Wildcats and Carter Dome 6-26-2016
Hit the summits of 5 more 4000 footers #’s 14 through 18, Wildcat D (El 4070) Wildcat (El 4432) Carter Dome (El 4832) South Carter (El 4430) and Mount Carter (El 4610)
Started Saturday at Wildcat Mountain, we took the ski trail up for a change of pace and hammock camped under the observation deck on Wildcat D. The fly’s were horrendous, when you stopped for a break you would be immediately swarmed, but the weather was good, 92 degrees. Woke the next morning and took the Wildcat Ridge Trail to Wildcat Mountain. From there you have views of Carter Dome and the Carter Notch Hut. The climb off of Wildcat was short but steep. There are very limited water sources on these trails, however you can fill / fuel up at the Carter Notch Hut.
Took a long break at the Carter Notch Shelter and continued on the Carter Moriah Trail to Carter Dome. This trail was short and steep. Carter Dome had limited views to the North of Mt. Height and South Carter. We continued north to Zeta Pass where we camped for the night. Day three we hit the summits of South and Middle Carter. Coming off of Middle Carter was very steep but the trail was dry which made scrambling down easier. We had lunch at the Imp Shelter under some light rain and closed out the day hiking Stony Brook Trail to Rt. 16. Overall stats, 5 peaks in three days, just under 16 miles and over 6200 feet of elevation gain.
We experimented with a homemade a tin can sterno stove which worked well, we had a steady diet of Top Ramin and Oatmeal…but it was warm! The peaks on this trail are not marked other than with cairns so if you want to know what peak you are on you need to have some basic land nav skills, a map, compass and / or a good GPS.
