O'er the Ramparts
- Leaders
- Jonathan Shafer (Co-Leader), Juliana Lu-Yang (Leader), Liam Morley (Leader)
- WIMP
- Bjorn Poonen
- Program
- 3-season hiking
- Type
- Hiking
- Trip date
- Saturday, July 18th, 2026
- Difficulty rating
- L5
- Prerequisites
- Single day hike of 10 miles and 4000' gain completed in the last 6 months; confidence to hike steep terrain
This was a Carter-Moriah + Wildcats Traverse; this trip is now a Garfield/Galehead/optional Twins loop to account for ongoing wildfire smoke, forecasted rain in the evening, and the Mount Washington Observatory annual Seek the Peak fundraiser (based out of the Wildcats), all taking place this weekend. Updated trails:
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Join us on a traverse of the Wildcats + Carter-Moriah Range (and a mid-summer/half-Christmas celebration of the one and only Moriah Carey) next weekend!
Along the way, we'll check out a piece of geologic history in the Whites known as the Ramparts -- a boulder field made of pieces of Carter’s summit that fell off in a rock slide and helped shape Carter Dome to its present form.
The Route: this traverse of 17 miles and 6300' of elevation gain, summiting several mountains in the Carter-Moriah range, including the 4000-footers Wildcats A and D, Moriah, Carter Dome, South Carter, and Middle Carter.
The ascent up the Wildcats is pretty steep (the steepest mile of the entire Appalachian Trail), featuring thrilling rock scrambles, natural rock "staircases," and man-made footholds with wood supports.
If a second driver does not join this trip, we will instead complete this loop of 18 miles and 6700' of elevation gain.
Logistics:
- Mandatory pre-trip Zoom meeting: Thursday 7/16 at 7:00 PM
- Departure: Meet at the MIT Student Center (unless otherwise agreed upon with your driver) at 5 AM on Saturday 7/18
- Weather: to be updated the week of 7/12! Please bring at least 2 L of water.
- Transportation: we need one additional car/driver for this trip. Please update your car status if you're able to drive others, including if you'd be willing to rent a car!
Prerequisites: This is a long, strenuous hike with significant elevation gain up steep terrain, and we plan to maintain a strong pace with minimal breaks. You should have experience hiking at least 10+ miles with 4000'+ of elevation gain recently in the White Mountains or similarly challenging terrain and have a strong fitness routine.
To ensure that all participants can enjoy this hike, sign-up does not guarantee selection for the trip. Trip leaders reserve the right to vet and remove participants.
Signup
- Algorithm
- first-come, first-serve
- Maximum participants
- 4
- Signups opened at
- July 7, 2026, 7 p.m.
- Signups closed at
- July 15, 2026, 5 p.m.
- Notes
1) When and what was the last hike you completed, of > 10 miles / 4000' gain in a single day? 2) What is your favorite steep trail / scramble? 3) What is your weekly fitness routine (activity, distance if applicable, and frequency per week)? 4) Aside from ramparts, what is your favorite thing to go o'er (...hike o'er?)? 5) Favorite Moriah Carey song?