The Great 2007 Carter Traverse Trip Report

It's 1:30am on Sunday, 10/14. I just got out of the shower and am going to bed. tMail is on his way to Boston and will, hopefully, stop at a motel if things get tough. We'll post pics and highlights in the next day or two.

Preview: Photo at right: looking down on the lights of Gorham from the ascent up Moriah as evening and the rain and snow approach and the brilliant foliage fades to deep shades of ashes and wine and seven miles to go. (Click image to zoom.)

Here are a few tidbits while I'm still conscious:

Route: Wildcat Ridge North to Carter Moriah Trail, ending in Gorham.
4k summits: Wildcat D, WildCat, Carter Dome, Middle Carter, Moriah ... only five?
Miles: Approx 18.
Time: Approx 13 hours.
Team Members: tMail, mutha (alas, the PM was not able to make it - nor was Spungie, Maddog, g-$$$ or any of the other team irregulars).

Highlights: freezing rain from friday night made going a challenge above 3,000ft. Weather was clear blue skies under a dry October high pressure system. Temperatures were below freezing above 4,000ft.

By the time we put on headlamps (north of Imp Shelter on the ascent to Moriah), it began to rain - and then as we hit the higher elevations, snow lightly. We hit the summit in total darkness and hurried on. The snow was brief (accumulating about 1/8" on raised undergrowth). We ended at about 9:30pm after more than 3hours of headlamp hiking, failed MSR pump, a few other snafu's, but generally a perfect hike. This one is going in the books as one of the best.

Most commonly heard exclamation: woah - holy shit - wow - damn - etc. (on looking out onto valley views). Visibility was greater than 75 miles until the front of the low pressure system came in at sunset.

Oh yeh, and dig the "time profile" on the right (click to zoom). When I plotted this I realized that Bangor road is 1,000ft below the Wildcat Ridge Trail trailhead on 16. No kidding. Check The Book.

[Update 10/14, 7:04pm]
tMail's pics are available online on his Picasa site [Link]
mutha's pics are available online on his gallery site, including his favorites of tmail's [Link]

The 30sec video seen here is a 270° view from Mt. Hight. Peak foliage, high summits and clear blue skies!