BIGEarl
Well-known member
January 26, 2013: Willey Range
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, A-Z Trail
Summits: Mount Field, Mount Willey, Mount Tom
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
It’s been over a year since our last visit to the Willey Range. Considering the weather forecast we decided this was an ideal way to spend the day. Final prep included checking the usual weather sites and hiking reports. I was very happy to see our friend Pat Cushing (VFTT Bombadil) had hiked the loop late on Friday. He reported some drifting on the ridge, which wasn’t surprising. With Pat having hiked the loop a few hours earlier I knew any trail breaking that was needed would be minor and due to overnight drifting. Thanks Pat!
I also read reports describing rough trail conditions from bare-booters. I expected the usual Crawford Notch bare-booter horror show for trail conditions but that never happened. We enjoyed very nice trail conditions all day.
We set off a little later than originally planned. I think the starting temperature of -6 degrees might have slowed us down a little. Once we finally got on-trail it didn’t take long to get warmed up and comfortable. The only tough spots for both of us were the fingers; they got really chilled while putting on the snowshoes and required a little extra time to get up to temperature. Our plan was to hike the loop in the clockwise direction.
Our first objective was the Avalon and A-Z trails junction. We planned to head straight up Avalon Trail to Willey Range Trail near the summit of Mount Field. As we were reaching the trails junction another pair of hikers passed and went right, heading toward Mt. Tom. To this point the trails were in great condition; clearly more than Pat as passed through recently. At the junction we went left and climbed.
The trail has no ice and the traction for our snowshoes was terrific. We raised the heel lifts and worked our way to the first break in the area of the Avalon summit spur. We both know the views from Avalon are very nice, but we passed on the side-trip and kept climbing. From the Avalon Spur to Willey Range Trail is a series of steep pitches with short sections of relatively mild trail that provide a break in the climbing action. We worked to find that Peakbagger ideal climbing pace but never quite nailed it. We made a few more stops than we would have at his speed but eventually made it to the Willey Range Trail junction a comfortable amount ahead of book time (I thought I was really dragging to that point – I was happy). The weather forecast had predicted quite a bit of wind from the northwest and I knew we would be sheltered from it until reaching the ridge. Suddenly it was time to add a layer.
Layered up and ready to go we made the left and were soon standing on the summit of Mount Field. After a few pictures we were again headed south and on our way to Mount Willey. To this point we had met one additional solo hiker descending Avalon Trail. From Field to Willey we were again passed by the pair that passed earlier on their way to Tom, and we met five others that appeared to be backpackers, and one solo hiker; all but three were on snowshoes. Roughly mid-way to Willey the broken trail drifts away from the marked route but quickly gets back on course. We were off-trail for a very short section and didn’t bother correcting on the way back out – it’s a very minor diversion.
On the summit of Mount Willey Sue made a couple new friends with the local Gray Jay population. These guys are being well-fed this year (no surprise there). After going through roughly half a package of crackers we decided staying warm was more important and we u-turned and started north.
Hiking a loop of the Willey Range from Crawford Notch, clockwise or counter-clockwise, means passing over the summit of Mount Field twice. We re-hiked the trail between Willey and Field barely slowing down as we passed the summit for our second visit. A couple minutes later we passed the junction with Avalon and stayed with Willey Range Trail to the junction with A-Z Trail.
The most significant drifting was reported along this section which is common. There had been quite a bit of traffic ahead of us and the trail was well tracked out and pretty smooth. It was generally a non-stop cruise to A-Z Trail and on to Mt. Tom Spur. There we stopped briefly for refreshment and then headed to Mt. Tom and our final target for the day. We got our usual pictures at the summit cairn (now under snow), wandered the summit area to enjoy the various views, made the u-turn, and started our exit hike.
The hike back to Crawford Notch was free of surprises. The trail condition was more of the same; a nice wide snowshoe track all of the way out. Back at Crawford Notch we stopped to remove our snowshoes but needed to keep moving. It was cold and the wind was blowing strong through the notch.
Our usual exit routine of quick change at The Highland Center and hit the highway south followed. The Highland Center was definitely a busy place. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this level of activity there. Busy is better. It wasn’t long before we were cruising south on I-93 and snacking on M&M’s.
