BIGEarl
Well-known member
March 10, 2007: Tom, Field, Willey – Willey Range Traverse N/S
Trails: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail, Ethan Pond Trail
Distance – Elevation: 8.8 miles, 3,100 feet
There are two popular approaches to hiking Tom, Field, and Willey – a round trip from Crawford Notch, and a traverse. To hike a traverse it is best to spot a car at the ending point. Earlier in the week I posted the hike on VFTT and mentioned the desire for car spot assistance. RLC sent a message to me indicating he could help and we planned to meet at the ending point, Willey House Station, south of Crawford Notch on route 302. We met at 8:30am, transferred our things to RLC’s car and headed to Crawford Station for the hike.
RLC was not feeling well with a head cold but decided to hike with us to the trail split for Mount Willard and see how he was doing. There he would either continue on with us or hike Mt. Willard. We reached the split for Mt. Willard, RLC was doing better so he decided to continue to the Avalon/A-Z Trails junction and again decide between hiking Mt. Avalon or continuing on with us. By the time we reached the junction, the temperature was coming up, the hiking conditions were great, we had settled into a pace comfortable to everybody, and RLC’s head was generally cleared – he decided to head for Mt. Tom.
Roughly .2 miles after the Avalon/A-Z Trails junction the snow was becoming soft and I was running the risk of postholing so it was time for snowshoes. RLC also decided to put his on as well. Jennifer is much lighter and was experiencing no postholing problems. We continued on, enjoying the beautiful day and hiking conditions. Approximately .1 mile before reaching the Mt. Tom Spur another couple of hikers went past. We would see them again on their return from Mt. Willey. Since we did not pass them on the Mt. Tom Spur they most likely hiked Field and Willey only. We reached the Mt. Tom Spur, stopped for a quick drink and snack, and headed to Mt. Tom. Again, this trail is in great shape. We cruised to the lookout just below the summit, stopped for a more substantial snack and some pictures, and then continued to the summit. On the way we passed another pair of hikers headed down from the summit – bare booting but not causing any trail damage. While we were taking our break at the lookout, two additional hikers, Steve and Jeff came in. We visited for a few minutes and then all generally headed for the summit together. The wind had come up quite a bit which motivated us to get back to the matter of our traverse. Again, we all left the summit generally together conversing as we hiked back to the Willey Range Trail. Eventually, Steve and Jeff decided to join us on our hike south. Their plan at that point was to hike to Mt. Field and then take the Avalon Trail back to Crawford Station and their waiting vehicle. On the way down from Mt. Tom we passed another couple hikers headed up. These trails are getting well packed which should be helpful to Mats Roing in his attempt on the Winter 48 Record. Back at the Willey Range Trail, Jennifer decided it was time for her snowshoes as well.
The hike to Mt. Field was uneventful. As we made our way to the summit we found greater amounts of snow and the trees were loaded - a beautiful winter scene. The trail was well packed. We stopped briefly at the Avalon Trail junction to discuss if Steve and Jeff would continue on for the traverse – we could shuttle people back to their vehicles after the hike. We didn’t reach a final conclusion to this discussion and headed for the summit. There, we stopped for lunch, fed the Grey Jays, snapped some pictures, and said goodbye to Steve and Jeff – they decided to head out on the Avalon Trail. Just prior to leaving the summit for Mt. Willey, Jennifer was finishing up on a piece of jerky when she turned her head to say something to me or Bob (RLC) and a Grey Jay came flying down and grabbed the jerky. They’re fast!
Our hike to Mt. Willey was more of the same. The trail was in great shape, we came upon the pair of hikers that had passed us early in the hike prior to Mt. Tom Spur. We also met the pair of hikers that bare booted past us on their way down Mt. Tom, but now were using their snowshoes. In the final approach to Mt. Willey, the trail swings around the west side of the summit. We found a place that was sheltered, warm, sunny, and had great views. Here we took another break for a quick snack and pictures. Then, off for the final 4K peak of the day. After a short distance we reached the turn where the trail heads straight to the summit. We were treated to nice views and very mild conditions. After a brief stop we headed to the outlook just below the summit to enjoy the views there and get more pictures. It was getting late, the weather was forecast to turn on us, and we still had a few miles back to the waiting car. We walked back onto the trail and Jennifer started toward the summit. I called to her and indicated we were heading down the trail south from the outlook. This trail had no sign of traffic at all. It was loaded with snow. She looked at me with an expression of concern and said “You’ve got to be kidding!”
