Imp Trail Loop – North Carter Mountain – Pinkham Notch, NH

This was my first hike in quite some time. I’d have to say the last short hike (i.e. – walk through a forest) was over a decade ago, while a true day hike was some 15-20 years ago. But, I was determined to do this trail, even after my father’s recommendation:

You should just go up to the [Imp] Face and come back down.

There was, after all, a free dinner I needed to be on time for at the Lobster Trap in honor of my mother’s retirement from her years of great work. Being that I was ill prepared, I did the adult thing: I went shopping.  The first order of business was getting the gear. I do have a Burton pack pack I use around the city but it’s a bit bulky and clumsy for something like this. So, I took my Gear Bucks card from EMS and bought the North Face Angstrom 30. Now, normally I wouldn’t shop like this and I’d do my own research for days but I didn’t have time to do so but this seemed like the best option available. (Having now used it, I’d have to say it was really a great choice. I’m now questioning how much I’ll use the Burton pack.) Sadly, I didn’t really have light shorts to wear, either. Military BDUs are great but the weight is ridiculous. I also grabbed a pair of the EMS Camp Cargo Zip-Offs. These also worked out really well. I also got a bit more EMS Techwick. Bottom line, EMS carries great gear and at really great prices in the North Country.

Now that I had the up-to-date gear, my next was to map out the trip. I stopped in at the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to pick up some area maps, an AMC sticker and a parking pass. (Five dollars for 7 days. It cost me $2.00 to park in mid-town on the street for 30 minutes!)

You don’t always need the pass but I wasn’t sure which trail I would hike nor where I would park. Also, in addition to the maps, I highly recommend joining White Mountain Guide Online. I did so to get better details on the trails, but also to obtain the GPX files associated with the trails as I planned on mapping my activity on RunKeeper.

I poked around a bit on the WMGO, read a few reviews online but I also remembered the Imp Trail from about 20 years ago and I really enjoyed the views. After finding it in the guide, it appeared it was a slighter longer hike than I was ready for but I was up for the challenge and mentally motivated to do it.

I got the to southern entrance close to 11:00am. The plan was to park there, walk to the northern entrance and arrive right at the car at the end of the hike. There were many more cars at both lots than the previous day so I was expecting to run into a few people along the way. Headphones on, I started up the trail a little after 11:00am with fairly clear skies and a light breeze. Great hiking weather.  About 5 minutes in, I came across the first group of people. Young kids just out for the day, didn’t look like they were too prepared. I stopped just behind them because I needed to remove a layer. I caught up to them one other time (needed another layer removal) so apparently they weren’t moving too fast or I was.  I eventually passed them and two or three families out for the day. The first mile isn’t too bad, but I was also fresh and rested. There was a tough climb in one section but right when I was considering taking a break, the trail crested and it was much simpler. The second mile, however, wasn’t the same. It’s nearly all a vertical climb to the top from here. I had to stop 2 or 3 times to recharge my legs before moving upward. You can really feel the trail doing a large sweeping turn right up to the Imp Face. After about an 1h 08m of hiking, I arrived at the Imp Face. I chatted with a few of the people up there, a few that I had passed who were also arriving and snapped a few photos before contemplating what to do:

Do I go back? Or do I keep going and potentially be late for New England clam chowder?

If you’ve ever had real clam chowder, this isn’t a simply question. Ultimately, I opted to take a chance and continue the rest of the short climb and then descent back to the car. The particular part of the trail was fairly unused. It was pretty clear most people travel up from the north entrance and go back. Within the first few hundred yards, I was glad I had made the decision to keeping going. The trail snaked a bit, climbed and descended, had some fallen trees and even a few streams through the trail. Now, as you might have caught onto before, I had my iPhone with me so I could listen to music while I hiked. It was at some point along this part of the trail I realized I had service. So, yup, I started calling people! I called my parents to let them know I had not gone back after reaching the summit. Then I had to call Geneva who was very curious why I sounded like I was out of breath:

He’s calling me while he’s hiking!

Yup. Hiking 2o years ago is very different than it is now. More technological gear, lighter gear and better equipment to capture the story. Even with a quite sore knee a few days later, a little less money in my bank account, I’m glad I did the hike. Being at the summit was more impressive than I had remembered.

For the record, I hiked the Imp Trail in under 3 hours and successfully made it on time for a glorious, guilt-free meal at the Lobster Trap.

Name: Imp Trail
Length: 6.30 mi
Travel Time: 4h 20m
Elev Gain: 2351 ft
Elev Loss: -2337 ft
Elev Change: 14 ft
Alpine: no
Wilderness: no

Description: This trail makes a loop over the cliff that bears the Imp Profile, providing fine views of the Presidential Range. The ends of the loop are on NH 16, with the north end between the Mt. Washington Auto Rd. and Gorham.

Google Earth View of the Trail:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsCO9fZjO0U

Flickr Photo Set:

Random GoPro footage:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi_QtiZ3OSQ