Elevation: 2,397 ft (overall) 3,958 ft (total)
Time: 1:18 (Mt. Avalon) 2:08 (Mt. Field) 2:51 (Mt. Willey) 3:50 (Mt. Field) 4:47 (Mt. Tom) 6:14 (Total)
Trails: Avalon Trail, Avalon Summit Spur, Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, A-Z Trail, Avalon Trail
I've been wanting to do this loop for a while and have planned it out a couple of times, it's just never worked out in the end. So finally just before going back to working 6 days a week through Christmas I was able to fit it in. I've really liked the Willey Range since the first time hiking it and adding in Mt. Avalon gets me another peak plus more importantly a few new miles of redlining.
I got an early-ish start this morning and was one of only a few vehicles in the parking lot when I started off. I headed out from the Crawford Depot up the Avalon Trail planing to hit Mt. Avalon first. I wanted to hit the new peak first today plus I would rather go up the steep sections of Mt. Avalon than come down them. The first river crossing of the day is early on and was pretty easy. You could wither use a path over a downed tree or another using rocks that have been placed across the stream.
The first water crossing. A couple options here
The only other time on the Avalon Trail I was coming down it 6 years ago. I don't remember all the details of it, but I think the trail has been rerouted a bit uphill from the brook since then. It is in good shape, but has a number of routes in some places that can make it a bit trickier to walk along. There is also another smaller brook crossing, which was also very easy to cross. The trail gets steeper just before the intersection with the A-Z Trail. Just after the intersection it gets even steeper and very rocky. I knew it would be steep through here, but I didn't realize it was going to be as rocky as it was.
Steep rocky climb up the Avalon Trail
Nearing the Avalon Summit Spur the trail starts to level out some and give you a little bit of a break. It was wettet through this section than I expected it to be, but nothing that was so bad as to make much mud or cause you to need to go off trail to avoid anything. The summit spur is clearly marked and makes for a short steep climb to the top. I wasn't really sure what to expect from the summit of Mt. Avalon as I don't recall ever really looking up pictures of it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the top. It doesn't have as much of a view down through the notch as I would have expected, but I liked the feel of the small hump of exposed rock that does make up the summit.
Mt. Avalon view
Heading up the trail getting closer to the ridge it was still damp along the trail. Footing was good though even with the start of some minimal patches of ice along the way. This section of trail goes by pretty quickly and soon enough you are at the intersection with the Willey Range Trail just before the summit of Mt. Field.
Heading up the Avalon Trail to the ridge
Mt. Field view
The trail descends a bit steeply and over some rocky terrain leaving Mt. Field for Mt. Willey. But before too long it levels out much more and becomes pretty gentle and makes for some easy hiking. It was through this section that I started to see more people out for the day. It ended up being a busier day on the trail than I was expecting since we are well past peak foliage. During this stretch there also was some patches of snow today. The snow wasn't deep enough or slippery enough to even think about needing spikes. When you reach the summit of Mt. Willey there is a view point shortly after the actual high point. This view has a small opening where a few people could gather for a while. It is also one of my favorite views of Crawford Notch. It is an even more rewarding view when you come up the steep ladders from the other direction.
Snow on the way to Mt. willey
Mt. Willey view
Heading back to Mt. Field I tried to take my time a bit more and look around more than I did the other direction. Heading to Mt. Willey I got more into a mode of just moving along. This direction I wanted to look around more as the ridge can be pretty interesting. There are some intersting things to see along the trail and it's fun to see how much the forest changes and how quickly it does so as you walk through it.
Willey Range Trail
View again from Mt. Field, this time of Mt. Tom
Heading down from Mt. Field to the A-Z Trail the trail is pretty gradual and has good footing. Again today it was a bit wet with some running water in places. I had to watch my footing a bit more than normal so as to not slip on wet rocks, but I was still able to go at a good pace and make short work of this section.
Descending the Willey Range Trail to the A-Z Trail
Once you reach the A-Z Trail it is a realitively short hike to get the last summit of the day. The trail is a little over half a mile with a mostly gentle grade with a couple short rocky climbs and a set of wooden stairs mixed in. The high point of the mountain doesn't really have much for views. Their is currently a little bit of a view west from on top of a blown down tree at a small opening. As you head back down from the summit there is a heard path that heads off to the left which does lead to a slightly bigger opening with some views from on top of a stump towards the Presidential Range and down into the notch a little bit. Mt. Tom is also well known for having very friendly Gray Jays that like to beg for food.
A Gray Jay on Mt. Tom
Mt. Tom view
Mt. Tom Spur
On the way down the mountains I made sure to hit the side trail that leads over to Pearl Cascade and Beecher Cascade. I hadn't checked the spreadsheet to see if this trail counted towards redlining (it does), but I wanted to cover it to make sure. Plus I like seeing new things and I also wanted to check out the waterfalls as something to come back to with my camera and intentions to spend some time shooting here. I also thought this could be an easy hike that my wife and two young daughters mike like to do. In the end I am glad I hit the side trail as it does count for redlining and the waterfalls were pretty interesting. I look forward to coming back to them with the family and the camera and tripod.
Pearl Cascade
Beecher Cascade
Google Earth representation of the hike
For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug
