Wildcat Mountain Backpack

Monday July 2, 2018 to Tuesday July 3, 2018

Views of the Northern Presidential Range must be earned via Wildcat Ridge Trail. A half-mile section is steep and technical. Carter Notch is a beautiful destination of this hike, including the beautiful Carter Lakes. The ascent and/or descent can be skipped using the ski lift to Wildcat D.

Day 1 - 6.2 miles - 6 hours, 29 minutes

My buddy and I did this hike as prep for our trip out west to the Sierras. It ended being an extremely hot and humid couple days and the climb up the beginning of Wildcat Ridge trail with a pack was one of the most grueling sections of hiking I’ve ever done. All of our work on the first day was left without the reward of a view due to cloud cover.

Rather, our prize was two of my favorite mountain ponds, the Carter Lakes, which are tucked in Carter Notch. I’m not sure why we didn’t take a dip in the enticing water.

We planned on camping near Carter Notch Hut and the caretakers directed us to a campsite a quarter mile down Wildcat River Trail. It was an awesome spot tucked in the woods. Unfortunately, in a moment of absentmindedness I sliced open my finger while making wood shavings for a fire. My friend was able to bandage me up and I was able to live another day. This event was countered by one of my favoite ever wildlife encounters. While we were relaxing at dusk we were repeatedly visited by a tiny Northern Saw Whet Owl which would perch up on a branch nearby and do a little dance by bobbing its head up and down.

Day 2 - 2.7 miles - 3 hours, 15 minutes

On the descent, I was unable to use a hiking pole with my injured hand and was not looking forward to descending the steep trail we came up. The added heat and humidity made us even less excited about hiking more, so we opted out and took a ride down the Wildcat ski lift when we arrived at Wildcat D. We then walked on the street back to Pinkham Notch.