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

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