Sunshine Chris
New member
Stats for the Day:
NH Winter 4K's # 10, 11 and 12.
Mileage: 10.3 miles
Elevation: 3500 feet
Equipment: micro-spikes on Avalon Trail up to the Willey Range Trail and then 7.4 miles on snowshoes (the most I've done on shoes yet)
Link to photos: http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/u...ount Field Tom and Willey on Feb 16 2013 solo
So, I have been wanting to get these guys for awhile as winter summits and decided Saturday would be the day. The temps promised to be around 27 degrees at the trailhead for a start and decrease to around 21 degrees by later afternoon with little wind. I'm liking the temps even if the views may be obscured and we might have snow showers all day. Now that's my kind of DAY! I was hoping for views the last time I did these summits but it drizzled and was cold all day long with absolutely NO VIEWS.
My favorite tree.
Got up at 4:00 am and out the door by 5:30 am with an arrival time at the Highland Center at 7:25 am. I headed in to take care of some last minute prep and was on trail at 7:45 am ahead of my schedule. I was really hoping to start with just micro spikes, knowing I would probably need to switch to snowshoes up on the ridge as prior trip reports were saying only a couple guys had been on the trail between Field and Willey since the big snowstorm. I walked over to the Crawford Depot with snowshoes in hand and was happy to discover I could load them on my pack. I decided to try and see if they wouldn't fit on both sides of my pack instead of on the back of it and they slid in behind the straps and just fit. Yeah. I discovered later up the trail that my back was a-lot happier with the snowshoes loaded closer to my body. The trail began rather level and then became gradual as in ascended away from the notch. After the Crawford Brook crossing, no problem (froze over) I came up on a group of 4 with sleds on their backs but we soon parted ways as they turned toward the A-Z trail and I was going up Avalon.
There was one set of snowshoe tracks ahead of me this morning on Avalon heading for Mt. Field with about an inch of fresh snow. My strategy for the day began here. I figured if I picked up Mt. Field early, went over and grabbed Mt. Willey and then came back toward Field that if I was still feeling good I could head down hill for awhile (resting) and then do the final 350' of gain to Tom. If not, then I could head down Avalon Trail and it would be much easier to pick up Mt. Tom later than it would be to go back out to Mt. Willey. I started having to work pretty hard here as the trail was steep like the book had said it would be. I didn't run into any ice though and I was happy for that. When I reached the Avalon Spur I knew I needed this summit for another list but there would be absolutely no views so I decided not to bother with it. After all, it wasn't going anywhere. I grabbed a bite to eat and continued on up the trail coming out onto a nice open area.
I overtook a hiker along the next section of trail and discovered later on that his name was Bob. Soon after the trail began to rise steeply again in pitches but the forest trees with their blanket of white fluff made a nice distraction to my work.
I was pushing myself to make book time and upon arrival to the summit of Mt. Field I discovered I had. My summit pic of myself shows the fruits of my labor- sweaty!
and looking like I got up at 4:30 am.
The trail was softer as I headed down off the summit toward Mt. Willey. I stopped to have a sandwich and layer up when Bob passed me. I went another hundred yards and decided it was time to break down and put the snowshoes on (as much as I didn't want to). Back on my way, I headed down a steep section with a bit of sliding and continued on my merry way. I soon was overtaken by a feller I later learned the name of while on Mt. Willey. As I headed down into the cul I got a quick glimpse of the first hump before the summit of Mt. Willey. Just before the final pitch climbing to the summit of Mt. Willey I ran into Bob coming back through and that's when I ran into Paul. We had a short discussion on where the summit actually was, discussed the grade on the A-Z Trail and then Paul shared with me a cup of Dunk's coffee. Wow, did that ever hit the spot! Thanks Paul.
He offered to take my summit photo so I took him up on it.
I was going to eat here but was feeling cold and having not seen anyone else out today besides Paul and Bob, I decided to follow along with them back towards Mt. Field (just in case something happened to me). I didn't want to be out on that section of trail out to Mt. Willey alone, knowing that a-lot of folks don't bother coming all the way out to Willey and are content with just getting Tom and Field.
As I began ascending Mt. Field I started seeing quite a few hikers on the trail. In fact, about 16 of them including Bob, Paul and I and another 6 or 8 on Mt. Field! Some asked me which trail I had come up on and were surprised I had come up Avalon. I am not sure why. Yes it was steep but so is the A-Z trail at least the way I remember it from having gone down that way the last time I was up here. I ran into a group of 4 who were on their way to Mt. Willey and I asked them if they were coming back toward Mt. Field and they said no, they were going to try and go down off Mt. Willey. Umm. I am interested to hear how that went. I thought about it in my early plans but going down there solo did not seem to be a safe or sound choice and the 4 mile road walk uphill to the car did not appeal to me either. Just after the last steep pitch climbing Mt. Field I stopped to lower my heel lifts when a group came around the corner. I was blocking this narrow section of trail and was anxious to get this taken care of quickly so as not to hold them up. The problem was that I couldn't get one of them to go down! I have a bad right shoulder which was making it harder. I knew those folks came along right then for a reason and it was to help me out and boy was I grateful they did. Thanks folks. I know I could have taken the snowshoe off and got the job done but getting help made it easier and quicker.
