Hey folks!
I hope everyone had a stellar weekend! Mine was actually fantastic relatively speaking. I went hiking Saturday and just hung around yesterday and actually did some school work which hasn’t happened that frequently or successfully this semester. Baby steps.
I think hiking three mountains and 13.7 miles definitely helped the whole being productive thing. That likely sounds opposite to what most people would expect. But for me, right now, the more I physically exhaust myself the better off I tend to function mentally. Also, spending an entire day out in the middle of nowhere is really soothing for my being.
I wrote this post yesterday but just finished my workout and am reading it over before hitting publish.
Sharing today’s short and sweet workout:
- Row 1000 meters, tire flip x 10, row 800m, tire flip x 8, row 600m, tire flip x 6, row 400m, tire flip x 4, row 200m, tire flip x 2
- Then…. 5 rounds: farmers carry 100ft., 15 push-ups, 20 lunges
‘Twas fun.
On that note, let’s talk the hike yesterday… I’m committed to writing these recaps!
The mountains: Middle Carter, South Carter, and Mt. Hight – these are all part of the Carter-Moriah Range, which is the range directly east of the Presidentials (aka the views are bomb). While these are all well over 4000 ft., only Middle and South are “technically” 4000 footers for the NH 48 list. Plus? I haven’t done them yet! SO I’m now at 42/48 which I’m stupid happy about.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this hike because I loved the Wildcats (southern peaks of this range), Carter Dome (just south of Mt. Hight, north of Wildcats), and Mt. Moriah (a few peaks north of Middle). Panda and I hiked the Wildcats in fall of 2016 and Carter Dome in fall 2017, so I was happy to get back onto this range in another season.
We (my friend Ari and I) took Nineteen mile brook trail to Carter Dome trail which then brings you to a split where if you go right you head towards Mt. Hight and Carter Dome, but left sends you on the Carter-Moriah trail towards South and Middle. Back in October, Pan and I took the first two trails and then turned right to reach Mt. Hight and Carter Dome and I loved them because they are mellow and absolutely gorgeous. They give you time to process and be in absolutely awe with nature without wondering if your heart if going to explode. That being said, my two favorite types of trails are 1. mellow and 2. SPICY as possible, so either calm or steep as can be. Safe to say I’m a big fan of extremes.
From the trail junction to South is below tree-line and relatively easy grade with a quick moderate incline at the end (obviously… you do have to summit the mountain!). On this section were some blow downs which I believe to be remnants from a storm back in late October… Added a nice little obstacle element!
I loved the part between South and Middle because it opens up for a short time and there are absolutely amazing views of the presidential range (1st picture in this post) from here. Ridge-line hiking is without a doubt the best option, it’s just so real and raw. You’re so small compared to the mountains you’re on and the mountains surrounding you. It’s a very humbling experience and one that helps me realize how to put life into perspective. There is so much more in the world than the daily grind “down there”; the little problems we encounter on a day to day basis are really put in place when you’re standing on a summit in the winter looking at these massive mountains knowing that Mother Nature could very well take you down. It teaches me to respect both the entire process and myself a little bit more.
After summiting South and Middle we backtracked the Carter-Moriah trail and headed towards Mt. Hight. The climb up Hight is a short and spicy one, a nice hike finisher 😉 While I’ve hiked this mountain before, that doesn’t matter. It has 360 views and they are superb. I can see where people may not want to climb the same mountain multiple times, but for me, each hike is different. Sure, I know the trail more each subsequent time but that’s about it. The process from trailhead to summit depends on who I am hiking with, the day, my mind, the weather… there are so many factors and no matter what I don’t think I’ll ever have full deja vu on a hike.
You might be able to see in the photo above that I have a green sled attached to my pack. Yes, indeed butt sledding down the mountain is “a thing” and it happens to be one of my favorite things about winter hiking. I feel like a little kid flying down the mountain on a sled. Of course, not all sections of trail allow for this – super steep (usually end up on actual butt sliding not on a sled), multiple water crossings, or when the trail is on a slant and you would essentially end up in a ravine! I probably ended up sledding for about a mile of the total 4.6 descent from Mt. Hight to the car. Fully recommend experiencing this in your lifetime.
Overall it was a great hike. Mt. Hight remains one of my favorite summits and I can continue to say that I dig the Carter-Moriah Range. I told Ari that I really want to run this section come summer/fall! I also noticed that I’m getting better at identifying other peaks from the summits/view points. It’s neat though because being in the mountains feels so much like being home, that understanding where I am in relation to other peaks I’ve climbed/have yet to climb feels great. It’s a whole new level of awareness, one I plan to keep cultivating.
“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.” – René Daumal
pursuitofanoutlier.wordpress.com 
I love that quote and all the pics are so beautiful. I want to go hiking one day!