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Earlier in the week Joe (JustJoe), Mike (Salty) and I (aka me, aka dumb ass, aka the dude who never shuts up) started talking about what trouble we could get into for the coming weekend. Ideas were thrown in, then out, and in the process we managed to loose Mike to sickness. So Joe and I talked through options and eventually settled on Moriah both for simplicity, effort (Joe had done Whiteface and Passaconaway the day before and was not looking forward to a very strenuous hike) and the fact neither of us had done it in winter. So we set a meet time of 8:45 on Bangor Road in Gorham intending to take the Carter-Moriah trail up. I arrived to find the little parking area filling up fast with Joe not far behind me at around 8:30. We got ourselves ready and struck off for the day’s adventure.
After the brief steep beginning Joe and I set into a nice slow stride covering the flat parts through the lovely hardwoods. The high cloud ceiling was working hard to dissipate, and the further we went the nicer it was getting. We has started out at 3 degrees above, but it felt a bit warmer down in that sheltered area without so much as a hint of breeze. Joe let me set the pace, and I made every effort to keep us at a nice and slow one, but I think Joe was just humoring me. We went up over the first PUD and then the next, which we came to assume was Mt. Surprise, or as McRat likes to say “SURPRISE it’s a named mountain!” The views were obstructed a bit by trees, but the range was long and clear, so we knew we were going to be lucky when we got up higher.
It had been about 4 or 5 years since I was last on this trail, and while I like it for the most part I did not remember all those damn PUD’s of which there was plenty of them. Eventually it was getting annoying, but by now we were so close we could taste victory. A few people passed us on the way down and told us it was breezy and chilly up top, so we figured it would be a quick summit stay and then out of there. We came to the spur junction to find two ladies we had met in the parking lot enjoying lunch, so we passed them by and went up to the high point. The views were perhaps the best I have ever seen from there, with the pure blue sky now greeting us, crystal clear views as far as our eyes could see, and hardly any wind that we were told was there. But they were right that it was cold. Joe was snapping away with the camera, and in the short period he was doing so his fingers went numb…it was COLD. We dropped back off the summit to have lunch, and Joe had to wait a good 10 minutes with his hands back in his mitts just to get them warm again before he could even think about taking his pack off to dig for lunch. Even I had my troubles. I was digging around for my food and in that short period with the mitts off I had to replace them before I could open up the bag just to eat. So you can imagine we stayed only as long as it was necessary.
After downing a quick lunch we got ready for a quick descent to get our blood flowing, so Joe took the lead as we flew down the trail. We were going so well that I had to stop and take my mitts off because now my hands were sweating, and when I did so you could see the steam evaporating off them. The PUD’s were just as miserable on the way down as they were up, but we made the best of it and just pushed on through. At one point we managed to spot the contrail of an F-15 that had been buzzing around all day, but to this point had remained invisible. A few last pictures were taken from the best of the view ledges before we plunged back into the hardwoods again and thus ended the sightseeing part of the day. With a last push we clicked off the last of the mileage and returned back to the parking lot a little short of 6 ½ hours after leaving it.
We stopped off at Mr. Pizza for some dinner (thanks for the treat Joe!) and then parted ways. I hit Rt. 115 at the best time of the day, right before sunset. This road is one of my favorite drives at this time because the lovely colors play across all the summits and make for a visual treat. I was onto Rt. 3 around 5 so I decided to stop off at Beaver Brook to see if the crew doing the Twins/Galehead may have made it down yet. It was a long shot, but at least I would leave a not saying hello. So I pulled in about 5:15 next to Happhiker’s car and started writing a note. As I was doing so another car pulled up next to mine, and it turned out to be Paradox who had been out with that group today but had already finished and was waiting. I stuck around until about 6:10 before deciding I had waited long enough (a liter and a half of Mt. Dew will only keep you awake so long.) Long story short, this turned out to be a decent day with some great weather. Joe was as always perfect company, and except for the chilly temps on the summit it was a wonderful day to be in the woods.
Brian
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Those were some beautiful woods and gorgeous views. 
I've had better luck taking them out of the package at the beginning of the hike, way before I need them, and putting them in the mitts to get them working. It is a bit of a process to get the darned things to heat up. Hands get too warm and the handwarmers go in the pockets. When we take the gloves off for all those beautiful photos, the fingers take it hard. I feel pretty useless standing up there unable to use my hands! Handwarmers ready to go are a life saver!