Date: 2011-09-01
From: Joe Dodge Lodge

To: Carter Notch hut
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: fog

After a great night's sleep, I was ready to tackle Wildcat Mountain. I grabbed some breakfast, which part of the lodging, then packed up and headed down the trail. I wrestled with staying at the Carter Notch hut and only doing short miles or pushing on to the shelter afterwards. Part of me wanted to put in the miles to try to regain some of the lost time and the other part of me wanted to stay at the hut. Of course, the other issue was time. The climb up Wildcat is steep with rock scrambles. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to the hut. A late arrival at the hut would mean a late arrival at the shelter which I didn't want to do. As always, I just waited until I got to the hut to decide if I should continue to the shelter. The storm damage to the trail had been minimal up to Pinkham Notch. However, the trail leading up to Wildcat sustained much more. There were several bridges that had gotten washed away making stream crossings a little tricky. As I ascended up the mountain, the damage was less severe. The climb was long and slow as expected but I was able to make up the rock scrambles without trouble. Near the top of the mountain is the Wildcat ski resort. The gondola was operating to allow people to come up the mountain top enjoy the view. I stopped for a snack there. Some of the hikers I met on the way up said that they camped at the resort. I didn't realize that was an option. If I had known that, I would have not stopped at the lodge last night. That would have given me the chance to gain back some of the time I lost dealing with injuries. I continued toward the shelter. The ridge along Wildcat mountain offers a great view of the Presidential range. I stopped along the way to take in the views. The descent into Carter Notch was steep and slow going as I expected it would be. My goal is to minimize the risk of falling. I know that a fall would mean a good chance of reinjuring the fracture, maybe breaking further so as to require more medical treatment. That could end the hike. I'd rather get to Katadyn a little later than expected than to have to quit altogether so being careful is my main goal. The Carter Notch hut is situated between a couple of ponds. The hut was originally constructed for fishing trips. Later on, it became part of the hut system that the AMC operates. The original building is used for the kitchen, dining area and crew quarters. There are two bunkhouses that were built relatively recently that are for the guests. Another hiker named "Jedi" caught up to me just as I got to the hut. He decided to continue to a stealth site beyond the hut. We got there about 2:30 so it was going to be a late arrival even at the stealth site. I also didn't know how good the site was. I decided that staying at the hut was the thing to do. One of the workers there grew up near Clemson University where I got my engineering degree. Of course, we had a lot to talk about. Later on, we where joined by "Double Check" whom I hadn't seen since Virginia and his new trail friend "Christian" who was section hiking. Cool thing is that he is almost done. There was a father and daughter who were out for an overnight hike. We all stayed in bunks. Neither "Double Check" or I did work for stay. Because there were so few people staying there, we each got our own bunkroom. Also, dinner was a lot of fun because the group size wasn't overwhelming. Overall, it was a very fun evening.