Nope, not kidding. I headed down the trail and stopped and waited after roughly fifty yards. Eventually, both Jennifer and Bob realized this was the way out and came along. All signs of traffic on the Willey Range Trail went as far as the outlook just below the summit, then makes a u-turn, and goes back to the north. We found ourselves in a trailbreaking chore for the next 1.1 miles. I was fairly sure we would find the Ethan Pond Trail well packed. Anybody familiar with the Willey Range Trail on the south side of Mt. Willey knows its steepness. This is a very interesting trail. The last time I hiked this trail with Jennifer was in May 2005 and she lost her footing and tumbled down a steep section. She got up muddy, very mad, but unhurt. The tools we used to get through this section were snowshoes and butts. I thought the experience was real fun and believe both Jennifer and Bob got quite a bit of enjoyment from it as well. I was also able to work on my telemark technique for snowshoeing. There were places where slides of over a hundred yards were enjoyed. Most times I would stay on my snowshoes while Jennifer and Bob glissaded. On one occasion I had no choice but to butt-it. What fun! At one point Jennifer lost a pole but Bob grabbed it on his way through. On the same slide Bob lost a water bottle but it tumbled down the trail and stopped nearly at our feet. Finally, the steepness was behind us and we had a short amount of additional trailbreaking to the Ethan Pond Trail. As expected, the Ethan Pond Trail was well packed from snowshoers and skiers. After a brief break we headed off on our final 1.6 miles to the car. The weather finally turned and it was starting to rain. At this point we were generally on a mission to get out quickly and beat the harder rain. We made it back to the car, quickly packed our things, and headed for Crawford Station to deliver Bob to his waiting car.
I’m really glad RLC started to feel better early and was able to stay with us for the day. He is a pleasure to hike with, good company. Hopefully, the day will remain with him as a positive hiking experience.
Now, off to Fabyan’s for Jennifer’s coffee, and a really big chocolate éclair.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Trails: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail, Ethan Pond Trail
Distance – Elevation: 8.8 miles, 3,100 feet
There are two popular approaches to hiking Tom, Field, and Willey – a round trip from Crawford Notch, and a traverse. To hike a traverse it is best to spot a car at the ending point. Earlier in the week I posted the hike on VFTT and mentioned the desire for car spot assistance. RLC sent a message to me indicating he could help and we planned to meet at the ending point, Willey House Station, south of Crawford Notch on route 302. We met at 8:30am, transferred our things to RLC’s car and headed to Crawford Station for the hike.
RLC was not feeling well with a head cold but decided to hike with us to the trail split for Mount Willard and see how he was doing. There he would either continue on with us or hike Mt. Willard. We reached the split for Mt. Willard, RLC was doing better so he decided to continue to the Avalon/A-Z Trails junction and again decide between hiking Mt. Avalon or continuing on with us. By the time we reached the junction, the temperature was coming up, the hiking conditions were great, we had settled into a pace comfortable to everybody, and RLC’s head was generally cleared – he decided to head for Mt. Tom.
Roughly .2 miles after the Avalon/A-Z Trails junction the snow was becoming soft and I was running the risk of postholing so it was time for snowshoes. RLC also decided to put his on as well. Jennifer is much lighter and was experiencing no postholing problems. We continued on, enjoying the beautiful day and hiking conditions. Approximately .1 mile before reaching the Mt. Tom Spur another couple of hikers went past. We would see them again on their return from Mt. Willey. Since we did not pass them on the Mt. Tom Spur they most likely hiked Field and Willey only. We reached the Mt. Tom Spur, stopped for a quick drink and snack, and headed to Mt. Tom. Again, this trail is in great shape. We cruised to the lookout just below the summit, stopped for a more substantial snack and some pictures, and then continued to the summit. On the way we passed another pair of hikers headed down from the summit – bare booting but not causing any trail damage. While we were taking our break at the lookout, two additional hikers, Steve and Jeff came in. We visited for a few minutes and then all generally headed for the summit together. The wind had come up quite a bit which motivated us to get back to the matter of our traverse. Again, we all left the summit generally together conversing as we hiked back to the Willey Range Trail. Eventually, Steve and Jeff decided to join us on our hike south. Their plan at that point was to hike to Mt. Field and then take the Avalon Trail back to Crawford Station and their waiting vehicle. On the way down from Mt. Tom we passed another couple hikers headed up. These trails are getting well packed which should be helpful to Mats Roing in his attempt on the Winter 48 Record. Back at the Willey Range Trail, Jennifer decided it was time for her snowshoes as well.
