Sunshine Chris
New member
Date: 2-16-13
Trails: Headed up on Avalon to Mt. Field, then Willey Range Trail to Mt. Willey, then back over Mt. Field and down to the A-Z/Tom Spur junction, up to Mt. Tom and down on the A-Z trail to the Avalon back to the Highland Center.
Trail Conditons: Packed powder with new dusting of 1 inch starting with microspikes. At intersection of A-Z and Avalon I followed one set of snowshoe prints up Avalon still in spikes. At Mt. Field the trail was softer and less broke out so I went to shoes out to Willey and back to Field and down over to the Tom Spur intersection. I passed over 20 folks up there on my way back to Field so the trail should be good and solid now as most were in shoes with a few bare booters as well. Solid path up to Tom and down on the A-Z trail to Avalon. Trail got a little too firm for my liking in shoes lower down but I didn't want to slow down to change out as I was cruising right along.
Equipment: micro-spikes to start then switched to shoes for the ridge and trip down. Saw one guy coming up the A-Z in Crampons. No need for them anywhere on the mountain today though if you had spikes or shoes.
Dogs: I think I remember seeing 1/2 dogs today. Good day for them though. The ones I saw seemed happy. Getting to any water might not be easy for them as most of the water crossings were pretty closed up.
Trail Maintenance: A tree down here and there. Some I went under, some over and some around. Not a problem. These have been posted on before. Trail markings clear and often enough on ridge. I appreciated this. May be a need for a little brushing on the ridge out by Willey come spring.
Comments: I enjoyed a great solo hike today! I was pleased with making book time up to Mt. Field, coming down from Tom Spur in one hr. and 6 min (which is great for me as I am usually slow coming down) and finished the hike in just a half hour over book time while having a good time, chatting now and again and taking the time needed to stop and adjust gear to stay comfortable. Thanks for the coffee Paul on Mt. Willey and good seeing you Bob on the trail. Ran into Per and Gaylord in the Highland Center parking lot as they were headed out. Great seeing you guys again! Numbers: Winter 10, 11 and 12 in the books. yeah.
Trails: Headed up on Avalon to Mt. Field, then Willey Range Trail to Mt. Willey, then back over Mt. Field and down to the A-Z/Tom Spur junction, up to Mt. Tom and down on the A-Z trail to the Avalon back to the Highland Center.
Trail Conditons: Packed powder with new dusting of 1 inch starting with microspikes. At intersection of A-Z and Avalon I followed one set of snowshoe prints up Avalon still in spikes. At Mt. Field the trail was softer and less broke out so I went to shoes out to Willey and back to Field and down over to the Tom Spur intersection. I passed over 20 folks up there on my way back to Field so the trail should be good and solid now as most were in shoes with a few bare booters as well. Solid path up to Tom and down on the A-Z trail to Avalon. Trail got a little too firm for my liking in shoes lower down but I didn't want to slow down to change out as I was cruising right along.
Equipment: micro-spikes to start then switched to shoes for the ridge and trip down. Saw one guy coming up the A-Z in Crampons. No need for them anywhere on the mountain today though if you had spikes or shoes.
Dogs: I think I remember seeing 1/2 dogs today. Good day for them though. The ones I saw seemed happy. Getting to any water might not be easy for them as most of the water crossings were pretty closed up.
Trail Maintenance: A tree down here and there. Some I went under, some over and some around. Not a problem. These have been posted on before. Trail markings clear and often enough on ridge. I appreciated this. May be a need for a little brushing on the ridge out by Willey come spring.
Comments: I enjoyed a great solo hike today! I was pleased with making book time up to Mt. Field, coming down from Tom Spur in one hr. and 6 min (which is great for me as I am usually slow coming down) and finished the hike in just a half hour over book time while having a good time, chatting now and again and taking the time needed to stop and adjust gear to stay comfortable. Thanks for the coffee Paul on Mt. Willey and good seeing you Bob on the trail. Ran into Per and Gaylord in the Highland Center parking lot as they were headed out. Great seeing you guys again! Numbers: Winter 10, 11 and 12 in the books. yeah.
