Carter Notch to Garfield

Date: July 28, 2021
Peak(s): Madison, Pierce, South Twin
Huts: Carter Notch, Madison Spring, Lakes of the Clouds, Mizpah Spring, Zealand Falls, Galehead
Trail(s): Nineteen mile brook, Great Gulf, Osgood, Gulfside, Gulfside/Airline, Crawford Path, Webster Cliff, Mizpah Cutoff, Avalon, A-Z, Zealand, Twinway, Frost, Garfield Ridge, Mount Garfield Trail,
Mileage: 46.8*
Elevation Gain: 15,117’*
Weather: 56(F), 89% humidity. Great visibility for most of the day. The upper sections of Osgood were a bit socked in.
Ground Conditions: A mix throughout the day. Easy stepping up to carter notch. Easy stepping through the presies for the most part as well. Obviously some puddles and wet spots from recent weather here and there. Across the street, enjoyed mostly great conditions with few slick spots. All water crossings were a reasonable hop across for me.
Notes: New personal record for a solo effort on this type of trip! The above mileage* and vertical* figures include the way into the hut since this was essentially all one go. This trip was another attempted hut traverse and I was aiming to visit all 8 AMC huts in a 24 hour period. I saw a good weather window and planned to leave Carter Notch as close to midnight as possible which meant leaving the trailhead at nineteen mile brook a little after 10pm. While heading up I saw a few toads/mice but no other wildlife. Got to the hut and thought that strava was being fussy and did not realize that it had already published most of the trip up to the hut letting the cat out of the bag. I started a new one and shared the tracker beacon with Katie a little before midnight.

After starting, it was simple enough getting down back to the car and over to Osgood. It’s always fun to cross that bridge in the dark. The trip up Osgood involved quite a bit of vertical gain, a head lamp battery change (thankfully had extra batteries), and by the time I reached the tree line it was pretty socked in. From that point to the second hut it was a bit of a cairn hugging mission. After summiting, I got water at Madison Spring and saw some patches of clearing skies. At this point, I finally saw some other hikers up and getting after it. After the junction with the Jefferson loop trail it looked like the forecast was going to hold up. After getting peace of mind with the weather, the focus was mainly to keep it steady and not get in my head about the time or distant details.

The Crawford path was mostly easy stepping and beautiful views all the way down to Pierce. Off of Pierce, there were a few slick spots/bog bridges down to the hut. I made it to Crawford notch in 10 hrs and 46 minutes leaving a little bit of wiggle room for the second half of the day. By the time I got to 302, it felt like I had plenty of energy and did not over do it on the way over. A simple enough up and down from Crawford notch to Zealand. Along the way, I was surprised to see a good flow of folks on the A-Z trail. I took a brief stop for water at the Zealand hut and I kept it moving as I was excited to get to the section of the Twin way with the panoramic views. On South Twin, I looked back at the presies and had a quick laugh thinking about the ground covered earlier that day. At Galehead hut, I was feeling pretty good and decided to head out on the Garfield Ridge trail with the hopes 2 more.

Ultimately, when I got near the summit of Garfield I gave into the temptation of being done over visiting the last two huts. I could lay out a few factors that impacted the decision but I was just ready to be done. The thought of hiking the remaining 130ish feet up to the summit didn’t really cross my mind at that point either. I briefly contacted Katie to check in and adjust plans to hike out to Garfield as opposed to the remaining vert and finish in the dark. Always best to trust the instincts and call it when it makes sense. The huts & mountains should be there long enough for another attempt on a warmer day.

Big thanks to Katie for the logistical/general support for this one!

Basic Elevation Profile

Photo Highlights