Thursday, July 18, 2013

Hiking the 4,000 Footers: Mount Carter 7.4.2013

Via Loop Hike Nineteen Mile Brook Trail,Carter Moriah Trail, Carter Dome Trail

After several weeks of heavy rain and hot and humid temps, we finally managed to go out for hike on the holiday weekend. We decided to tackle Carter Dome which would count for number 38 on the list for us!

With temps in the mid 90s we took it slow up this peak. We were very surprised to see how relatively uncrowded it was considering the July 4th holiday. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail is a well used trail that links Carter Hut, a popular destination for backpackers, to route 16 and Pinkham Notch. Bugs were pretty bad on the lower elevation of this trail, which we expected given the time of year and amount of rain we have seen lately.

Mount Carter 2013

We hit Zeta Pass fairly quickly and bumped into an old hiking friend. After catching up we continued on to Mount Hight, which adds less than a half mile to the overall hike. Hight was a spectacular addition to this hike! Wonderful views and cooling winds! We were slogging it in the humidity and almost considered skipping this peak, but we were glad we didn't.

Mount Carter 2013

Mount Carter 2013

Views from Mount Hight

Mount Carter 2013

View from Hight of Presidential Range

Mount Carter 2013

Mount Carter 2013

Have you ever noticed how deceiving distances are from the tops of mountains. Typically I get to the top of a neighboring peak and scope out the other peaks on our trip only to muster a "we have to still go all the way up there?" Hight was like that for me. We got to the top, enjoyed the views, then had to rally some strength to go what looked like a lot further. Turns out it was less than thirty minutes or so to hit Carter Dome. Very minimal views at the top, but side trails provided some outlooks.

Mount Carter 2013

Mount Carter 2013

We included a quick visit to Carter Hut to refill waters and cool off in the pond, which was so refreshing! Definiately a great spot to jump in- if your time allows!

Mount Carter 2013

Pond at Carter Hut

Mount Carter 2013

Carter Hut

Mount Carter 2013

Mount Carter 2013

Mount Osceola and East Osceola 6.15.2013

The wonderful thing about tackling the list of 4,000 footers- is that it has gotten us completely hooked on hiking. To start our year off- we were just as eager to rehike some of our favorites and to try other trail approaches. The Osceola's were a good bet because they weren't as far of a drive as some hikes still left on our list (like Cabot). Plus, when we hiked the Osceola's last year the peaks were shrouded in thick fog and rain, so actually getting to see the view was a pretty good motivator.

Mount Osceola

Approaching Osceola

Mount Osceola

Turns out that we missed out last year hardcore- the views are amazing!! The peaks are relatively easy ones for distances and elevation gain and you're rewarded with spectacular views.

Mount Osceola

Mount Osceola

Mount Osceola

Over the winter we hiked some, snowshoed a little, but didn't nearly keep up with the distances we hit last summer. So this year was a hard start for us. Our brains were ready for big hikes like Owl's Head, but our bodies were thinking we should stick to things like the Kinsmans. It doesn't help that the weather this year has been long stretches of brutal. When it's not hot and humid in the 90s, its hot and humid with thunderstorms in the 90s.

Mount Osceola

Mount Osceola

Mount Osceola

So Osceola was a great hike to redo. Our legs needed the work and our brains needed the views. Also I wanted to show pictures of the Chimney- a rocky stretch between Osceola and East Osceola that can be extremely difficult in the winter given the level of snow cover. It's completely manageable when dry in the summer.

Mount Osceola

Mount Osceola