"I camped with a friend at the Moose Brook State Park Campground the night before. Woke up the next morning to the haze of the Canadian wildfire smoke glowing orange in the rising sun. Luckily, the smoke wasn’t thick enough to affect my breathing during the hike, but it certainly affected visibility. We set up a car spot then set off from the Carter-Moriah trailhead just after 9:15am. Other than the haze, the weather was pleasant, with temperatures in the mid-70s and a mild intermittent breeze. The hike up to Mt. Surprise was a quick 2 miles, taking us about an hour and 15 minutes. Mt. Surprise has a few rocky lookouts to the northwest, offering a great view of Pine Mountain and the hazy outline of Mt. Madison. The deciduous forest quickly gave way to evergreens after the summit of Mt. Surprise. The trail became increasingly varied as well, changing between moderate rocky and rooty inclines, earthy flat sections, steep rock slabs, and small boulder scrambles. The only constant were the bugs. The mud was not as bad as I anticipated, but the reported blowdowns were still a problem, particularly about a half-mile from the summit. Many of the fallen trees were trimmed to prevent stabbi..." — JCalautti • Jun 4, 2025

"A hike for a Calendar Day. There was a massive rain storm on Dec 18th, causing a lot of damage to roads and trails. I decided on Moriah for a river free trail. Headed up the Carter Moriah Tr and reached the summit. Pockets of ice scattered all over the place. Didn't see more consistent snow until 3600 feet. The Presis had a lot of blue patches on them rather than solid white. The storm brought the hiking season back a month into mid-November conditions. Headed down the Carter Moriah Tr. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 21, 2023

"Nice day for hiking. Clouds did not spoil the views. It was a very steep, muddy, rocky and lots of ledge to hike up. This trail was very different as it was steep right from the start. No warming up with an easy section. The temp was 53 at the start and 63 at the finish. Very windy at the summit and it was quite chilly. Views were impressive from the summit. " — GreggC • Sep 15, 2023

"A Calendar Day need along with my current loop. Hiked up the Carter Moriah Tr to the summit. Sunny but hazy day. Encountered monorail higher up. I was able to bareboot up and down the mountain. The haze destroyed the views today!" — newenglandwarrior • May 11, 2023

"Spring hiking in the Whites. Nice day, dry trail to Mt Surprise. Above there, snow to the summit. Very sturdy but narrow monorail. Perfect 360 views from a somewhat calm summit." — Alohabuffy • Apr 28, 2023

"Still avoiding water crossings, we worked on another need of Molly's. So we hiked up Moriah up the Carter Moriah Tr. We had views from Mt Surprise on the way up. We reached the summit and saw some grey jays. Coming back down, the Presis's had some clouds about them from Mt Surprise. We also saw a guy making snow sculptures with his hand saw. It was pretty neat. " — newenglandwarrior • Feb 20, 2022

"Peanut joined me. Lots of blowdowns on Highwater and Moriah Brook. Spots where trail has been washed out. A lot of water crossings along the way. Moriah Brook was buggy and exposed to sun a lot of the way. A lot of snow between Moriah and Rattle River Trail." — doloressoule • May 16, 2021

"After a late morning dentist appointment, I went up to Moriah to pick up a Grid gain. I went up Stoney Brook Tr for a change of scenery and because I could be on the trail sooner. Some rotting monorail along the AT near the summit. Nice views today. 10 miles" — newenglandwarrior • May 13, 2021

"Did the "Loop" trail. Started at 7 am on Bangor Street trail head, and came out to Stoney Brook Trail head at 2:30. MANY stops on the way to take pictures and see the beautiful views as well!!!!" — Bucky • Oct 10, 2020

"A rather cold trip to the top of Moriah today. 17 deg at the bottom, 7 at the top plus a cruel wind made it a little inhospitable on the summit. Too bad as the bright blue skies were stunning and views for miles in every direction. Good look out from Surprise's ledges. Trail was in excellent shape, snowshoes door to door. Except snowmobilers have ripped apart the trail from the 1 mile to 2 mile mark." — Alohabuffy • Jan 20, 2020