The hike to Mt. Field was uneventful. As we made our way to the summit we found greater amounts of snow and the trees were loaded - a beautiful winter scene. The trail was well packed. We stopped briefly at the Avalon Trail junction to discuss if Steve and Jeff would continue on for the traverse – we could shuttle people back to their vehicles after the hike. We didn’t reach a final conclusion to this discussion and headed for the summit. There, we stopped for lunch, fed the Grey Jays, snapped some pictures, and said goodbye to Steve and Jeff – they decided to head out on the Avalon Trail. Just prior to leaving the summit for Mt. Willey, Jennifer was finishing up on a piece of jerky when she turned her head to say something to me or Bob (RLC) and a Grey Jay came flying down and grabbed the jerky. They’re fast!
Our hike to Mt. Willey was more of the same. The trail was in great shape, we came upon the pair of hikers that had passed us early in the hike prior to Mt. Tom Spur. We also met the pair of hikers that bare booted past us on their way down Mt. Tom, but now were using their snowshoes. In the final approach to Mt. Willey, the trail swings around the west side of the summit. We found a place that was sheltered, warm, sunny, and had great views. Here we took another break for a quick snack and pictures. Then, off for the final 4K peak of the day. After a short distance we reached the turn where the trail heads straight to the summit. We were treated to nice views and very mild conditions. After a brief stop we headed to the outlook just below the summit to enjoy the views there and get more pictures. It was getting late, the weather was forecast to turn on us, and we still had a few miles back to the waiting car. We walked back onto the trail and Jennifer started toward the summit. I called to her and indicated we were heading down the trail south from the outlook. This trail had no sign of traffic at all. It was loaded with snow. She looked at me with an expression of concern and said “You’ve got to be kidding!”
Nope, not kidding. I headed down the trail and stopped and waited after roughly fifty yards. Eventually, both Jennifer and Bob realized this was the way out and came along. All signs of traffic on the Willey Range Trail went as far as the outlook just below the summit, then makes a u-turn, and goes back to the north. We found ourselves in a trailbreaking chore for the next 1.1 miles. I was fairly sure we would find the Ethan Pond Trail well packed. Anybody familiar with the Willey Range Trail on the south side of Mt. Willey knows its steepness. This is a very interesting trail. The last time I hiked this trail with Jennifer was in May 2005 and she lost her footing and tumbled down a steep section. She got up muddy, very mad, but unhurt. The tools we used to get through this section were snowshoes and butts. I thought the experience was real fun and believe both Jennifer and Bob got quite a bit of enjoyment from it as well. I was also able to work on my telemark technique for snowshoeing. There were places where slides of over a hundred yards were enjoyed. Most times I would stay on my snowshoes while Jennifer and Bob glissaded. On one occasion I had no choice but to butt-it. What fun! At one point Jennifer lost a pole but Bob grabbed it on his way through. On the same slide Bob lost a water bottle but it tumbled down the trail and stopped nearly at our feet. Finally, the steepness was behind us and we had a short amount of additional trailbreaking to the Ethan Pond Trail. As expected, the Ethan Pond Trail was well packed from snowshoers and skiers. After a brief break we headed off on our final 1.6 miles to the car. The weather finally turned and it was starting to rain. At this point we were generally on a mission to get out quickly and beat the harder rain. We made it back to the car, quickly packed our things, and headed for Crawford Station to deliver Bob to his waiting car.
I’m really glad RLC started to feel better early and was able to stay with us for the day. He is a pleasure to hike with, good company. Hopefully, the day will remain with him as a positive hiking experience.
Now, off to Fabyan’s for Jennifer’s coffee, and a really big chocolate éclair.
BIGEarl's Pictures
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