Moats Traverse

Leaders
Ariel Sommer (A coC), Dan Brooks (B coC coI S), David Migl (C), Donald Zhang (coC), Jessica Noss (C), Noah Silverman (C)
Program
Winter School
Type
Hiking
Terrain level
C
Trip date
Sunday, January 31st, 2016
Difficulty rating
Medium-hard (above treeline)
Prerequisites
One B- or C-level trip this winter school.

9.7 mi., 3250', above treeline. An old guidebook recounts that "Before the great fire of 1854, Moat was the greenest mountain visible from North Conway." A raging forest fire consumed the trees and topsoil on the ridge of the Moat mountains, leaving behind a swath of barren, exposed rock. Join us on a traverse of the Red ridge, Middle Moat, and South Moat mountains for spectacular views and two miles of above treeline trails. This would be an ideal introduction to above treeline travel or if you just want to explore off the beaten path of the usual above-treeline destinations.

We will arrange cars so that we can traverse the entire ridge without retracing our steps. Most of us will leave Boston around 5am, and some will come from Intervale the night before. Let us know in the comments where you'll be coming from. We'll do the hike as two groups of three leaders and up to seven participants each. One group will traverse S to N, and the other N to S. When we meet in the middle, we'll exchange car keys and high fives. Each group will arrive at the opposite trailhead and drive the other group's cars back to Conway to return cars and enjoy a well-deserved meal.

You should have done at least one below-treeline or harder (B or C level) hike this winter school, and you should be able to complete the 9.7 mi in a day. You should have your layering system dialed in and be comfortable with staying in the happiness triangle. Trekking poles and microspikes will be useful. Finally, you need the required above-treeline personal gear: a rain jacket/"hard shell", ski goggles or lab goggles, and a balaclava. The balaclava + goggles should leave no exposed skin when worn together.

PRE-TRIP MEETING: Thursday after lecture (~9pm) outside 35-225 (the lecture hall). Bring your rain jacket, goggles, and balaclava.


Signup

Algorithm
first-come, first-serve
Maximum participants
14
Signups opened at
Jan. 27, 2016, noon
Signups closed at
Jan. 30, 2016, 11:59 p.m.
Notes

1) What is your experience with crampons? (note: we will probably not need them with current weather/trail conditions. asking just in case) 2) Do you have a hardshell/rain jacket, balaclava, and ski goggles, and can you bring these to the pre-trip meeting? 3) Where will you be coming from Sunday morning? (Boston, Intervale, Camelot, other?) Would you be willing to drive up Saturday night and stay at Intervale? 4) Can you drive a manual transmission? (one of the cars might be manual and it'd be useful to know if anyone can drive it back to Conway) 5) Drivers only: your hike will end at the opposite trailhead. Would you be comfortable letting someone else drive your car 10 miles/20 min back into Conway so we can meet up and swap back? It'd also be useful to indicate if your car is automatic or manual. (If you're not comfortable letting someone else drive, you can still sign up, and we'll figure something out.)

Signups for this trip are closed.