Tom, Field, and Willey (via Avalon, A-Z, Mt. Tom Spur, and Willey Range) - 5/9/2009

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LRiz

New member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
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Location
ManchVegas
Date of Hike: 5/9/2009

Trail Conditions:

Avalon trail to A-Z trail: No snow save for a small section of rail right before the junction (easy to walk around). Quite muddy in places. Both crossings were not 100% rock hoppable, but easy enough to navigate (thank goodness for waterproof boots). However, per Mountain49's recently posted trail conditions, it sounds like the water levels are now much higher given the rain that fell yesterday evening.

A-Z trail to Mt. Tom Spur: Starts off bare, but quickly turns to rail. The snow is deep, and without snowshoes you will posthole. I encountered two hikers who were forced to turn around for this very reason. One very large blowdown towards the beginning of the trail. Crossings no problem.

Mt. Tom Spur: Mostly rail, with a of couple bare stretches. I wore snowshoes the whole way.

Willey Range trail to Field: Monorail right up until the last 100 yards (which are bare). Still a surprising amount of snow, though fortunately the rail is wide enough to snowshoe comfortably.

Wille Range trail to Willey: Three extended bare stretches (all on southern-facing slopes), but otherwise rail - tough to navigate as it's skinny and not well formed. Once again, the snow is deep in places. Two or three blowdowns.

Avalon trail to A-Z junction: Postholed, narrow, irritating rail which made for annoyingly slow going up until Avalon, at which point the snow cover decreased (a bit of rail lingers past Avalon, but it's easy enough to walk around). The steep, rocky sections are extremely slippery and muddy.

Special Equipment Required: Snowshoes an absolute must as of this writing, especially if you plan on taking the A-Z trail up to Tom. I did encounter hikers who were able to bareboot up to Field via Avalon, but it certainly must have been tough going.

Comments: A lovely day to be out on the Willey Range, even if the conditions were a bit trying. Nice to bump into Ed Hawkins and crew... and I beat the thunderstorms! :D

Your name: Larisa

Your E-mail address: larisa.dannis [at] gmail [dot] com
 
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