Since it was busy on the summit of Mt. Field I delayed the lunch hour until I would arrive down in the col near the Mt. Tom Spur. I got some great photos coming off of Field as I traveled along the Willey Range Trail towards the A-Z Trail.
I really enjoyed the hike down off Mt. Field toward the Mt. Tom Spur. The grade was great, the forest was open and lovely and the sun was peaking through now and again just teasing and taunting me in a playful manner. My spirits were up again and I just knew I could get this thing done. It was looking promising for views on Mt. Tom too. I had this section of trail all to myself and I was truly enjoying every minute of it! Saw this really cool collar around the base of this tree. I had heard of them but never seen one for myself.
I soon arrived at the Mt. Tom Spur Trail and stopped to eat my beefaroni and put my jacket on. I was dragging on the way up Mt. Tom but decided to just slow my pace and accept what my body wanted to do. I eventually got to the first views and was surprised no one had recently walked down into the blow down area more to get better views. Oh well, I wasn't either. I was saving my energy for the rest of the hike. I skipped over to the true summit on lighter feet, realizing I had almost accomplished the 3 summits I had set out to do today. I went back to the summit and took another self portrait and started on down. Back at the A-Z trail junction I had a quick snack and began my decent. I was apprehensive about going down in snowshoes as I am uncomfortable with all the sliding business that goes on when you descend steep sections. Surprisingly I really started to get the hang of it and began flying down through there with ease. I got back to the trail-head in 1 hr. and 6 min. I was quite pleased with myself. It was 3:13 pm. I completed the hike in 7.5 hrs. which is only a 1/2 hour over book time. Now we are getting somewhere. I had fun, I had a good time, I was comfortable, I was well fed and hydrated, I took time to take photos and talk with folks and still got done in a reasonable time. YES! WINTER HIKING CAN BE FUN!!! I'm loving every minute of it. Winter Hiking has it's AWESOME MOMENTS.
When I got back to my truck I ran into Per who I had met on Mt. Moosilauke for the 1st time 2 weeks ago with his dog Cinilla and Gaylord whom I had met on South Kinsman where we had shared lunch together back on 12-15-12. It was great to see them and have them remember me.
NH Winter 4K's # 10, 11 and 12.
Mileage: 10.3 miles
Elevation: 3500 feet
Equipment: micro-spikes on Avalon Trail up to the Willey Range Trail and then 7.4 miles on snowshoes (the most I've done on shoes yet)
Link to photos: http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/u...ount Field Tom and Willey on Feb 16 2013 solo
So, I have been wanting to get these guys for awhile as winter summits and decided Saturday would be the day. The temps promised to be around 27 degrees at the trailhead for a start and decrease to around 21 degrees by later afternoon with little wind. I'm liking the temps even if the views may be obscured and we might have snow showers all day. Now that's my kind of DAY! I was hoping for views the last time I did these summits but it drizzled and was cold all day long with absolutely NO VIEWS.
My favorite tree.
Got up at 4:00 am and out the door by 5:30 am with an arrival time at the Highland Center at 7:25 am. I headed in to take care of some last minute prep and was on trail at 7:45 am ahead of my schedule. I was really hoping to start with just micro spikes, knowing I would probably need to switch to snowshoes up on the ridge as prior trip reports were saying only a couple guys had been on the trail between Field and Willey since the big snowstorm. I walked over to the Crawford Depot with snowshoes in hand and was happy to discover I could load them on my pack. I decided to try and see if they wouldn't fit on both sides of my pack instead of on the back of it and they slid in behind the straps and just fit. Yeah. I discovered later up the trail that my back was a-lot happier with the snowshoes loaded closer to my body. The trail began rather level and then became gradual as in ascended away from the notch. After the Crawford Brook crossing, no problem (froze over) I came up on a group of 4 with sleds on their backs but we soon parted ways as they turned toward the A-Z trail and I was going up Avalon.
There was one set of snowshoe tracks ahead of me this morning on Avalon heading for Mt. Field with about an inch of fresh snow. My strategy for the day began here. I figured if I picked up Mt. Field early, went over and grabbed Mt. Willey and then came back toward Field that if I was still feeling good I could head down hill for awhile (resting) and then do the final 350' of gain to Tom. If not, then I could head down Avalon Trail and it would be much easier to pick up Mt. Tom later than it would be to go back out to Mt. Willey. I started having to work pretty hard here as the trail was steep like the book had said it would be. I didn't run into any ice though and I was happy for that. When I reached the Avalon Spur I knew I needed this summit for another list but there would be absolutely no views so I decided not to bother with it. After all, it wasn't going anywhere. I grabbed a bite to eat and continued on up the trail coming out onto a nice open area.
