Sunday, April 14
Summits: Wildcat A & D, Carter Dome, South, Middle, and North Carter, Moriah
Start: Wildcat Mountain parking lot C
Finish: Carter-Moriah TH
Miles: 17.02
Elevation gain/loss: 7644’/8770′
Eric and I started from the Wildcat trailhead at 7:30am with temps in the mid-30s with clearing into sunny skies. We climbed to the first Wildcat summit by 9:15am and weren’t bothered by ski patrol. We made our way along the ridge in our snowshoes; luckily, the trail was broken out and relatively firmly packed. The descent to Carter Notch was a bit spicy but we only fell a few times on the soft snow. It was a long slippery climb, but we made the summit of Carter Dome by 11:30am; we took a short lunch break and then kept moving.
Clouds came in and brought a strange light quality, almost like dusk for a large part of the afternoon. The trail was broken out but not overly firm, so we kept our snowshoes on for the rest of the day until we started descending Moriah. The descent off North Carter was entertaining as always but we took our time and handled it well. We found water to filter nearby the Stony Brook intersection, and made the summit of Moriah by 5pm. We then descended quickly, finishing around 7:15pm.
Transcending Mountains 