Elevation: 3,386 ft. (overall) 4,634 ft. (total)
Time: 3:14 (Carter Dome) 4:34 (Sout Carter) 5:22 (Middle Carter) 7:46 (Total)
Trails: 19 Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter trail, Imp Trail, Dodge Cutoff, Rt 16
To hike the Carters, I decided I would repeat the same loop I did the last time here. Starting up the Nineteen Mile Brook(19MB) Trail to Zeta Pass, then to all the peak along the ridge. Today I would skip Mt. Hight though due to the cloud cover of the day and due to information about icy conditions from other hikers on the trail today.
The hike up 19MB Trail goes quickly. The gain is gradual and footing is pretty good. The trail is easy to follow and stays near the brook. There is one brook crossing where the bridge washed out/away during Tropical Storm Irene. This was the only crossing I was concerned about today, but some rock work has been done here so a couple planks could be placed across it.
Brook crossing with planks
When I got to the first intersection, I headed up the Carter Dome Trail towards Zeta Pass. As soon as I did this, it started to rain lightly and I needed to stop to put my pack cover on. It wasn't hard enough to require a rain coat yet. The Carter Dome Trail crosses a small brook a couple times, but all the crossings are easy and can be done with dry feet. Eventually the trail starts to make a couple switchbacks as it nears Zeta Pass. At the pass, I headed south bypassing Mt. Hight on the way to Carter Dome. Getting higher up the trail, I started to see some ice on the ground. Two days ago there was a rain storm that appears to have been icing conditions higher up. The ice was now falling off the trees as the temperature was above freezing again.
Ice on the ground as I head up the trail
View from Carter Dome
Ice on the trees at the summit
After spending some time on Carter Dome, I headed back down to Zeta Pass. I met some hikers in this section on my way up that said conditions were icy just below Mt. Hight. This combined with with cloudy skies convinced me to skip Mt. Hight. Normally the best views of the hike are here and it's worth the side trip.
The climb out of Zeta Pass to South Carter is pretty quick with only a few short steep sections. It didn't take too long to get to the next summit. Just across the trail from the summit is a short path to a small view point. I didn't notice this my first time here, but it was cloudy and rainy that day as well. With limited views and continued clouds and light rain, I didn't spend much time here. I headed off up the trail to Middle Carter. The section through here is quick and has a few nice views along the way to make it better. To me, it doesn't feel like you lose as much elevation as to do through here, so that is nice too. There is only one tricky spot (when wet, like today) where you have to go down a steep rock face that doesn't have many good places for footing.
View from South Carter Mtn
View on the trail between South Carter and Middle Carter
The summit of Middle Carter is similar to South Carter in that there isn't much there. The trees on the eastern side of the trail are thin enough you can get some views in that direction though. There is no sign for the summit, and if you miss the small cairn, you could walk right over it. After a short time here as well, I was back to hiking and starting the trek down.
View from Middle Carter Mtn
The trail has a few ups and downs as it works its way over Mt. Lethe. The North Carter Trail junction seems to be a bit further up the trail than you would think my looking at the map. Having been here a few times now though, I don't start thinking "did I miss it?" As it has been in the past, the North Carter Trail was quite wet with water flowing down it in places. There are some sections with small loose rocks as well. At the junction with the Imp Trail, I took a left and keep going down the mountain. Once getting down into the open hardwoods, the trail levels out some. After this, you want to look for a small logged area on your right. Then there is small woods road on your left with tall grass that brings you into Camp Dodge. If you go down their driveway, you come out to Route 16 just down the road from the trail head. When I came through, they were doing construction to replace a bridge on the driveway and I needed to find another way across the brook. That didn't prove too hard though.
This hike doesn't really have any real hard sections on it. It is however a fair amount of elevation gain over the course of it. That makes it take a bit longer than you would think. And makes it a bit harder/more tiring than you might believe ahead of time.
For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE
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