9/24/06 South Carter and Middle Carter hike.

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bob Farrell

New member
Joined
Nov 11, 2003
Messages
72
Reaction score
9
Location
Berwick, Maine
Name of mountain(s): South Carter and Middle Carter
Name of trail(s): 19 mile Brook, Carter Dome, Carter-Moriah
Hikers name: Farmer Bob and Jenifer
Hike date(s): 9/24/06
Weather and trail conditions: It was sunny, then cloudy, then rain, then sun, then cloudy, then rain, then thunderstorm, then rain, then sunny.
Total miles hiked: 11.8
Trip report: Jenifer and myself got an early start from home and we were on the trail by 7:30am.
It was an easy hike up to the Carter Dome Tr. It was sunny and a little breezy. The Carter Dome Tr. was a breeze until we crossed 19-mile brook. We started on the switchbacks and some of the rocks were slippery. Towards the end of the last switchback, I noticed the trees getting smaller.
We arrived at Zeta Pass and we took a break.
Once we got on the Carter-Moriah Tr., it was much wider then the previous trails due to it being the AT. The trail started getting steep and pretty soon we were on South Carter. We took a short break and continued towards Middle Carter.
On the trail we went up and down a few times before we climbed up to the first outlook on the C-M Tr. There were three guys taking a break. We chatted with them and we found out that they were hiking for four days and heading south on the AT. I didn’t think to ask them how far were they going.
It was a little tricky getting down the outlook. Then we hit a bunch of log bridges and mud.
Heading towards Middle Carter, it started to sprinkle. Then it started to rain so we stopped and put on our raincoats. By the time we were near Middle Carter, the sun came back out.
We reached the summit of Middle Carter. The sun was out but it was a little chilly. We took a lunch break and hung out for a little while.
We headed back and we still had our raincoats on.
When we started going over the outlooks, the clouds rolled back in. We were able to see Mt. Hight and Carter Dome. We could also see people walking around on Mt. Hight. It was so cool.
When we got down the last outlook, it started to get really dark out. It started to rain, and then it rained harder. We went over South Carter and we head thunder. We both picked up the pace so we could get off the higher elevation. While hiking, almost running, we heard thunder a few more time and we seen a few flashing of lightning. As we got lower on the C-M Tr., the thunder stopped and the rain lightened up. When we got back to Zeta Pass, the rain stopped. Then the sun came back out when we took a short break at the Carter Dome/19 mile Brook trail junction.
While heading down 19, we heard a loud crack on the other side of the brook. It scared us both and we had no idea what it was. We thought it might have been a bear so we made as much noise as possible as we descended. We never saw what it was.
The rest of the hike down 19 mile went well. Both of our legs were tired from the fast descent earlier.
We made it back to the trailhead and it was sunny and blue skies.
It was a wild hike with a weird variety of weather. It was another great day in the mountains.

To check out our photo’s from the hike, go to:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/554377369jUjyLw
 
Nice to see you and Jenifer getting out there, Farmer Bob. It seems like you've been able to get out more often recently than in recent years. Way to go!
 
Top