Date Route Completed 4/30/2011
The following is a description of the Route to climb Carter Dome in via the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail with a loop.
To reach the trail head take route 302 and there is a parking lot at the trail head of Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. The trail head is about 3 miles north of the Wildcat ski report on Route 302.
This climb is a loop. I enjoy climbing via loops as it allows you to see diverse terrain during your hike. It is important to always carry a map with you on a hike so that you can navigate and avoid getting lost. When doing a loop hiking with a good map becomes more important because you are not back tracking your original route. When hiking a loop refer to the map and triangulate where you are using other peaks, visual references that you see and on the map. I always have a compass but I rarely use it preferring to keep my general bearing by looking at the time of day and relative position of the Sun in the sky – the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west and depending on the season will determine the path it takes in the sky. Keeping a constant awareness of the direction you are travelling is far easier than using a compass and more enjoyable because it forces you to look around and take in the scenery. Another tool that I do use and find very useful is an altimeter watch – by using a altimeter watch and a topographical map you can very quickly determine exactly where you are by looking for the altitude on your watch and then the contour lines on the map. Just take caution that if the weather appears to be changing then your altimeter watch will NOT tell you the right altitude. Bad weather comes from low pressure fronts so if the weather gets worse during the course of your hike your watch will actually indicate that your altitude is higher than your actual position. In the event that weather gets better and changes from rain to clear sky’s the pressure has typically increased and your altimeter will show a position that is lower in altitude than your actual position.
| Carter Dome via Nineteen Mile Brook Trail | ||||||||
| Start Point | Trail | Elevation Start (ft) | Elevation End (ft) | Elevation Start (m) | Elevation End (m) | Distance Segment (miles) | Cumulative Distance (miles) | End Point |
| Nineteen Mile Brook Trail Parking Lot | Nineteen Mile Brook Trail | 1476 | 2346 | 450 | 715 | 1.9 | 1.9 | Intersection Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail |
| Intersection Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail | Nineteen Mile Brook Trail | 2346 | 3412 | 715 | 1040 | 1.7 | 3.6 | Intersection Wildcat Ridge Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook Trail |
| Intersection Wildcat Ridge Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook Trail | Nineteen Mile Brook Trail | 3412 | 3412 | 1040 | 1040 | 0.2 | 3.8 | Carter Lakes |
| Carter Lakes | Carter Moriah Trail | 3412 | 4833 | 1040 | 1473 | 1.2 | 5 | Summit Carter Dome |
| Summit Carter Dome | Carter Dome Trail | 4833 | 4560 | 1473 | 1390 | 0.4 | 5.4 | Intersection Carter Dome Trail and Black Angel Trail |
| Intersection Carter Dome Trail and Black Angel Trail | Carter Dome Trail | 4560 | 3904 | 1390 | 1190 | 0.8 | 6.2 | Zeta Pass |
| Zeta Pass | Carter Dome Trail | 3904 | 2346 | 1190 | 715 | 1.9 | 8.1 | Intersection Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail |
| Intersection Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and Carter Dome Trail | Nineteen Mile Brook Trail | 2346 | 1476 | 715 | 450 | 1.9 | 10 | Nineteen Mile Brook Trail Parking Lot |