sapblatt
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- Joined
- Oct 22, 2004
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My epic weekend started out at about 9am at Crawford Notch where I met Bob (Nutmega) for the start of my day on the Willey Range. Bob had time to hit Mount Tom before heading to work and leaving me to Field and Willey. Crawford Notch was very noisy as the helicopter was working OT shuttling propane to Zealand Falls or Galehead Hut. It only took about ten minutes per round trip.
The weather was great at the start but it proceeded to cloud up over the first hours of the hike. The Avalon Trail is in great shape and the two stream crossings were easily negotiated. Snow started to appear on the trail first a little below the A-Z junction and then pretty steadily up the A-Z and on the Mount Tom Spur. This portion of the day I bare booted. We made good time to the summit and hung out at the overlook for a while with some very friendly/hungry Gray Jays. I have hand fed many Chickadees and Nuthatches but the size of these birds did not inspire me to hand feed! After we a few minutes we made our way down to the spur junction and Bob headed off to work and I carried on towards Field and Willey.
As I proceeded up the Willey Range Trail the snow was getting more constant and traction was more of an issue. I put on my new pair of Stabilicers. I am happy to report that in the nearly 25 miles of hiking I did this weekend I did not slip or fall once due to traction issues; of course, post-holing is another story all together! The Stabilicers held the snow and ice well and what is so great in the spring is that they are not a problem on any surface. I went over ice, snow, dirt, mud, rock, and through water with no problems.
I was pretty much at book time for the day and made steady progress towards Field. The summit offered little for views but you could see a little to the east from a spur near the summit. The views to Crawford Notch (I could see my car!) and to the Mount Washington Hotel were impressive. Quick snack and drink and off to Willey!
A couple of tricky spots at the start of the descent became a fairly easy hike to Willey. Snow was still everywhere except for a few spots and the traction helped. I found not clear marking for Willey but after clearing a somewhat open area the trail started to make a steep descent and from my map I figured I had passed the summit. Another quick brak and I was back towards the Avalon Trail.
This trail was the steepest terrain I had hit all day but it was not too difficult. The side path up to Avalon is well worth it, but I would bet it is further than advertised (100 yards if I remember correctly.) The views across the notch are superb, far better than from any of the 4000 footers I had summited today. Once again, nice views across the notch.
I continued my descent and was back at the depot around 5:45 for an 8 3/4 hour day including breaks. Pretty cool. These three put my total over the halfway point with 25 4ks done to date. Spent the night at Shapleigh (after watching a screening of “48” at the HC.
My epic weekend will follow with another report on Zealand Falls to Galehead.
The weather was great at the start but it proceeded to cloud up over the first hours of the hike. The Avalon Trail is in great shape and the two stream crossings were easily negotiated. Snow started to appear on the trail first a little below the A-Z junction and then pretty steadily up the A-Z and on the Mount Tom Spur. This portion of the day I bare booted. We made good time to the summit and hung out at the overlook for a while with some very friendly/hungry Gray Jays. I have hand fed many Chickadees and Nuthatches but the size of these birds did not inspire me to hand feed! After we a few minutes we made our way down to the spur junction and Bob headed off to work and I carried on towards Field and Willey.
As I proceeded up the Willey Range Trail the snow was getting more constant and traction was more of an issue. I put on my new pair of Stabilicers. I am happy to report that in the nearly 25 miles of hiking I did this weekend I did not slip or fall once due to traction issues; of course, post-holing is another story all together! The Stabilicers held the snow and ice well and what is so great in the spring is that they are not a problem on any surface. I went over ice, snow, dirt, mud, rock, and through water with no problems.
I was pretty much at book time for the day and made steady progress towards Field. The summit offered little for views but you could see a little to the east from a spur near the summit. The views to Crawford Notch (I could see my car!) and to the Mount Washington Hotel were impressive. Quick snack and drink and off to Willey!
A couple of tricky spots at the start of the descent became a fairly easy hike to Willey. Snow was still everywhere except for a few spots and the traction helped. I found not clear marking for Willey but after clearing a somewhat open area the trail started to make a steep descent and from my map I figured I had passed the summit. Another quick brak and I was back towards the Avalon Trail.
This trail was the steepest terrain I had hit all day but it was not too difficult. The side path up to Avalon is well worth it, but I would bet it is further than advertised (100 yards if I remember correctly.) The views across the notch are superb, far better than from any of the 4000 footers I had summited today. Once again, nice views across the notch.
I continued my descent and was back at the depot around 5:45 for an 8 3/4 hour day including breaks. Pretty cool. These three put my total over the halfway point with 25 4ks done to date. Spent the night at Shapleigh (after watching a screening of “48” at the HC.
My epic weekend will follow with another report on Zealand Falls to Galehead.
