Date: 2007-08-31
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: fog

It rained and thundered most of the night. I was glad to be dry inside and not camped on the top of Carter Dome where I would probably have ended up if i'd left the hut last night. Clouds were hanging low over the notch and nothing could be seen of the nearby ridges or peaks.I left the hut about 8 AM and headed up the steep climb to Carter Dome. It gained 1,500' in 1.2 miles. Although not actually raining, the wind blowing the trees created what amounted to a steady rain anyway. By the time I reached the top of Carter Dome (4,800') the clouds were misting heavily as they raced by thru the stunted Krumholz. There was nothing to be seen of the spectacular views of the north end of the Presidential Range and Mt Washington.It was a relatively short hike over to the bald rocky summit of Mt Hight. It was chilly on top in shorts and T-shirt in the blowing mist and temp of 48 so I didn't stay long. There was a steep ans wet 1,000' descent down to Zeta Pass, then another steep ascent up nad over open rock ledges to the wooded summit of South Carter. I passed a day hiker going up South Carter, one of only 3 people I would see on the trail today. This is a remote and rugged section of trail that relatively few hikers use, except for thru-hikers. It was more continual up and down over ledges and rocky openings from South Carter all the way to North Carter, then a very teep and continual descent to Imp Campsite where I stipped for lunch.After lunch I began the steep climb up to the summit of Mt Moriah. It had begun to rain again, rather than the thick blowing mist that had been ging on all morning. It appeared that the forecast for clearing in the aternoon was unlikely to happen, at least on the peaks where the trail was running. Mt Moriah was another wooded summit just below timberline that would have had nice views if the weather had been better.From here the trail followed along a high ridge for a while before passing around the summit cone of Middle Moriah and beginning the descent to the Androscoggin River at Gorham, NH. This is a 3,300' descent over 5.9 miles and was quite steep and rocly in places. By the time I reached the Rattle River Shelter my knees and right ankle were sore from a difficult day of constant up and downs. It was also getting late on a wet and cold day of hiking. But I pushed on and managed to mke the last 2 miles to the highway in good time, arriving about 6.30 PM. I called Mom and Dad who were staying at a nearby hotel and they picked me up for dinner in town. Needless to say I was in bed soon after arriving at the hotel. I had already decided that I would take the next 2 days off in Goeham to rest my knees and ankle before heading back up into the rugged Mahoosuc Range.The past 2 weeks crossing the famous White Mt NF alpine country has been all that I expected and more than I could have hoped. During my traverse I had experienced a full range of mt weather conditions from 100 mile visibility on Mt Washington and across the entire 25-mile long alpine zone of the Presidential Range, to howling winds and no visibility on the narrow and exposed Franconia Ridge; to hail and lightning across the infamous 5-peaks of Wildcat Mt. The other notable contrast was from the crowds of people at Lakes of the Clouds Hut, the summit of Mt Washington and all along the broad open ridgeline of the Presidential Range; to the narrow trails along the remote and rugged Carter-Moriah Range where I saw only 3 other hikers all day. This section has been NH, and the AT, at its finest.And now there is less than 300 miles of trail and one more state left to complete before Mt Katahdin. Five months of walking and 1,800 miles are behind me now but some of the most remote and beautiful scenery on the trail is yet to come.The terrain here in NH and yet to come in western ME is much more difficult and technically challenging than any trails I know of back home in the CO Rockies. Trails in the Rockies are graded for pack animals and horses and switchbacked for more gentle climbs. There are no hand over hand rock scrambles that have been so common on the AT these past two weeks. In CO the elevations are higher and the surrounding terrain is often more dramatic, but the trails here are far more challenging and formidible than anything I know of in CO. The Rockies are my home but these smaller eastern mts are more challenging and can serve up weather that is equal to anything the Rockies throw at you in summer. When asked why I chose to leave CO to hike in the smaller eastern mts all I can say is that they have a charm all their own and they are no less wild and rugged than the higher peaks and larger wilderness areas back home. I love the vistas and open terrain of the Rocky Mts back home but the views from NH's alpine peaks is hard to beat and I am looking forward to the remote mts of western ME.