Carrigain

6/29/24

I’ve been looking forward to hiking Mt. Carrigain for some time now. From reading about it, it just seemed like a hike that would be right up my alley. I knew that Signal Ridge Road was closed, and I would have to park right off Rt. 302 and hike the extra 2 miles of the road to get to the trailhead, which means hiking those 2 miles on the way back as well. In doing my research and planning, I decided I would hike up Signal Ridge trail to get to the summit. But, instead of turning around and going back, I would turn this into a loop by continuing on to Desolation trail, which would lead to Carrigain Notch trail and eventually back to Signal Ridge trail. While I don’t have any huge issues with hiking out and backs, I enjoy loops much more. This would be about an 18-mile trek, which was perfect in my eyes. I’m using these hikes as my long mountain training sessions, so I was happy to extend what could have been a 10-mile hike (if the road was open) to almost double that. Even doing the out and back would have been 14, so I was thrilled to go explore a few more miles in the mountains.

I got to the parking lot at 6:15. There was 5 other cars there. I started my trek at 6:35 by starting up Signal Ridge Road. I started off with a very light jog to get the legs warmed up. The road is a decent, gradual incline basically the entire 2 miles to the trail. I didn’t jog the entire thing. I alternated between the light jog and a brisk walk. I was pretty excited that I would hopefully be able to cruise down the last 2 miles on this nice wide dirt road. I was setting high expectations for the last 2 miles, but I also knew that there was a good chance my legs would be hurting and that they may not want to cooperate, even on that downhill. I made it to the actual trailhead about 30 minutes later.

The next 2 miles of Signal Ridge Trail were similar in that I would alternate between jogging and power hiking. The only difference is that this was an actual trail so there were plenty of rocks and roots, where the first 2 miles was nicely groomed dirt road. I did these 2 miles in about a half hour, so I was pretty happy with getting through 4 miles in an hour. At this point, I had seen no people. I found that weird considering I was making decent time. I made the assumption that all 5 of those cars were not trail runners, so I assumed they either started very early and were already at or near the summit, or they had spent the night up there somewhere. Either way, I assumed I would start seeing people coming down or would meet up with people at the summit.

I gained over 2,500 feet in elevation over the next 3 miles, including a 1-mile stretch that gained over 1,100 feet in gain. So, while my pace slowed because of the steep ascent, I still continued to move well. I ate a gel on the way and was drinking plenty of electrolytes to keep the energy up. I covered these 3 miles in about an hour and a half, so it took me 2.5-3 hours to get to the summit. It was unreal because I was moving swiftly, but I still had not seen anyone. There wasn’t even anyone at the summit. I don’t love heights, but I decided I had to climb to the top of the tower since I was there. It was incredibly windy. As I got to the top, my hat flew off. Thankfully, I grabbed it with my hand, but I was getting blown around up there, and that made me uncomfortable, so after getting some video on the GoPro up there, I made my way down. Underneath the tower was not nearly as windy, so I dropped the pack for a bit and got a bunch of calories in to help get ready for the rest of the hike.

Heading down Desolation Trail takes you into the Pemi Wilderness. Carrigain is just on the outer part of that region of the White Mountains. This initial descent seemed like it was taking forever. It was very steep and very rocky. I was having to step down quite a bit on each step, so it was slow and steady, sometimes having to use my hands to assist. I dropped over 1,200 feet in the first mile down and almost 1,000 on the next mile. Those 2 miles took a little extra time, but it really opened up after that. When it would open up, I would pick the pace up to see what I had left in the tank after that ascent and descent. My legs were feeling pretty solid at this point, but I stubbed my toe on a rock about 10 miles into the trek. I hit it pretty good and was immediately feeling the pain on every step. When the pain didn’t dissipate at all, I was wondering whether I could have actually broken it. Nothing I could do about that now - just keep moving forward. I kept the pace very conservative due to the toe, but I was still jogging and banging out 14–15-minute miles along these nice runnable sections. I wasn’t done by any means, but I couldn’t help but thinking how well I was doing on just my 3rd trip to the mountains this year. I could already see the improvement and was very happy about that.

The last few miles were a pretty steady jog. Terrain slowed me down for small sections here and there, but I was moving well, and didn’t have a need to stop for anything. I was eating gels and drinking water/electrolytes on the go. I was really moving down Signal Ridge trail and eventually Signal Ridge Road. Closer to 12-13-minute miles on the trail and 10-11-minute miles on the road. Even with the toe, I was able to keep it moving well. 10-11-minute miles may not sound great going downhill on a dirt road, but after 16 miles in the mountains and a banged-up toe, I am very happy with how I performed. It was not until I was halfway down the road that I saw the first person of the day. I saw 2 small groups of people on my way down, so I went about 17 miles without seeing anyone. It was a nice Saturday, so I was in complete shock. I know the section I came down is less traveled (and less maintained based on the number of downed trees I had to maneuver around), but I was still amazed that I hadn’t seen anyone. And sometimes, that’s just what I need. Being alone in the mountains can be thrilling, peaceful, exciting, nerve-wracking, humbling, and plenty more. I wouldn’t want to be out there every time completely by myself, but sometimes it’s just what the doctor ordered.

It ended up taking me about 6.5 hours to get back to the truck. Taking into account my stops, my moving time was clocked at just under 5 hours. For 18 miles in the mountains, I am super excited about this. My legs still pretty good, so I was beginning to see some of my mountain endurance come back. I still have a long way to go, but I love seeing improvement. Number 40 was a giant success. Oh - except that damn toe. As soon as I took my sock off back at the truck, it was purple and swelling fast. Ugh, looks like I may have been right - it might be broken. At least it’s not the big toe, but it hurts to the touch, so I have to be very gentle with it.

Update a week later - I’m thinking the toe was just badly bruised. It’s much better, and I’ve already gotten a couple runs in with no pain. I’m very lucky it’s one of the smaller toes. The discoloration is almost gone, and it’s not quite as swollen. It’s a little crooked, but that same toe on the other foot is too. I’m not sure if this one was crooked before or not, but I’m still fairly confident that it’s not broken. At least it didn’t sideline for me too long.

40 of 48! 8 to go, and I’m planning on going out with a bang. I have Cannon left, which will be done by itself. I have Isolation left, which will be done by itself. The tentative plan is to bang out the other 6 in one shot. It’s called the Wildcat-Carter-Moriah Traverse. Somewhere around 20-21 miles and about 7,000 feet of elevation gain. I will end up finishing on Mt. Moriah. While I would not pick that one to end on by itself based on what I’ve read about all of them, I think a nice long, epic journey through this rugged terrain is exactly how I need to finish up. I’ve read this is a pretty strenuous hike, but I’ll be ready. I can’t wait. I have to knock the rest of these off before October, so let’s get moving.