breakfast.

Tuesday morning brought me out of the notch and onto the Wildcat Ridge.  With the potential for an afternoon thunderstorm, I made a steady traverse of the five peaks on Wildcat Mountain with two of the hikers I met at the Imp shelter — Ragamuffin and Laser Beam.   Views of Mt. Washington were spectacular!

I dreaded the long, steep descent to Pinkham Notch, but having hiking companions allowed the time to pass more pleasantly.  The weather is looking good for the next several days at I pass above tree line across the Presidential Range.