uphillklimber
Member
This was a little different for us this time around, as we were hiking on a Sunday as opposed to our normal Saturday. Saturday was spent performing volunteer work in our community. It turns out that Sunday was the better day anyways. 3 degrees warmer and almost no wind! On the way up, in Conway, we debated whether to try Mt. Washington again, or continue with our planned hike of Tom and field. We opted for Tom and Field as we pretty much wanted to assure ourselves of a successful ascent to round out the hiking season, should this be our last hike.
We hit the road at 6:20 Am and got on the Avalon trail at around quarter of nine. We noticed there was a cascade loop trail as we started out, and decided to take it on the way back down. We were more interested in getting to the top. Almost immediately we realized what the low temps (25-30 degrees) meant when it came to water. Several rocks that we used to cross the streams were icy and wet-very slippery! We were glad that we did not attempt the Ammonusic Ravine trail again, as a good many of the rocks in that ravine would have been very icy indeed.
In under two hours, we are atop Tom. The trail splits into two directions. To the right has awesome views, while to the right has pretty good views also. Clear cloudless day, no wind, what could be better. We strip off our sweat soaked shirts and put on dry shirts and hang the wet ones up to dry. Then we take a load of pictures. Soon, I see a Canadian Jay on a branch. I offer him my cracker, and he flies over and perches on my hand and takes it! This guy is an old pro at this. We love it. Poor fellow has learned how to beg, instead of foraging. I have mixed feelings about this, and I revisit this issue again later in the day.
After eating and taking in the view for about 45 minutes, we head over to Field. There is only a couple of viewing spots here, not nearly as good as Tom, but a pretty good view of the Mt. Washington hotel. The jays here are much more aggressive, and will steal your crackers if you are not careful. Apparently, with less of a view here, the hiker’s entertainment is feeding the jays. Here is where you can see it going bad.
Soon, we are on our way down the Avalon trail and we figure to cross Mt. Avalon also. From Field down to Avalon, the trail is plenty icy and care is used to traverse this area. The rest of the trip had only little ice here and there. Turns out Mt Avalon is a side spur of 100 yards. Of course we divert and is it ever worth it. The top of the rocks provides an excellent view of the valley. We spend about 20 minutes there, before coldness prods us to move on. It was about 40 degrees there in early afternoon.
On the way back down, we do the cascade loop, which added maybe 100 feet to the length of the trip. We saw a couple of nice cascades there and it is well worth the diversion. We end up back at the car around 3:45 or so and are on our way back home in good order. This makes #23 and #24 of the 48 four thousand foot peaks in the White Mountains. We figure to do them all, assessing each ones views as we do them. We are view junkies, after all.
We hit the road at 6:20 Am and got on the Avalon trail at around quarter of nine. We noticed there was a cascade loop trail as we started out, and decided to take it on the way back down. We were more interested in getting to the top. Almost immediately we realized what the low temps (25-30 degrees) meant when it came to water. Several rocks that we used to cross the streams were icy and wet-very slippery! We were glad that we did not attempt the Ammonusic Ravine trail again, as a good many of the rocks in that ravine would have been very icy indeed.
In under two hours, we are atop Tom. The trail splits into two directions. To the right has awesome views, while to the right has pretty good views also. Clear cloudless day, no wind, what could be better. We strip off our sweat soaked shirts and put on dry shirts and hang the wet ones up to dry. Then we take a load of pictures. Soon, I see a Canadian Jay on a branch. I offer him my cracker, and he flies over and perches on my hand and takes it! This guy is an old pro at this. We love it. Poor fellow has learned how to beg, instead of foraging. I have mixed feelings about this, and I revisit this issue again later in the day.
After eating and taking in the view for about 45 minutes, we head over to Field. There is only a couple of viewing spots here, not nearly as good as Tom, but a pretty good view of the Mt. Washington hotel. The jays here are much more aggressive, and will steal your crackers if you are not careful. Apparently, with less of a view here, the hiker’s entertainment is feeding the jays. Here is where you can see it going bad.
Soon, we are on our way down the Avalon trail and we figure to cross Mt. Avalon also. From Field down to Avalon, the trail is plenty icy and care is used to traverse this area. The rest of the trip had only little ice here and there. Turns out Mt Avalon is a side spur of 100 yards. Of course we divert and is it ever worth it. The top of the rocks provides an excellent view of the valley. We spend about 20 minutes there, before coldness prods us to move on. It was about 40 degrees there in early afternoon.
On the way back down, we do the cascade loop, which added maybe 100 feet to the length of the trip. We saw a couple of nice cascades there and it is well worth the diversion. We end up back at the car around 3:45 or so and are on our way back home in good order. This makes #23 and #24 of the 48 four thousand foot peaks in the White Mountains. We figure to do them all, assessing each ones views as we do them. We are view junkies, after all.
