Jazzbo
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- Joined
- Jan 1, 2005
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Bob Kittredge and I hiked Tom & Field on Saturday getting a 10:00 AM start after driving up from Waltham. We were optimistic we were going to have clear sunny skies until we started observing the usual cloudiness over White Mountains at Lincoln. It was windy the whole drive up and as is usually the case it was super windy in Crawford Notch. We saw one party booting up with beleclavas on. By the time I was done booting up I was wishing I had dug mine out as well. I was whipped severely by the wind as I walked up the road to get to the trailhead, but I knew once in the woods things would be fine. As it turned out the worst conditions I experienced all day were at the TH.
We met up with a number of parties on the way up Avalon Trail. One party was hiking to Zealand Hut to spend the night. Snow was deep, deep, deep and got deeper the higher we got. I'm guessing 3' minimum. Trails were nicely packed out. You definitely don't want to step off the down side of the predominantly side hill trails that take you up to Tom & Field col. Overhead one could see snow being wafted over the headwall of the ravine from the west. Spruce fir zone around the summits were beautifully draped in all sorts of snow impossible to describe but heavenly to behold which made up for the lack of views. Winds appeared to have moderated by mid-day when we up top.
Trails to both Field & Tom were broken out. It looked like a party of 2 or 3 had already broken out the trail to Zealand and if that party behind us had indeed gone on to Zealand that trail is probably broken out as well. We saw tracks going to Willey and we were pumped to continue on to Willey, but we had to conserve our strength for the next day’s outing. We descended the steep trails at a brisk clip to Avalon which afforded us some subdued, but interesting views of Webster Cliffs etc. We later met some folks at Lyons bunkhouse who said they had tried to hike to Willey on Friday, but found the trail breaking too tough and turned back so that’s what we probably saw. So maybe this trail is not yet broken out. But after Sunday's beautiful day, maybe it is by now.
pics are here
We met up with a number of parties on the way up Avalon Trail. One party was hiking to Zealand Hut to spend the night. Snow was deep, deep, deep and got deeper the higher we got. I'm guessing 3' minimum. Trails were nicely packed out. You definitely don't want to step off the down side of the predominantly side hill trails that take you up to Tom & Field col. Overhead one could see snow being wafted over the headwall of the ravine from the west. Spruce fir zone around the summits were beautifully draped in all sorts of snow impossible to describe but heavenly to behold which made up for the lack of views. Winds appeared to have moderated by mid-day when we up top.
Trails to both Field & Tom were broken out. It looked like a party of 2 or 3 had already broken out the trail to Zealand and if that party behind us had indeed gone on to Zealand that trail is probably broken out as well. We saw tracks going to Willey and we were pumped to continue on to Willey, but we had to conserve our strength for the next day’s outing. We descended the steep trails at a brisk clip to Avalon which afforded us some subdued, but interesting views of Webster Cliffs etc. We later met some folks at Lyons bunkhouse who said they had tried to hike to Willey on Friday, but found the trail breaking too tough and turned back so that’s what we probably saw. So maybe this trail is not yet broken out. But after Sunday's beautiful day, maybe it is by now.
pics are here