Mt Hight (11/23-24/22)
Every previous time that I have hiked the Carters, I have felt too exhausted to take the long way around Mt Hight, and instead I have gone directly up and over Carter Dome. I didn't think this was an issue, as Mt Hight is not on the New Hampshire 48 or the 52 With a View lists. However, it turns out that there is one place where you do have to get it; the Appalachian Trail goes over it. Thus, I planned a hiking trip for little reason other than to get Mt Hight and connect that part of the AT to what I had already done.
My hiking trips are fewer and farther between than they used to be, so I wanted to get out for a hike anyway when I had some time over Thanksgiving break. I decided to hike the day before Thanksgiving, stay at the Carter Notch Hut, and then hike out over the Wildcats on Thanksgiving morning. To do this, I would need logistical support (namely a car spot), and Dragonfly took time out of her schedule to offer that support, which I greatly appreciated.
I dropped my car off at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, and I ate my breakfast from Big Dave's Bagels in North Conway while I waited for Dragonfly. Stopping there before a hike has become a pretty constant tradition at this point. Dragonfly got there very promptly, and she shuttled me over to the Nineteen Mile Brook Trailhead. I was sad to say goodbye to her, but it was made easier by the fact that I knew I would see her again the next day for Thanksgiving.
Nineteen Mile Brook is a pretty easy trail, with a gradual upgrade most of the way, so I made good time to the trail intersection with the Carter Dome Trail, which is where I knew that things would get more difficult. I also saw some pretty cool ice formations along the way.
As expected, the trail became steeper once I hit Carter Dome Trail, and my progress slowed considerably. However, I knew that I wasn't on a schedule, so I took my time and didn't rush things (well, I went slower than my usual, anyway). The heavy pack I was carrying with extra sleeping equipment for my hut stay also made climbing tougher.
Speaking of climbing, I didn't know what to expect from the Appalachian Trail once I started up Mt. Hight, as I had never done that section before. If anything, it was even steeper than Carter Dome Trail. As I climbed, I began to see the wisdom in having skipped it on my last couple Carter Dome hikes. As usual, I turned to my music to get me through. I belted out Sweet Baby James by James Taylor as I ascended. When I heard the lyric, "Now the first of December was covered in snow," I thought it was pretty appropriate even though I was still in November, as the ground was definitely covered in snow. It's kind of funny how I started my trip in the snow-free Portland area, then had some snow on the ground around Standish, and then a lot of snow on the ground by Fryeburg, and of course completely covered in the White Mountains.
The summit of Mt. Hight was pretty bleak. It was fogged in so that you couldn't see anything, and the wind was whipping across it ferociously. I pulled up my hood to protect me from the wind, and then grabbed a couple of pictures before I decided that discretion was the better part of valor (thanks Shakespeare!) and headed back down.
From Mt. Hight, it was an easy jaunt over to Carter Dome. Even though Carter Dome is a higher peak than Mt. Hight, it has a summit enclosed by trees, and so there was little wind. I didn't need the hood or anything.
On my previous trips to Carter Dome, I have always struggled with the descent from Carter Dome to the Carter Notch Hut. It is a very steep descent, dropping 1,500 feet in a mile. I have never made it down without falling at least once. Well, never until this trip, that is. I took it very carefully on my way down, and I managed to make it all the way down to the Hut without a single stumble. I was quite proud of that.
When I entered the Hut, I met the caretaker, Caleb. He was a really nice guy, though much quieter than many other caretakers I have met over time. He was a previous Appalachian Trail hiker, having hiked southbound, and he was from the D.C. area. Given my previous AT experiences, as well as my having lived in Virginia, we found a lot to talk about.
Caleb asked me if I was a member of the Sadie group. Given that I had no idea who Sadie was, I said no. It turned out that besides me, there were two other groups staying at the Hut. One was another solo hiker named Brenda. Then, there was a family of eight, led by Sadie, who had been a Hut caretaker herself at one point. Sadie's family was planning to spend a couple days at the Hut, and they had carted up a 26-pound turkey to cook for Thanksgiving dinner. They were very generous with their food, but I had plenty of my own, so I didn't want to take any of theirs. Eight people is a big group to feed, after all.
