On Saturday July 20, 2024 I set out to do something that had been on my mind for a while. The Moriah-Carter-Wildcat Double Traverse (or YoYo). Whatever you want to call it, I have never seen a report of someone completing this traverse twice in one day as an out & back, so I decided to go for it.
I did this completely solo and unsupported, carrying all my food for the day in my running vest (5 RX Bars, 1 tuna packet, a bag of banana chips, and a bag of salted mixed nuts)(this was definitely not enough food). I started with about 2 liters of water in a camelbak bladder, and a 700ml bottle filled with coconut water. I refilled my water 3 times. First at Carter Notch Hut, then at the Ellis River along Route 16 at the bottom of Wildcat Ridge Trail, and again at Carter Notch Hut as I passed it the second time.
My day started out at the Carter-Moriah Trailhead a couple minutes after 5:00am. I was very conscious about keeping my effort at a somewhat slow, sustainable pace at the beginning to conserve my energy. I told myself that on the way back I would kick it into high gear, but it didn't necessarily work out that way. About half way up to Moriah, I took my shirt off and tied it to my running vest, I did not put my shirt back on for the rest of the day. Another thing I remained conscious of was keeping myself from overheating or becoming dehydrated. Luckily there was a cool breeze in the air and things didn't start to heat up until about halfway through the day.
I made it to my first summit (Moriah) at 1h45m. From there my spirits were high and my energy carried me down the ridge and up to North Carter (3h17m), Middle Carter (3h38m), and South Carter (4h02m). I descended down through Zeta Pass and up to the beautiful summit of Mt Hight (4h40m), then effortlessly over to Carter Dome (4h58m). Running low on water, I made the steep descent down to Carter Notch Hut (5h27m) and refilled, unphased by the 5ish hours of hiking I had just done. The real challenge was ahead of me on the Wildcat Ridge.
Keeping my effort steady on the ascent, I made it to Wildcat A (6h03m), then started to move a little faster along the ridge to Wildcat D (6h42m). Making the hellish descent down Wildcat Ridge Trail to Route 16, I touched the pavement at 7h40m. My watch showed that I was at almost exactly 18 miles. This was my half way point.
Feeling slightly dehydrated and low on water, I reluctantly filtered from the Ellis River right beside Route 16. I grabbed my tuna packet from my vest and made a very slow, controlled effort. Climbing possibly the steepest climb of the day back up Wildcat Ridge Trail while scooping tuna into my mouth with a flat piece of bark from a tree.
I made it back to Wildcat D at 9h20m. Lost a lot of time and energy on that climb. This part of the effort in particular had me questioning everything. What was I thinking? The temperature was rising as I made my way steadily to Wildcat A (10h18m) and back down to Carter Notch Hut (10h56m). There, I filled my water to the fullest capacity and got into the lake to cool off. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I was very hot and tired. Going in the water helped. I knew from here that I had about 13 miles and a couple big climbs ahead of me, but I've ran plenty of half marathons, so it wouldn't be so bad, right?
Keeping a slow, controlled pace and mostly unbothered by the climb, I ascended to Carter Dome (12h14m) and over to Mt Hight (12h31m). From the summit of Hight, I looked ahead at the rest of the Carter Range with Moriah looming far behind it. I refused to even try to wrap my head around all the distance I had ahead of me, and just kept moving. With the day weighing heavy on me, I descended to Zeta Pass and back up to South Carter (13h09m), Middle Carter (13h43m), and North Carter (14h04m). At this point my mentality started to slip a bit, I kept checking my watch and feeling like I was making super slow progress, and the sun was starting to set. After the steeper part of the descent from North Carter, I started to move a bit faster.
As I crossed the junction for Stony Brook Trail, I can't explain how badly I wanted to just take that trail back down to the road, but I had come so far, and I could not give up now. My spirits lifted as I ascended Moriah, I really love this section of trail, and there was a cool breeze, and it was lit up nicely by the setting sun. Getting close to my final summit of the day, I started to panic, thinking about how once I got there I would still have over 4 miles until I got back to the trailhead. I summited Moriah (15h31m) just as the sun was disappearing behind a wall of clouds on the horizon. I sat for a minute and prayed, thanking and begging the universe for this day and this life and for keeping me safe on my journey.
I put on my headlamp and began what would be one of the hardest parts of my day, a steady 4.5 mile descent into complete darkness. I went through phases of disorientation and nausea, stopping to sit down at least twice and feeling like I was going to throw up. I was completely out of water and down to my last RX Bar, which I tried to eat but could not stomach. I focused all my energy on not passing out, not throwing up, and not twisting my ankles. Moving slowly but making progress. I arrived at the trailhead at 10:22pm, back where I started, 17 hours and 20 minutes later. What a day.
Now I understand why presumably nobody has done this before. It was an incredibly difficult day with lots of ups and downs, both on the mountains and in my mind. I don't feel completely satisfied with how long it took me, and I'm sure that somebody could do it way faster, but I'm just glad I was able to do it, to take an insane idea from my head and make it a reality.