OldMan
New member
I had some time off before starting a new job and the weather looked good for Wednesday so time for a hike! It turned out to be a spectacular day to be in the mountains. I headed up to Crawford Notch, arriving at the Highland Center at 7:45am. The weather was overcast but very mild. I headed out down the Avalon Trail about 8:00am. The trail was well packed out so I started off bare booting it. The snow was soft and sticking to my boots but the trail was still packed enough to prevent post holes. As I reached the Mt Tom Spur the sun started to poke out of the clouds for some welcome sunshine. By now I had removed any layers and was hiking in just a tee shirt. The summit of Mt Tom sported some glorious views. Of course the Gray Jays came out to feed and I had a ball playing with them. I could have spent hours with these playful birds.
From Mt Tom I could spot my next target, Mt Field and off I went. As the weather continued to warm and the snow became softer, I stopped and switched to my snowshoes for the rest of the trip. On Mt Field I met another hiker from Vermont who came up the Avalon Trail and was heading over to Willey and planning to pick up Mt Tom on the way back. We chatted for a bit before he pressed on while I stopped to eat some lunch and take some more pictures. I managed to convince a Gray Jay to join me for my Mt Field summit shot.
My next target, Mt Willey was visible so I pushed on down the Willey Range Trail. There were some nice views of Crawford Notch and the Webster Cliffs from Mt Willey. Mt Washington was poking it's summit out of the clouds presenting an interesting photo.
On the way back over Mt Field I stopped at the outlook for a shot of Mt Washington which was now in the clear. Boy it would have been a great afternoon to be on Mt Washington. I don’t know what the winds were like there but there was not even a breeze on the Willey Range.
From Mt Field I went down the Avalon Trail to pick up Mt Avalon on the way out. The snow was too wet and sticky for any butt sliding so I tromped my way down in my snowshoes. I arrived back at my car by 3:00 and the clouds started to roll in. On the drive home the rain came. It sure was nice that Mother Nature decided to hold off the rain and give me such a sunny spring day in February to hike.
The rest of the pictures:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/570069774BsaFaR?vhost=outdoors
Garmin GPS: 9.8 miles, 4301 ascent, 1.4 MPH average
From Mt Tom I could spot my next target, Mt Field and off I went. As the weather continued to warm and the snow became softer, I stopped and switched to my snowshoes for the rest of the trip. On Mt Field I met another hiker from Vermont who came up the Avalon Trail and was heading over to Willey and planning to pick up Mt Tom on the way back. We chatted for a bit before he pressed on while I stopped to eat some lunch and take some more pictures. I managed to convince a Gray Jay to join me for my Mt Field summit shot.
My next target, Mt Willey was visible so I pushed on down the Willey Range Trail. There were some nice views of Crawford Notch and the Webster Cliffs from Mt Willey. Mt Washington was poking it's summit out of the clouds presenting an interesting photo.
On the way back over Mt Field I stopped at the outlook for a shot of Mt Washington which was now in the clear. Boy it would have been a great afternoon to be on Mt Washington. I don’t know what the winds were like there but there was not even a breeze on the Willey Range.
From Mt Field I went down the Avalon Trail to pick up Mt Avalon on the way out. The snow was too wet and sticky for any butt sliding so I tromped my way down in my snowshoes. I arrived back at my car by 3:00 and the clouds started to roll in. On the drive home the rain came. It sure was nice that Mother Nature decided to hold off the rain and give me such a sunny spring day in February to hike.
The rest of the pictures:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/570069774BsaFaR?vhost=outdoors
Garmin GPS: 9.8 miles, 4301 ascent, 1.4 MPH average
