BIGEarl
Well-known member
November 10, 2010: Willey Range
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mount Tom Spur, A-Z Trail
Summits: Field, Willey, and Tom
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Finally, Sue gets good weather on her vacation. We had a great day for our hike of the Willey Range. The day was planned to be a relaxed one to rest up for the next day, which was to be a traverse of Franconia Ridge.
We made the usual pre-hike stop at the AMC Highland Center, which is something we do every time we’re hiking in the local area. Then, we moved the truck to the closed-for-the-season Crawford Depot. We grabbed our things and were soon on the trail headed for Mount Field.
The lower part of the hike was on bare ground and much of it was dry and solid. There were a few mud pits but they were easy to get past. The two stream crossings were also easy to handle. As we approached the trail split where Avalon Trail goes left and A-Z Trail goes right, we started to hit some occasional ice but not enough to require added traction. We went left and continued our climb. The Avalon Trail passes the Avalon Spur but we decided to skip the stop this time through. We were interested in finishing the hike early to get as much rest as we could before hiking Franconia Ridge.
After passing the Avalon Spur we came upon a few mud pits that weren’t solid. We needed a careful approach to get through with clean boots. After leaving the area of the mud pits the trail started a second steep climb. Roughly half way to the Willey Range Trail (WRT) we decided MicroSpikes were needed. Once we had the extra traction the climb became much easier.
We made our way past a couple intermediate ridges and arrived to the Avalon – WRT trails junction in great time. From there it was a left turn and roughly a hundred yards to the summit of Mount Field. There we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the views and play with the Gray Jays – they’re always entertaining if you have some food to share.
Soon it was time to get moving once again. We continued south on WRT to Mount Willey. Along the way the trail drifts to the west side of the ridge and was melted clear of snow and ice for a distance. We also enjoyed some very nice warm conditions along the way. There are a couple PUDs between Field and Willey but the trail is easy hiking right now and we cruised through all of it and on to Mount Willey.
A short distance before the actual summit is a ledge area where there are nice views to the west including Carrigain Notch, The Bonds, Moosilauke, Franconia Ridge, and more. We stopped for a while to enjoy the views. Down below there were a couple large ponds that were reflecting the clear blue sky above, and they appeared to be bright blue in color themselves. Soon it was time to go but not until we got the necessary summit pictures.
Our next stop was Mount Tom. Back over Mount Field we hiked and continued on our way to Tom. So far the hike was on completely clear trails, except for one very large blowdown on the lower Avalon Trail, which has been there for a long time. Roughly half-way between Field and Tom we came upon the only “fresh” blowdown we found all day. Because of the thick branch structure, it was not possible to get past without a short off-trail diversion. Possibly, if the branches in the area of the trail are removed it may be easy to get past. Otherwise, a herd path will quickly develop on one side or both.
From the area of the blowdown it was a short hike to the WRT – A-Z trails junction. Then, it was a short walk on A-Z to the Mount Tom Spur. From the trail junction to the summit is a short easy walk with most of the mud along the way frozen. We reached the summit area, skipped visiting the Mt. Tom Bench and headed straight to the summit cairn. There we got the usual summit pictures and enjoyed the views for a short time.
After getting the summit pictures Sue placed her camera in its case but probably didn’t completely close it expecting to get more pictures of Zealand Ridge, etc. The sun was too low to allow for pictures to the west and we simply headed for our exit walk. Sue’s camera case was still open.
We hiked roughly half-way out before removing the MicroSpikes and probably should have waited a little longer. Within two steps of removing the MicroSpikes Sue hit a patch of ice and went down. I really hate it when Sue falls, but she bounced right back up and said she was okay. We continued the remainder of our exit hike without any additional problems.
At the truck Sue immediately realized she had dropped her camera some place along the way. We discussed it for a few minutes. It was now dark and we were both tired. We agreed to skip Franconia Ridge and return to re-hike Mount Tom the next day to find the camera.
Once we finished packing our gear at Crawford Depot we made another of our usual stops at the Highland Center. While we were there Sue left her name and contact information along with a description of the camera hoping somebody finds it and leaves it there. Soon we were on the highway south.
The next morning we met again at the Park & Ride and took off for Crawford Notch to re-hike Mt. Tom. We re-traced our exit route watching out for the fallen camera all of the way up the trail. There were people ahead of us but we didn’t know how many. Roughly a quarter mile below the height of land and the Mt. Tom Spur we came upon a large group and stopped to talk with them about the camera. They had not seen it. But, there could have been others ahead of us as well.
We continued to the summit and did a search of the area but found nothing. The day before we only went to the cairn and then to the north side of the summit clearing before leaving. There was also no side-trips off-trail on the exit hike. It seems to me that if the camera fell from Sue’s case it would have landed on the trail. I hope the camera was found by someone that was ahead of the rest of us and they turn it in to the Highland Center lost and found.
We enjoyed a great day on the Willey range but the lost camera at the end sort of took the edge off everything.
