Long drive for a smallish hike: Avalon-Field-Tom loop

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marnof

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It seemed far too long since I stole away to WMNF for some hiking and exploration, so when I sensed a lull in the activity in my locale, and found the weather cooperating, I jumped at the chance to get my hiking season underway! My idea was to knock off some peaks that I had done before, but solo this time in order to complete my solo NH48 this year. I'm not sure why it matters that they are all solo, but it made sense to go the distance since over 40 are solo already.

Pre-hike: On the road at 4:30am and heading north, I had my first wildlife sighting in Northampton MA. A coyote was fixated very intently on some prey in the highway median. It would have been a great photo, but I was flying by at highway speed. Once in NH, I had to brake hard for a turkey and her brood of 7 crossing the road near Wentworth. It was your typical duckling-like scene. I usually see the young turkeys in the field where they blend in perfectly with the tall grass.

Finally on the Avalon Trail at 9:30ish, I opted for the Avalon-Field-Tom loop. I'd been to Field and Tom before and thought I'd spice it up a bit by blasting up the Avalon Trail all the way to Mt. Field. (Good choice, as it turned out!) First I took the Cascades Loop which leaves and returns to the Avalon Trail after going by Beecher and Pearl Cascades. There's a log across the top of a cascade, and as I was fiddling with my camera a large mink/small fisher zipped across it. I was so close to having that on film.


DSC02863 by cubist11, on Flickr

My camera didn't want to cooperate with long exposures for the waterfalls (always blame the equipment!), so I continued on. The tiny summit of Avalon has great views of Crawford Notch and is definitely worth checking out.


DSC02884 by cubist11, on Flickr

DSC02886 by cubist11, on Flickr

The summit of Mt. Field, and most of the trail out to Mt. Tom, is bordered with these flowers. Any chance that someone here can help ID them?


DSC02887 by cubist11, on Flickr

Not a single bug bothered me until the summit of Tom. Once I reached the blowdown area on the summit that affords views SE to Field and Willey, the blackflies came out in force. I had seen gray jays here on my last visit, but they've evidently been run out of town by these little vampires. I like the view here though, as well as the thoughtfully placed bench someone made here.


DSC02895 by cubist11, on Flickr

I returned to the cascades on the Avalon Trail and found a sweet little pool about 5 feet deep. Had it been 10 degrees warmer I would have slipped in for a dip. As it was, it actually hurt to have your feet in it for more than a few seconds, but it was great.


DSC02901 by cubist11, on Flickr

I did figure out the exposure setting on my camera, but the sun was high and ruining any chance of pretty waterfall shots. That's about the only time you'll ever hear me complain about too much sun/not enough cloud cover! BUT--I did manage to get this amazing shot of Beecher's Dribble, a feeder stream on Crawford Brook. Ahem. Go ahead, feast your eyes.


DSC02921 by cubist11, on Flickr

Happy hiking! Mark

PS: I've wondered what type of rock this is for a while. I notice it usually in stream beds where it stands out against the other stones. Igneous? Metamorphic? It sure looks gneiss, but I'm pretty sure it's not.


DSC02905 by cubist11, on Flickr
 
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