Copy/Repost Hike

Joey & Dan went back to Royalty Inn Sunday night where we stayed Sat night for the next day’s peak bag hike of Carter Dome & South Carter. Chuck was able to get a room for ~$50.00 so he stayed here Sunday night too rather than run back to Waterville Valley. After cleaning up from our long day of hiking Sunday, we had an excellent dinner at J’s in Gorham.

Monday was another spectacular day with bright sun & blue skies. Today was peak bag day of Moriah using the Carter Moriah trail starting at the north end at Bangor Road. After a quick stop a Dunkin, the three of us arrived at the trail head at 8:15. As Dan was tying his boot, a lace snaps. I have extra laces at home in a different pack, but none here. We are supposed to meet others here at 9 am, so we jump back in the car and run to Wal-Mart. We are back at the trail head at 9 am so the ride kept Joey & Chuck occupied for 45 minutes. Otherwise Dan would have had to answer why they were there so early 10 times. [I am thankful the lace broke!]

So today it’s Dan, Joey & Chuck, (who hiked about 12 miles with 3400’ of elevation gain Sunday summiting Carter Dome & Mt Height), Alex, Jeff and Steve, (who were fresh!). Today’s trip, per AMC Guide Book, will be 9 miles with 3400’ of elevation, so this was not going to be a picnic after yesterday’s hike.

We left the trail head at 9:25. The trail starts uphill right out of the gate and follows a spine all the way to Moriah’s summit. It is a steady up all the way. First you go over Mt Surprise at 2194’ which at some points is steep ledgey walk, like is found on the Welch/Dickey trail, except steeper. Because Alex is a very prepared AMC trained hiker, Dan decided at the car not to carry his 5 lb emergency kit. Of course, today, for the first time in Dan’s hiking history, Dan feels blisters on his heels, so I had to ask to borrow moleskin. I am guessing blisters popped up because the shoes were damp from the previous days hike. 

There is not much downhill, luckily, off Mt Surprise before you head back up toward the summit of Moriah. Soon we were in snow covered trails and because it had remained warm over night, there was more post holing than on the previous days hike. Most people used some sort of traction device, but snowshoes were not needed. Our next obstacle was trail finding, like on Sunday’s hike, but even harder. I was slightly concerned because the group had spread out a little more than yelling distance apart, but Jeff soon pops out and points Steve & I in the right direction, then goes back and get’s Chuck & Joey. We stuck pretty close together for the last 30 minutes, until we reached the summit. It was a spectacular day to be on this ledgey summit. We all grabbed a piece of ledge to sit on and enjoy our lunch. After about 45 minutes of relaxation, it was sadly time to head back down. Trail finding on the way down was not an issue since our tracks were easy to see.

Jeff & Alex are strong hikers, so they were waiting for us at a nice view point we’d stopped at on the way up. We arrived back at the cars about 5 pm. After some stretching and moaning, we all decide to hit Mr. Pizza in Gorham before heading off in our separate directions. Another awesome day! Dan now has four 4,000 footers to go to finish the 48 of NH. I cannot wait to finish them! Then I’ll feel that I can go hike the trails I enjoy on the few weekends I do head to NH.

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