Thanks Sue – I really hope your camera is returned.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mount Tom Spur, A-Z Trail
Summits: Field, Willey, and Tom
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Finally, Sue gets good weather on her vacation. We had a great day for our hike of the Willey Range. The day was planned to be a relaxed one to rest up for the next day, which was to be a traverse of Franconia Ridge.
We made the usual pre-hike stop at the AMC Highland Center, which is something we do every time we’re hiking in the local area. Then, we moved the truck to the closed-for-the-season Crawford Depot. We grabbed our things and were soon on the trail headed for Mount Field.
The lower part of the hike was on bare ground and much of it was dry and solid. There were a few mud pits but they were easy to get past. The two stream crossings were also easy to handle. As we approached the trail split where Avalon Trail goes left and A-Z Trail goes right, we started to hit some occasional ice but not enough to require added traction. We went left and continued our climb. The Avalon Trail passes the Avalon Spur but we decided to skip the stop this time through. We were interested in finishing the hike early to get as much rest as we could before hiking Franconia Ridge.
After passing the Avalon Spur we came upon a few mud pits that weren’t solid. We needed a careful approach to get through with clean boots. After leaving the area of the mud pits the trail started a second steep climb. Roughly half way to the Willey Range Trail (WRT) we decided MicroSpikes were needed. Once we had the extra traction the climb became much easier.
We made our way past a couple intermediate ridges and arrived to the Avalon – WRT trails junction in great time. From there it was a left turn and roughly a hundred yards to the summit of Mount Field. There we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the views and play with the Gray Jays – they’re always entertaining if you have some food to share.
Soon it was time to get moving once again. We continued south on WRT to Mount Willey. Along the way the trail drifts to the west side of the ridge and was melted clear of snow and ice for a distance. We also enjoyed some very nice warm conditions along the way. There are a couple PUDs between Field and Willey but the trail is easy hiking right now and we cruised through all of it and on to Mount Willey.
A short distance before the actual summit is a ledge area where there are nice views to the west including Carrigain Notch, The Bonds, Moosilauke, Franconia Ridge, and more. We stopped for a while to enjoy the views. Down below there were a couple large ponds that were reflecting the clear blue sky above, and they appeared to be bright blue in color themselves. Soon it was time to go but not until we got the necessary summit pictures.
Our next stop was Mount Tom. Back over Mount Field we hiked and continued on our way to Tom. So far the hike was on completely clear trails, except for one very large blowdown on the lower Avalon Trail, which has been there for a long time. Roughly half-way between Field and Tom we came upon the only “fresh” blowdown we found all day. Because of the thick branch structure, it was not possible to get past without a short off-trail diversion. Possibly, if the branches in the area of the trail are removed it may be easy to get past. Otherwise, a herd path will quickly develop on one side or both.
From the area of the blowdown it was a short hike to the WRT – A-Z trails junction. Then, it was a short walk on A-Z to the Mount Tom Spur. From the trail junction to the summit is a short easy walk with most of the mud along the way frozen. We reached the summit area, skipped visiting the Mt. Tom Bench and headed straight to the summit cairn. There we got the usual summit pictures and enjoyed the views for a short time.
After getting the summit pictures Sue placed her camera in its case but probably didn’t completely close it expecting to get more pictures of Zealand Ridge, etc. The sun was too low to allow for pictures to the west and we simply headed for our exit walk. Sue’s camera case was still open.
We hiked roughly half-way out before removing the MicroSpikes and probably should have waited a little longer. Within two steps of removing the MicroSpikes Sue hit a patch of ice and went down. I really hate it when Sue falls, but she bounced right back up and said she was okay. We continued the remainder of our exit hike without any additional problems.
At the truck Sue immediately realized she had dropped her camera some place along the way. We discussed it for a few minutes. It was now dark and we were both tired. We agreed to skip Franconia Ridge and return to re-hike Mount Tom the next day to find the camera.
Once we finished packing our gear at Crawford Depot we made another of our usual stops at the Highland Center. While we were there Sue left her name and contact information along with a description of the camera hoping somebody finds it and leaves it there. Soon we were on the highway south.
The next morning we met again at the Park & Ride and took off for Crawford Notch to re-hike Mt. Tom. We re-traced our exit route watching out for the fallen camera all of the way up the trail. There were people ahead of us but we didn’t know how many. Roughly a quarter mile below the height of land and the Mt. Tom Spur we came upon a large group and stopped to talk with them about the camera. They had not seen it. But, there could have been others ahead of us as well.
We continued to the summit and did a search of the area but found nothing. The day before we only went to the cairn and then to the north side of the summit clearing before leaving. There was also no side-trips off-trail on the exit hike. It seems to me that if the camera fell from Sue’s case it would have landed on the trail. I hope the camera was found by someone that was ahead of the rest of us and they turn it in to the Highland Center lost and found.
We enjoyed a great day on the Willey range but the lost camera at the end sort of took the edge off everything.
Thanks Sue – I really hope your camera is returned.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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