I am terribly behind in updating my blog. While my hiking the past year has been limited, I have made a few notable trips and will catch up as time permits.
I have been far too busy the past few months and similar to last year, it was not until March that I made time for my first winter hiking trip of the year. Winter is my favorite season to hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire because the trails are smooth with snow covering the rocks, the air quality and views are better, and there are fewer people out.
I left home later than planned on Thursday, March 5, and arrived at the Nineteen Mile Brook trailhead around 4:45 p.m. By the time I was dressed and ready to hit the trail, it was a bit past 5 with sun set at 5:48 p.m. I have hiked the 3.8 miles to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Carter Notch Hut more times than I can remember, so I was not concerned that I would be finishing the hike in the dark. The trail is not at all technical and rises at an easy steady grade, gaining about 1900′ up to the junction with the Wildcat Ridge Trail before descending 100′ to the Carter Lakes and the hut. I made it more than halfway before dark and hiked the last 45 minutes by headlamp, arriving at the hut at 7 p.m.
The hut consists of a main building with kitchen and dining room and two separate bunkhouses, each containing four rooms with 4 to 6 bunks per room. On this night, I was the only occupant other than the caretaker and had my pick of the lot. I set up my bunk and headed back to the main hut for dinner. My choice this evening was chili — the last homemade, dehydrated meal left over from my 2018 Appalachian Trail thru-hike. The meals have kept quite well in the freezer of our extra refrigerator.
Friday morning I woke early, had a leisurely breakfast, and put on my snowshoes for my planned hike on Wildcat Mountain. I was on the trail at 8:15 and was soon working hard as the Wildcat Ridge Trail rises 1,050′ over 0.7 miles. The trail was in good shape and I was at the summit within an hour. Wildcat Mountain has five distinct peaks, creatively named after the first five letters of the alphabet. The summit of “A” peak is 4,422′ above seal level. Just below the summit is a view point from which I could look across the notch to Carter Dome, and down at the hut about 1,100′ below.
My plan was to hike the ridge over “B” and “C” peaks to “D” peak, a distance of about 2 miles. The AMC includes “A” and “D” peaks on the list of 48 4000′ foot summits in New Hampshire and “D” peak would be my 39th summit during winter. While “B” and “C” peaks are taller than “D” peak, they are not on the list because they do not meet the prominence criterion, which requires that a summit be at least 200′ above the saddle between it and adjacent peaks. Thus, I was mostly descending from “A” peak with brief ascents to “B” and “C” peaks, before reaching Wildcat Col and then ascending 300′ to the summit of “D” peak.
The last time I was on this section of trail was in July of 2018 during my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. The white blazes on the trees blend in a bit more during winter, and are closer to “ground level” as there are a few feet of snow pack on the trail. I enjoyed hiking through the trees on the ridge. The wind on Wednesday and Thursday had died down by the time I started the hike on Thursday and was not forecast to pick up again until Friday night.
I was at “D” peak by 10:30 and enjoyed the view while snacking on some trail mix and beef jerky. The summit of “D” peak offers excellent views across Pinkham Notch to Mt Washington and the Presidential Range. Intermittent snow was predicted and the summits across the notch were obscured by clouds. The summit of Mt. Madison was barely discernible, placing the clouds near 5,400′.
I retraced my steps back across the ridge, with a bit more effort required to get back to the summit of “A” peak. A few snowflakes had started and the view from the summit was not as clear as it had been just a few hours earlier. As I crossed Upper Carter Lake on my way back to the hut, I paused to look back up at the summit.
I was back at the hut by 12:45 and had some hot soup and a tuna sandwich for lunch, followed by a cup of tea and a granola bar for dessert. I contemplated going back out for a quick hike to the summit of Carter Dome after lunch, but decided I had already enjoyed the best of the weather and this would be a perfect time to enjoy doing absolutely nothing. I hung up my damp undershirt and fleece sweater near the wood stove, put on dry clothes, and headed to the bunkhouse. While a nap was not my primary plan, I knew that lying in my sleeping bag was likely to end that way.
I woke around 4:15 and headed back to the main hut as the caretaker had started a fire in the stove. A few other hikers had arrived and we chatted by the fire. After dinner I stayed at the main hut until about 8 p.m. and then headed off to bed. The wind picked up overnight and was rather loud at times throughout the night. The temperature was 8 degrees when I woke, but I was quite comfortable as long as I stayed in my sleeping bag. I wanted to get an early start and was up at 6 a.m. and on my way by 6:30. The wind was blowing strong and made for a rather uncomfortable start to the hike, but once I had dropped down about 500′ feet I was protected by the mountains on ether side of the notch and stopped to take off my down jacket. Within 90 minutes I was back at my car and I headed over to Great Glen to get in a bit of cross-country skiing before heading home. I hope to get out at least once more before the end of winter, which is approaching too quickly!
Backpacking with Uncle Malty 