Mount Moriah (4049')/ Middle Carter (4610')/ South Carter (4430)/ Carter Dome (4832)/ Wildcat (4422')/ Wildcat D (4050')

April 7th 2012: The Boatman and I started in Gorham, NH, off Bangor Road at the trailhead for the Carter-Moriah Trail. We started with a small energy boosting snack of McDoubles. The trail started off at a moderate grade, and it was overcast and mild out. The trail has some interesting views of the Gorham area as the elevation increases. 1 mile in, there is a large section of blown down trees. 

As we got higher, the trail opened up into some nice ridges with beautiful views of Washington and the presidentials, even though it was cloudy out. 

The Boatman hiking up to tag Moriah. 

On the summit of Moriah. 

As we got higher in elevation, the Boatman kept wanting snow. We both agreed that we'd rather carry snowshoes 1000 miles than post-hole for 1 mile. 

The hike from Moriah to the Carters was almost all ridge walks. It was cloudy and/or snowing most of the time, so we had limited views. This is definitely a hike I will do again this summer. 

Our home for the night; Imp Shelter. 7 miles in. We had the place to ourselves. We had a comfortable night, celebrating with some spirits. We blocked up the doorway with a tarp, and we were toasty all night. There was a small hole in the ice in the river, where we were able to filter about 2 liters of water before the lines froze. 

We spent the night smoking cigars, drinking Guinness and Old Chubb, and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey. 

Along the trail, we ran into a Candian hiker doing a day hike. We exchanged some stories, and parted ways.

On the drive back home, after dropping the Boatman off at his car, who did I see hitchhiking? Our Canadian friend. I picked him up and gave him a ride 9 miles to his car. It's too bad that hikers have such a hard time getting rides these days. So I figured, a hiker can pick up a hiker in need of a ride. Hopefully someone will return the favor someday.

April 8 2012 ridge walks over the Carters. 

Hiking up to the summit of Mount Hight.

On the windy summit of Mount Hight.

The view of Carter Notch from Carter Dome. It was a discouraging sight to know that we had to hike all the way down, and all the way back up to the Wildcat Ridge Trail.

Carter Notch Hut: Where they boil their drinking water from the pond, but they don't filter it. I got halfway through chugging my 2nd liter of water before I noticed the dirt, pine needles, and moss in the bottom of my bottle.

On the way down Wildcat D to the car. The boatman crushed his 4000'ers, finishing on Wildcat D. I slid down part of the ski mountain on a tarp I had, but didn't have much success.

Six four thousand footers crushed. 7 miles on Saturday: from Gorham NH to Imp Shelter. 12 miles on Sunday: from Imp Shelter, over the Carters and Carter Notch, over the Wildcats and down Wildcat D to the car. We finished the mighty trek with an Easter meal of 2 McDoubles, fries, and some Newman's Own coffee.