A returning guest working on her New Hampshire 4000-footers reached out looking for a guide for the Wildcats. Her objective was to take on and beat the Wildcat Ridge Trail (WRT), bag the two peaks that count, then continue onto Carter Notch for a pleasant hike out via 19 Mile Brook Trail. The WRT has a reputation and appears on the Terrifying 25 list but our guest crushed it. Thanks in part to Redline Guide Hayley LaPointe who carefully set things in motion she knew would help. Come to find out her methods helped so well, she even surprised herself. We say: Good job! Hayley penned this overview and supplied some photos, below. You will also find a guest testimonial…
Our guest and I had an excellent day hiking the Wildcats. We started the day hiking the Lost Pond Trail, which was a fabulous warm up trail before reaching the relentless Wildcat Ridge Trail! She voiced her concerns early on about the WRT, noting that she had read a lot about it and was particularly worried about a couple of spots that people tend to talk about. As we made our way up to the first section that people who don’t love heights struggle with, I went first to show her where the good hand and foot holds were, then took her poles and she flew right up the scramble! I was so impressed that she powered right through. She made it look easy! We continued on, tackling each scramble as we came upon them. I could see her gaining confidence with each section, which made me so proud!
We finally made it up to the top of the ski slopes, where we met a lovely dog and his owner before climbing up to Wildcat D (#38 for our guest!) We stopped for a snack and continued over the Wildcat Ridge all the way to Wildcat A (#39!) where we ate lunch and enjoyed the view down into Carter Notch. We met a bunch of thru-hikers, and our guest had a lot of questions about the Appalachian Trail (AT), which I was happy to answer. We made our way down into Carter Notch, where we turned left to follow the 19 Mile Brook Trail, which was a welcomed mellow grade, descending next to a stream the entire time.
We talked a lot about trail maintenance, water bars, erosion and basic Leave No Trace principles. It was great to hear that our guest learned a few new things today! Overall, it was a lovely day with an excellent hiking companion! —Hayley
Our guest confirmed the excellence of this particular hike and the outstanding job Hayley did. She added this, in her words:
I had a wonderful hike with Hayley up the Wildcat Ridge Trail today. She was an excellent guide, cheerleader, and teacher as we made our way up the steep trail and scrambles. Our pace was perfect and made this challenging hike feel very doable and rewarding. It was an awesome day! —Guest