Brenda and the Sadie group were all assigned to the lower bunkhouse, while I was assigned by myself to the upper bunkhouse. I am not sure why that worked out that way, but it was just as well for me. Being in a bunkhouse by myself meant that I could listen to music or podcasts before bed without bothering anyone. I immediately headed up to the bunkhouse and set up my sleeping area. I changed from my hiking clothes into clothes more appropriate for hanging out at the Hut, and I put down my sleeping bag. I was using a sleeping bag that I hadn't used in a long time, my old synthetic LL Bean 20 degree bag. I picked that one because I felt like it was going to be too warm for my zero degree bag, and I couldn't use my 20 degree quilt on a bed. I remembered that they used to give you pillows when you stayed at the Huts, but that must have been discontinued over COVID. Thus, I was glad that I brought an inflatable pillow with me.
For dinner, I cooked one of my dehydrated meals. I think it was Backpacker Pantry Cubans Beans and Rice. Even though everyone else had their own real food (fettucine alfredo with chicken), I got a lot of compliments on how good my food looked and smelled. People were even more jealous of the Rice Krispies Treat bar that I had brought along for dessert.
One of the things I love about Huts is that there is very little cell phone reception. Thus, people have to talk to each other. As such, we all spent the time after dinner chatting with each other about various topics, from hiking to solar power to food, until we finally landed on poop jokes and stories. I have no idea how we got there, except that if allowed to go on long enough, all conversations eventually make their way to the lowest common denominator.
People started to turn in pretty early, and I think I was the last one to leave the Hut (other than Caleb, obviously), and head to my bunkhouse. I settled in for what I hoped would be a restful night, but I had guessed a little wrong on the temperatures. It was colder than I expected, and I missed having my zero degree sleeping bag. However, I was just a little uncomfortable, never in any real danger from the temperatures. As one does when sleeping in below freezing temperatures, I kept my clothes for the next day, my electronic devices, and my water bottles in the sleeping bag with me so that they wouldn't freeze.
When I woke up in the morning, I discovered that I was one of the first ones up. Sadie's group had been planning to make breakfast, but I was up and ready before that really got underway, so I headed out. Brenda was the only other person hiking that day, and she beat me out the gate. We were both planning to hike the Wildcats, but she was going to Wildcat D and turning around, while I was planning to go all the way to the road. Thus, I knew I would catch up with her at some point.
It was a gorgeous morning out on the trail. In contrast to the gloomy skies of the day before, Thanksgiving morning was bright with blue skies as far as the eye could see. The biggest climb of the day was going to be Wildcat A, and I attacked it with gusto. I followed the trail that Brenda and others had made, and I made pretty good time up the mountain. I was definitely energized by the beautiful day and the thought of seeing Dragonfly for Thanksgiving.
Of course, I forgot just how brutal the Wildcats are. Just up and down the whole way, including a long descent off Wildcat C before the ascent up Wildcat D.
When I summited Wildcat D, I stopped at the observation tower to take a quick picture of the Presidential Range. Unfortunately, Mt. Washington began to cloud in as the day went on (it seemingly always does). This was where I said goodbye to Brenda, and I asked her to say goodbye to everyone at the Hut for me. I had a feeling that I was going to be missing quite a celebration.
Wildcat D was also where the Wildcat Ski Area is, and I was surprised that people were already skiing as early as Thanksgiving, given that it had been a warm fall. I had to make sure to avoid getting hit by any skiers as I hiked through to rejoin the Appalachian Trail in the woods.
On the trip from Wildcat D over to Wildcat E, I paused for a moment. I realized something very unique and special - I couldn't hear anything. It was total silence. Think about how rare that is. In our modern society, there's always a machine going somewhere, or something else making noise. True silence is something we almost never experience. I basked in it for a moment before I moved on.
The descent down Wildcat E was rocky, steep, and dangerous, and it took me a long time. There were a few places where I realized that one wrong step could easily be fatal, and a few places where I had very little idea how to proceed forwards. Probably the worst of them is shown below. Going down the first half was easy, but then I had to put my feet on one side of the gap and my hands on the other side and shimmy my way down the chasm. It made me wish that I had climbing equipment. I did make it safely, although I shudder to think about how much damage I did to my spikes on those rocks.
When I finally made it down the Wildcat Ridge Trail, I turned on to the Lost Pond Trail, which added another mile or so to my hike as I tried to get to the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center. The extra mile was definitely demoralizing, as I just wanted to be finished after the arduous descent down Wildcat E. Next time that I decide to hike the Wildcat Trail, I hope that I will just think better of it.
In the end, I made it back to my car, and I was able to share Thanksgiving dinner with Dragonfly and her family. All's well that ends well, and always remember that you can't take flight until you spread your wings!
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