Advice Wildcats, Carters, and Moriah

Thinking about doing the Wildcats, Carters and Moriah in one day with a car spot. Is this too ambitious? Any advice on routes greatly appreciated. Thanks

Tuck

Wow. That would be quite a haul. I met a kid on Wildcat Trail just before Great Glen parking lot who claimed to be doing that last summer so I guess it is possible.

The PUD in between all the Wildcats and the big climb up to Carter Dome I think would be the challenges. Much of the rest of that ridge from there is nice cruising and you would be generally descending (assuming you started on Wildcats from Pinkham Notch or the Great Glen parking areas). I wouldn't end on Wildcat Trail near Pinkham. That is a really steep area with numerous scrambles and would be quite a kick in the (expletive) after walking all those miles. I'd start South and head North if it was me. You have more bail out options to Rte 16 heading North as well (Nineteen Mile Brook, Carter Dome, Imp) if you run out of enthusiasm along the way and decide to hitch to your car spot.

AT thru hikers do it as slackpacks but they have 1800 miles of conditioning. For most its a real long day. The usual recommendation is northbound from Pinkham. You start higher and get the hardest climb done early. The next difficult climb is from Carter Notch, if you make it over that, the rest of the day is most a ridge walk with the exception of the very steep climb down off of North Carter.

Don't forget the 900' climb up to Moriah after passingthe Stony Brook Tr. Add up the miles and elevation and you should get a better idea if it works for you or not. I will agree with others that north to south would be easier.

Hey Tuck,

I've done a Moriah - Carters - Cats Traverse a few years back and loved it, ended on Wildcat and came down the ski slopes for an easier descent. If you have done some longish miles hikes you will have no problems doing this.

Enjoy your big hike!

-Chris

IQuest said:

Don't forget the 900' climb up to Moriah after passingthe Stony Brook Tr. Add up the miles and elevation and you should get a better idea if it works for you or not. I will agree with others that north to south would be easier.

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Far beyond my capabilities, but not unlike what lots of people post. Here's how northbound adds up.

I did it in day-and-a-half several years ago with a night at the hut; I think it was 6 hours hiking to the hut and then 13 or so the next day. I wasn't in nearly the shape I'm in now! It was hot and the only water on the whole trip was the hut and Imp; the spring on the Wildcats was completely dry. Leaving the hut with over a gallon of water and going Straight. Up. Carter Dome was pretty rough, but I was dry by the time I got to Imp. I think nearly two gallons of water went into my mouth over the course of that day.

Recommend NB because C-M down is gentle with good footing so you can make good time on the descent; descending the Wildcats is a lot tougher. Park at Libby Pool and take the snowmobile bridge back to your car at the end of the day. The tricky thing is, of course, the car spot: for most people it's a substantial drive to get up there (less so from Lincoln), and then the spot, in front of a pretty long day; that's why we did the day-and-a-half (the driver took a bike back up to Pinkham; for a bike spot, southbound may be better for hikers who are more used to climbing on foot than on a bike.)

This is mentioned in Mohamed's FAQ

Car spotting and section hiking issues aside, the most time/energy efficient way to get all six official 4K peaks is to begin at the ski area, take Polecat to the D summit, and take the WRT/CMT all the way to Bangor Street in Gorham. You'll save a full 1100'+ of elevation gain for the decision to go northbound (the resort is at ~1950', and Bangor Street is at ~800'), and over a mile of distance for starting at the resort rather than at Pinkham. If you normally hike at AMC Book Time, you've saved over an hour before even setting foot on the trail.

In terms of planning your time, keep in mind that most of the route is rough and rocky and/or ledgy (more so than your average White Mountains trail). In addition and as mentioned earlier, there are careful, steep descents to deal with down from Wildcat A and from North Carter. Caution: these descents will slow you down more than a little if they're wet -- so my recommendation would be to hold off until there's been dry weather for at least 36 hours preceding your hike -- and actually, dry conditions will be of help just in general -- I had a slip off one of the bog bridges in the Imp Shelter/Stonybrook area post rain the other day (a spot of slimy algae that I failed to notice). I got off with just a wet foot and a bruised shin, but it could have been substantially worse.

Lastly, there is one diversion I recommend highly: take the fork that goes over Mt. Hight rather than the bypass, and get the best views that can be had in the Carters. Not counting the consquent gawking time, the diversion will cost you only an extra 5-10 minutes.

Like Chris, I've enjoyed my traverses on this route -- many very pretty stretches, and often at least for me, challenging often means fun!

Alex

Excellent advice!! Thanks All.

Tuck

alexmtn said:

Lastly, there is one diversion I recommend highly: take the fork that goes over Mt. Hight rather than the bypass, and get the best views that can be had in the Carters. Not counting the consquent gawking time, the diversion will cost you only an extra 5-10 minutes.
Alex

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I can't second that enough! Mt Hight is SPECTACULAR and by far the best peak on that entire route. Don't skip it.

Whether or not it's too ambitious really depends on the kind of shape you're in. 19.7 miles with 7,250' of climbing is a big day, but definitely doable by a reasonably fit hiker. I would echo some of the other advice in this thread and start from Pinkham and end up in Gorham. I would also recommend going over Mt. Hight instead of the taking the bypass.

Like Jniehof, I did it over a day and a half, but spend the night at the Imp Shelter, which was pleasant. The Wildcat Ridge Trail between Pinkham and Wildcat E is steep and interesting. It's much more enjoyable than hiking up a ski trail.

Also, consider dropping your car at the Bangor Road trailhead, and hitching a ride to Pinkham. It's a very short walk from the trailhead to Route 16. If you decide to do this bring a cardboard sign that says "Pinkham Notch." Signs make getting a ride much easier. (In my case I got a ride literally the moment I reached Rt. 16.)

Tuck said:

Thinking about doing the Wildcats, Carters and Moriah in one day with a car spot. Is this too ambitious? Any advice on routes greatly appreciated. Thanks

Tuck

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I'm doing this hike tomorrow, south to north!

Bailed out down the North Carter Trail ... still got 5 peaks in (not including Hight) ... ran late on time, even though we started at 6:20am...

That's a good day still Lisa. If the summits are socked in and windy, then I'd skip Hight as the descent is fairly steep versus the easier trail directly to Zeta Pass. (if it's clear, it is a must stop)

The descent down North Carter is pretty steep, I'd have to say amongst the steepest that I've done on the AT (which usually isn't the steepest in any state, although in CT descending Bear and Jug End in MA are pretty good). The climb up to Moriah is not steep overall and is a nice walk on several open ridges.

Overall, it's slightly shorter and 1700 feet or so less climbing than a Presi-Traverse. (I'd say a top five for traverses. Pemi Loop, Presi, Carter-Wildcats, Franconia, Zealand/LW Traverse of the Pemi. - Actually a KRT traverse over Wolf, Kinsmans, Cannonballs & Cannon may be 2nd or 3rd. It's probably another topic....)