Three Carters in a Day Trip Report

Three Carters in a day. How did I do this? I’m not sure but I’m glad I did. This may have been a long hike but it was a great hike. My plan was to hike Middle and South Carters with Carter Dome and Mt. Hight as an option if I felt good and the day stayed clear. To hedge, I ascended the ridge via Imp Tr.’s south leg rather than the north leg. The north leg’s views are supposed to be great, but there’s more effort required to ascend ledges there and so more effort. I traded views for a shot at Carter Dome. It worked.

The hike up Imp and North Carter Trails was beautiful. The forest was lush and wet, really dense and rich, very beautiful. It’s been raining a lot this summer, and it seemed that every brook, stream and feeder was flowing. I heard many hidden cascades through the trees on my way to the ridge.

The ridge was damp and muddy thorough South Carterbut oddly dry further on. Great trail work on the ridge – the Carter-Moriah Tr. had extensive bog bridge work. Mt. Lethe provided a good view into Maine but there were otherwise no views until Carter Dome. I ate lunch at “Catherine” Zeta Pass. The day was getting late so I decided to blow off Mt. Height and hike only Carter Dome. An easy up from the pass to the summit. The views from the summit were good to the north to Moriah. The walk down was long, uneventful and attractive.

Of note:

• mostly cloudy to partly cloudy, 60s/70s
• saw a handful of other hikers, including a meloncholy trail crew, otherwise a quiet day
• 13.3 mi/8 hrs. 50 mins.