I overtook a hiker along the next section of trail and discovered later on that his name was Bob. Soon after the trail began to rise steeply again in pitches but the forest trees with their blanket of white fluff made a nice distraction to my work.
I was pushing myself to make book time and upon arrival to the summit of Mt. Field I discovered I had. My summit pic of myself shows the fruits of my labor- sweaty!
and looking like I got up at 4:30 am.
The trail was softer as I headed down off the summit toward Mt. Willey. I stopped to have a sandwich and layer up when Bob passed me. I went another hundred yards and decided it was time to break down and put the snowshoes on (as much as I didn't want to). Back on my way, I headed down a steep section with a bit of sliding and continued on my merry way. I soon was overtaken by a feller I later learned the name of while on Mt. Willey. As I headed down into the cul I got a quick glimpse of the first hump before the summit of Mt. Willey. Just before the final pitch climbing to the summit of Mt. Willey I ran into Bob coming back through and that's when I ran into Paul. We had a short discussion on where the summit actually was, discussed the grade on the A-Z Trail and then Paul shared with me a cup of Dunk's coffee. Wow, did that ever hit the spot! Thanks Paul.
He offered to take my summit photo so I took him up on it.
I was going to eat here but was feeling cold and having not seen anyone else out today besides Paul and Bob, I decided to follow along with them back towards Mt. Field (just in case something happened to me). I didn't want to be out on that section of trail out to Mt. Willey alone, knowing that a-lot of folks don't bother coming all the way out to Willey and are content with just getting Tom and Field.
As I began ascending Mt. Field I started seeing quite a few hikers on the trail. In fact, about 16 of them including Bob, Paul and I and another 6 or 8 on Mt. Field! Some asked me which trail I had come up on and were surprised I had come up Avalon. I am not sure why. Yes it was steep but so is the A-Z trail at least the way I remember it from having gone down that way the last time I was up here. I ran into a group of 4 who were on their way to Mt. Willey and I asked them if they were coming back toward Mt. Field and they said no, they were going to try and go down off Mt. Willey. Umm. I am interested to hear how that went. I thought about it in my early plans but going down there solo did not seem to be a safe or sound choice and the 4 mile road walk uphill to the car did not appeal to me either. Just after the last steep pitch climbing Mt. Field I stopped to lower my heel lifts when a group came around the corner. I was blocking this narrow section of trail and was anxious to get this taken care of quickly so as not to hold them up. The problem was that I couldn't get one of them to go down! I have a bad right shoulder which was making it harder. I knew those folks came along right then for a reason and it was to help me out and boy was I grateful they did. Thanks folks. I know I could have taken the snowshoe off and got the job done but getting help made it easier and quicker.
Since it was busy on the summit of Mt. Field I delayed the lunch hour until I would arrive down in the col near the Mt. Tom Spur. I got some great photos coming off of Field as I traveled along the Willey Range Trail towards the A-Z Trail.
I really enjoyed the hike down off Mt. Field toward the Mt. Tom Spur. The grade was great, the forest was open and lovely and the sun was peaking through now and again just teasing and taunting me in a playful manner. My spirits were up again and I just knew I could get this thing done. It was looking promising for views on Mt. Tom too. I had this section of trail all to myself and I was truly enjoying every minute of it! Saw this really cool collar around the base of this tree. I had heard of them but never seen one for myself.
I soon arrived at the Mt. Tom Spur Trail and stopped to eat my beefaroni and put my jacket on. I was dragging on the way up Mt. Tom but decided to just slow my pace and accept what my body wanted to do. I eventually got to the first views and was surprised no one had recently walked down into the blow down area more to get better views. Oh well, I wasn't either. I was saving my energy for the rest of the hike. I skipped over to the true summit on lighter feet, realizing I had almost accomplished the 3 summits I had set out to do today. I went back to the summit and took another self portrait and started on down. Back at the A-Z trail junction I had a quick snack and began my decent. I was apprehensive about going down in snowshoes as I am uncomfortable with all the sliding business that goes on when you descend steep sections. Surprisingly I really started to get the hang of it and began flying down through there with ease. I got back to the trail-head in 1 hr. and 6 min. I was quite pleased with myself. It was 3:13 pm. I completed the hike in 7.5 hrs. which is only a 1/2 hour over book time. Now we are getting somewhere. I had fun, I had a good time, I was comfortable, I was well fed and hydrated, I took time to take photos and talk with folks and still got done in a reasonable time. YES! WINTER HIKING CAN BE FUN!!! I'm loving every minute of it. Winter Hiking has it's AWESOME MOMENTS.
When I got back to my truck I ran into Per who I had met on Mt. Moosilauke for the 1st time 2 weeks ago with his dog Cinilla and Gaylord whom I had met on South Kinsman where we had shared lunch together back on 12-15-12. It was great to see them and have them remember me.
