The Wildcats: A cup of tea and a moose sighting

 

 

 

Started out my summer vacation with a trip to New Hampshire. First hike was to do the Wildcats (from A to D) going up via the 19 Mile Brook trail and descending the Polecat trails of the Wildcat ski area. The 19 Mile Brook trail is a nice walk along a pretty big and noisy brook. I stopped in at Carter Notch hut for an early morning cup of tea. From there I took the steep rocky Wildcat Ridge trail up to Wildcat A (some impressive trail work on this section of trail). I came upon a guy with a full pack after about 15 minutes who thought he was headed down to route 16 and pointed him in the right direction. There is a spot (marked Vista -->) near the summit of Wildcat A with a great view of the hut down below and the Carter Range. From there it is up and down and repeat through the woods until you reach the viewing deck on Wildcat D. The Presidentials were in the clouds and there was a mob of gondola riders so I stopped briefly for a sandwich and headed down the Polecats. Although they were a bit muddy, this is a welcome relief from the steeper and rocky descents of many hikes. I spotted a lady moose on a side trail and there were lots of flowers on the trail which on a clear day would have great views of Washington and the Northern Presidentials. Sadly I did not get a lift back to my car so had a few miles road walk to end the day.