Wildcat River Trail in winter

[Mark A.]

How would this trail compare with Nineteen Mile Brook as a ski? I personally wouldn't ski either up or down NMB, though I know some do. I wonder if I could reasonably ski to Carter Notch Hut for the night, then back out again the next day. Or should this be a snowshoe? Many thanks.

 

[MichaelJ]

Since Carter Notch Road is closed, this trail doesn't get a lot of action in the winter. You'll have a lot of work to do just to reach the trailhead. It may well be unbroken; however, it goes through open birch glades at a very moderate slope and I'd imagine it to be a very fine ski.

I'd be curious to hear from anyone who's actually done it, or been down in the Wild River Valley in winter.

 

[dug]

This trail is listed in Goodman's "Backcountry Skiing" book IIRC. I haven't skied it, but it looks like a great trail. If he lists it...it can be skied.

 

[--M.]

One or two notes.

First, if you're talking about hitting it from the east, it would be reached by the Wild River Road a (five-mile dirt) access road to the Wild River campsite. It comes off of Route 113 just over the border in Gilead and (here's the point) you can't get there from the south. The road through Evans Notch is gated by December. You have to go around via Pinkham and Route 2. (Add about 40 minutes from Jackson.)

In addition, the road to the camp is itself unplowed in winter and has a closeable gate. The gate is not always closed.

AND, having been there near Thanksgiving and camped near a couple of hunters, they told of caching stuff there for a mid-January party, wherein (and here's the point, again) they get in on snowmobiles.

I know that people do go in there to ski, and it sounds fabulous. I'm pretty sure you'd need to ski in though (as opposed to driving it), so add five miles of easy (uphill) skiing.

Having hiked the Moriah Brook trail and the Wildcat River trail (from the opposite end), I can also guess that the skiing back there would be excellent BC touring. Not until the higher elevations would things get too radical.

Add it all up, though (if you have mapping that does that): it's a long haul from Gilead/Hastings all the way back in to the Wildcat River trail. Yes, you could almost certainly do it as a ski (if you're fit), but it seems to me it would be a pretty long snowshoe day.

Two cents....

--M.

 

[bcskier]

"AND, having been there near Thanksgiving and camped near a couple of hunters, they told of caching stuff there for a mid-January party, wherein (and here's the point, again) they get in on snowmobiles."

The Wild River Rd. is closed to snowmobile traffic according to WMNF regs. so those hunters were planning on doing their trip illegally and would need to circumvent the gate somehow.


"Add it all up, though (if you have mapping that does that): it's a long haul from Gilead/Hastings all the way back in to the Wildcat River trail. Yes, you could almost certainly do it as a ski (if you're fit), but it seems to me it would be a pretty long snowshoe day."

The shortest route, and the one recommended by Goodman, is via the Bog Brook Trail from the end of the plowed section of Carter Notch Road. Special note: you will need to park further back down the road than the very end. Jackson XC Center shuttles use the end of the road for a turnaround and so parking is not allowed there. There is a parking lot about a 10 or 15 min. walk back.

 

[slowandsteady]

"AND, having been there near Thanksgiving and camped near a couple of hunters, they told of caching stuff there for a mid-January party, wherein (and here's the point, again) they get in on snowmobiles."

The Wild River Rd. is closed to snowmobile traffic according to WMNF regs. so those hunters were planning on doing their trip illegally and would need to circumvent the gate somehow.


"Add it all up, though (if you have mapping that does that): it's a long haul from Gilead/Hastings all the way back in to the Wildcat River trail. Yes, you could almost certainly do it as a ski (if you're fit), but it seems to me it would be a pretty long snowshoe day."

The shortest route, and the one recommended by Goodman, is via the Bog Brook Trail from the end of the plowed section of Carter Notch Road. Special note: you will need to park further back down the road than the very end. Jackson XC Center shuttles use the end of the road for a turnaround and so parking is not allowed there. There is a parking lot about a 10 or 15 min. walk back.

I was in the Bog Brook/Wildcat River area skiing the JXN XC Prospect Farm Trails on 12/31.

Definitely don't park at the end of the road - Jackson Police were ticketing cars parked near the turnaround on Sat. Some cars were parked alongside the road for the day further down the road without tickets but I think you would have to check with police about overnight parking. Also the JXN XC staff indicated the parking lot ten minutes down the road is not open at this time because the new landowner has not given permission; you may be able to contact the landowner directly. I think you can make arrangements to park in JXN and take the XC shuttle bus.

In better conditions you can ski from Mountainside Farm down Carter Notch Road past the Bog Brook Trail Head to access the Prospect Farm Trails - however due to poor cover and ice you have to walk some of it.

IMO based on conditions on the JXN XC trails in the same area, and unless they get additional snow, (only about 1" has fallen since 12/31) snowshoes are going to be a better bet on the Bog Brook Trail/Wildcat River Trail to the hut for the near future. The snow is like icy styrofoam and bare in spots. Also the Wildcat Brook and tributaries are wide open water and running very high. You would have to ski out the JXN XC Boggy Brook (versus WMNF Bog Brook) Trail to avoid these difficult crossings. Boggy Brook Trail follows a logging road and has bridges and you can pick up the Wildcat River or Bog Brook Trail(forgotten which one) near the bridge over the Wildcat.

Hope this helps.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

IMO based on conditions on the JXN XC trails in the same area, and unless they get additional snow, (only about 1" has fallen since 12/31) snowshoes are going to be a better bet on the Bog Brook Trail/Wildcat River Trail to the hut for the near future. The snow is like icy styrofoam and bare in spots.

Spent the week there from 12/27 to 01/02 and the same experience. Used snowshoes throughout the area not because of the snow depth but because there was ice everywhere and needed the cleats to get decent purchase on the ground. We only had a dusting of snow the whole time there. Just enough to put a real treacherous layer over the ice. These conditions existed south from Jericho road (Rocky branch) all the way north to Dolly Copp.

Keith

 

[slowandsteady]

3-4" of new snow expected in Jackson, NH area today with flurries for the weekend - that should improve things a little.