Thanks Sue for another good day in the mountains; this time just for fun.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, A-Z Trail
Summits: Mount Field, Mount Willey, Mount Tom
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
It’s been over a year since our last visit to the Willey Range. Considering the weather forecast we decided this was an ideal way to spend the day. Final prep included checking the usual weather sites and hiking reports. I was very happy to see our friend Pat Cushing (VFTT Bombadil) had hiked the loop late on Friday. He reported some drifting on the ridge, which wasn’t surprising. With Pat having hiked the loop a few hours earlier I knew any trail breaking that was needed would be minor and due to overnight drifting. Thanks Pat!
I also read reports describing rough trail conditions from bare-booters. I expected the usual Crawford Notch bare-booter horror show for trail conditions but that never happened. We enjoyed very nice trail conditions all day.
We set off a little later than originally planned. I think the starting temperature of -6 degrees might have slowed us down a little. Once we finally got on-trail it didn’t take long to get warmed up and comfortable. The only tough spots for both of us were the fingers; they got really chilled while putting on the snowshoes and required a little extra time to get up to temperature. Our plan was to hike the loop in the clockwise direction.
Our first objective was the Avalon and A-Z trails junction. We planned to head straight up Avalon Trail to Willey Range Trail near the summit of Mount Field. As we were reaching the trails junction another pair of hikers passed and went right, heading toward Mt. Tom. To this point the trails were in great condition; clearly more than Pat as passed through recently. At the junction we went left and climbed.
The trail has no ice and the traction for our snowshoes was terrific. We raised the heel lifts and worked our way to the first break in the area of the Avalon summit spur. We both know the views from Avalon are very nice, but we passed on the side-trip and kept climbing. From the Avalon Spur to Willey Range Trail is a series of steep pitches with short sections of relatively mild trail that provide a break in the climbing action. We worked to find that Peakbagger ideal climbing pace but never quite nailed it. We made a few more stops than we would have at his speed but eventually made it to the Willey Range Trail junction a comfortable amount ahead of book time (I thought I was really dragging to that point – I was happy). The weather forecast had predicted quite a bit of wind from the northwest and I knew we would be sheltered from it until reaching the ridge. Suddenly it was time to add a layer.
Layered up and ready to go we made the left and were soon standing on the summit of Mount Field. After a few pictures we were again headed south and on our way to Mount Willey. To this point we had met one additional solo hiker descending Avalon Trail. From Field to Willey we were again passed by the pair that passed earlier on their way to Tom, and we met five others that appeared to be backpackers, and one solo hiker; all but three were on snowshoes. Roughly mid-way to Willey the broken trail drifts away from the marked route but quickly gets back on course. We were off-trail for a very short section and didn’t bother correcting on the way back out – it’s a very minor diversion.
On the summit of Mount Willey Sue made a couple new friends with the local Gray Jay population. These guys are being well-fed this year (no surprise there). After going through roughly half a package of crackers we decided staying warm was more important and we u-turned and started north.
Hiking a loop of the Willey Range from Crawford Notch, clockwise or counter-clockwise, means passing over the summit of Mount Field twice. We re-hiked the trail between Willey and Field barely slowing down as we passed the summit for our second visit. A couple minutes later we passed the junction with Avalon and stayed with Willey Range Trail to the junction with A-Z Trail.
The most significant drifting was reported along this section which is common. There had been quite a bit of traffic ahead of us and the trail was well tracked out and pretty smooth. It was generally a non-stop cruise to A-Z Trail and on to Mt. Tom Spur. There we stopped briefly for refreshment and then headed to Mt. Tom and our final target for the day. We got our usual pictures at the summit cairn (now under snow), wandered the summit area to enjoy the various views, made the u-turn, and started our exit hike.
The hike back to Crawford Notch was free of surprises. The trail condition was more of the same; a nice wide snowshoe track all of the way out. Back at Crawford Notch we stopped to remove our snowshoes but needed to keep moving. It was cold and the wind was blowing strong through the notch.
Our usual exit routine of quick change at The Highland Center and hit the highway south followed. The Highland Center was definitely a busy place. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this level of activity there. Busy is better. It wasn’t long before we were cruising south on I-93 and snacking on M&M’s.
Thanks Sue for another good day in the mountains; this time just for fun.
Pictures will follow.
