Wildcat D to Carter Notch Hut Wildcat Ridge Trail from Pinkham Notch Day 1
by
, 09-17-2021 at 09:55 (1785 Views)
This was a three-day Appalachian Trail section hike from Pinkham Notch / NH-16 to the Rattle River trailhead on US-2. We stayed overnight at the AMC Joe Dodge Lodge and hiked via the Wildcat Ridge Trail to the Carter-Moriah Trail and the Rattle River Trail. Day 1 plan was to get over the Wildcats and stay overnight at the Carter Notch Hut. The trail up Wildcat D is extremely steep and is listed on the NH Terrifying 25 list: https://www.theterrifying25.com/
This part of the hike was very enjoyable with many views and some interesting rock scrambling. It definitely earned its way onto the T25 list! Needless to say, we were very tired when we got to Carter Notch Hut.
The plan for Day 2 was to get over the Carters (Carter Dome, South Carter, Middle Carter, and North Carter) and then down to Imp Shelter. It was raining that day and the trail was exceedingly frustrating and difficult! The hike up Carter Dome was steep. Once at the top, things leveled out a bit, but with all the rain, it was a slippery muddy mess so it still took a long time and required a lot of mental energy. Coming down North Carter in the rain and then all along the slanty slippery slabs was very precarious and difficult / slow. There were a couple of places where technical rock climbing skills were needed, which caught us by surprise. Imp Campsite was nice. The shelter was very large and well maintained.
The Plan for Day 3 was to get to summit Mount Moriah and then back to the Rattle River Trail Head.