Date: 2022-07-29
From: Joe Dodge Lodge Mile 1874.9

To: Imp Shelter Mile 1888
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: broken clouds

Slept well last night for the first part of the night and then woke up a little early with some anxiety over the coming day. The breakfast at the lodge is really nice and I had a big breakfast consisting of French Toast, pancakes, bacon, eggs and yogurt. We got a trail sandwich to go for lunch and were on our way at about 7:20, with me being about 2 minutes behind. We had a little flatish trail around Lost Pond to warm up before starting the climb. We saw a sign warning of a dead and decaying moose but never saw one. Was afraid our first moose sighting would be a dead one. The Wildcat climb starts steep and just keeps on going. We climbed 2000 ft in 2 miles for roughly a 20% average grade. I wish the trail was categorized like bike races so you could brag about the climbs you have done. Either way, I stopped several times on the way up to rest and keep the HR under control. Legs are definitely a little bit sore from the big descent two days ago, but are handling the climb ok. This was a rocky climb and while it was not very technical it had some big steps and was unrelenting. Definitely still feeling like I am not handling the climbs like I used to. We got some good views here and there on the Wildcats. I passed Pilgrim, another AT NOBO and two overnight hikers all heading to the same shelter. Also got passed by a bunch of people, some of whom flew past.At the top of the Wildcat D peak, which ended the first big climb, we came out to one of the Wildcat Ski Resorts ski lifts. There were some people doing maintenance on the lift but I¢m not sure if it¢s open during the summer for hiking or biking or just general maintenance. There is actually an AT information sign at the top. After that it¢s a more gradual climb to the top of Wildcat Mt.   Throughout the entire climb was focusing on keeping the HR in check and working on trying to eat as much as possible. Got some bars, snickers and half the sandwich in. From there you can look way down in the valley to the Carter Notch Hut surrounded by two alpine lakes. Made the big climb down to the hut where we were stopping for lunch. Legs are feeling the descent and it was a combination of rocky terrain and dirt trail. The two lakes are really pretty and are set in such a picturesque setting. Stopped in the hut for some soup but they had Split Pea which I don¢t like. Instead I had some of the leftover pancakes with real maple syrup. Chatted for a while with the crew member who was starting to cook dinner and found out more about the hut operation and crew responsibilities. Sounds like an amazing but hard job. Naturally there¢s a climb immediately following a ¢Notch¢. This was another long steep climb, 1500 ft in 1.2 miles. This was definitely a struggle and I stopped many times to catch my breath. Finally made it to the top of Carter Dome where I took a break and had a power bar and tried to eat some more. Following this were three more peaks, Mt Hight, South Carter Mt, and Middle Carter Mt with North Carter Mt being more of an arm of Middle Carter. Again we had some excellent views along the way. So far it¢s been really clear in the Whites and the views have been spectacular. From there we had a roughly 1000 ft descent with some technical parts to get to the Imp Campsite. This is one of the ones that the AMC charges to stay at. Basically you are paying to have someone compost your poop. They basically have to empty the privy into composting stations and move the poop from one to another as it composts. Then at the end they have to pick all the trash, wipes and feminine products out of the clean compost before spreading out the sterile results. All while taking complaints from people who don¢t want to pay $5 to camp. Lots of people at the shelter, both north and south bound but nobody we knew. I struggled to eat dinner and didn¢t really get a good meal. Got to bed at a reasonable hour at least. Definitely a day that challenged me, but I was able to dig deep and finish somewhat strong. This was the highest vertical gain we¢ve done so far. Could have gone longer but the struggle would have been real. Steps 32400Weather Forecast: