BIGEarl
Well-known member
November 12, 2009: Willey Range plus Avalon
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mount Tom Spur, A-Z Trail
Summits: Avalon, Field, Willey, Tom
Hikers: Fitz and me
A mid –week hike with Fitz is always a pleasure. A little ahead of schedule we arrived at Crawford Depot for the start of our hike. For some reason I thought the place was still open but found the buildings boarded for the winter and the lot completely empty. While we were preparing to set off another vehicle pulled in. The person driving was Lenny (didn’t get the last name) from Amherst. He was planning a quick hike of Avalon to test a knee that was in a brace and recovering from an injury.
We grabbed our gear and took off. The trails are much different than they were last month when I hike the area with Sue. The snow is completely gone, there is very little ice (some areas between Avalon and the Willey Range Trail need extra care), and the mud pits are all dry and firm. In other words, all of the trails on this loop are in great shape. We generally hiked at a “book time” pace all day picking up a little extra time at each summit and on a couple stops to visit with Lenny.
We made our way to the Avalon – A-Z trails junction on schedule and continued left on the Avalon Trail. From here, the climb to Avalon is pretty steep but the footing is great and we had no problems at all on our way to the Avalon Spur. When we reached the spur we found Lenny relaxing on a large rock. After a couple minutes we all headed up the spur to the summit of Avalon and some very nice views. Lenny was calling it a hike at this point but Fitz and I still had our hike in front of us and we were soon on the descent back to the Avalon trail, which we would follow to the Willey Range Trail.
The climb between Avalon and the Willey Range Trail (WRT) includes several steep sections separated by mild sections of trail. A couple of the steep sections have a good amount of ice that require extra care. Working the edges it is easy to get past these areas without the need for added traction. We hit the WRT, made the left turn, and headed for Field. Here we stopped for a few pictures, a quick snack (thanks for the jerky – Fitz), feed the Jays, and enjoy the sun. Pretty nice!
With the jerky - bird distraction out of the way, we were on our way to Mount Willey. On a clear and dry trail this was a continuation of our book time hiking for the day. Along the way we enjoyed the occasional views to the west including Carrigain, Bond, Twins, and a number of others. One detail we noticed was the poor blazes on the trail. Once winter sets in this trail can be difficult to follow. A re-blazing would make a huge improvement.
We reached Willey and stopped on the ledge short of the summit cairn for a few view shots, visited the cairn for some summit shots, and continued to the east viewpoint for additional view shots to the east and southeast. We returned to the sheltered ledge on the west side of the summit for a quick lunch break. We’re still pretty much on plan with some addition time for the visiting, lunch break, and summit stops. With lunch out of the way we set off north on the WRT to cross back over Mount Field and head for Mount Tom, our final target for the day.
We again made a quick stop on the way over Field but were quickly on the generally downhill run to the WRT – A-Z trails junction – more clear and dry trail. In roughly thirty minutes we were making the right turn and heading to the Mount Tom Spur junction and on to the summit of Mount Tom. Here we found a very pleasant surprise; the mud pits on the Mount Tom Spur were also dry and solid. We briefly stopped at the viewpoint below the summit area for a couple pictures back to Mount Field and continued to the summit. The sun was relatively low making pictures to the west impossible. We got the pictures at the summit cairn and paid a quick visit to the Mount Tom Bench. There we managed a few very nice view shots of Crawford Notch and surrounding peaks before setting off for the exit.
The hike out was completely uneventful. Roughly a half mile after passing the Avalon – A-Z trails junction we turned on the headlights for the final walk out in the dark. It really gets dark early! Pretty much on plan we hit the trailhead and Crawford Depot. Fitz changed into his traveling footwear, we packed our things into the back, and we were heading south.
The overcast from the approaching bad weather limited the sun in the afternoon but we still had a terrific hike on the Willey Range. Thanks for the hike Fitz, I had a great time.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mount Tom Spur, A-Z Trail
Summits: Avalon, Field, Willey, Tom
Hikers: Fitz and me
A mid –week hike with Fitz is always a pleasure. A little ahead of schedule we arrived at Crawford Depot for the start of our hike. For some reason I thought the place was still open but found the buildings boarded for the winter and the lot completely empty. While we were preparing to set off another vehicle pulled in. The person driving was Lenny (didn’t get the last name) from Amherst. He was planning a quick hike of Avalon to test a knee that was in a brace and recovering from an injury.
We grabbed our gear and took off. The trails are much different than they were last month when I hike the area with Sue. The snow is completely gone, there is very little ice (some areas between Avalon and the Willey Range Trail need extra care), and the mud pits are all dry and firm. In other words, all of the trails on this loop are in great shape. We generally hiked at a “book time” pace all day picking up a little extra time at each summit and on a couple stops to visit with Lenny.
We made our way to the Avalon – A-Z trails junction on schedule and continued left on the Avalon Trail. From here, the climb to Avalon is pretty steep but the footing is great and we had no problems at all on our way to the Avalon Spur. When we reached the spur we found Lenny relaxing on a large rock. After a couple minutes we all headed up the spur to the summit of Avalon and some very nice views. Lenny was calling it a hike at this point but Fitz and I still had our hike in front of us and we were soon on the descent back to the Avalon trail, which we would follow to the Willey Range Trail.
The climb between Avalon and the Willey Range Trail (WRT) includes several steep sections separated by mild sections of trail. A couple of the steep sections have a good amount of ice that require extra care. Working the edges it is easy to get past these areas without the need for added traction. We hit the WRT, made the left turn, and headed for Field. Here we stopped for a few pictures, a quick snack (thanks for the jerky – Fitz), feed the Jays, and enjoy the sun. Pretty nice!
With the jerky - bird distraction out of the way, we were on our way to Mount Willey. On a clear and dry trail this was a continuation of our book time hiking for the day. Along the way we enjoyed the occasional views to the west including Carrigain, Bond, Twins, and a number of others. One detail we noticed was the poor blazes on the trail. Once winter sets in this trail can be difficult to follow. A re-blazing would make a huge improvement.
We reached Willey and stopped on the ledge short of the summit cairn for a few view shots, visited the cairn for some summit shots, and continued to the east viewpoint for additional view shots to the east and southeast. We returned to the sheltered ledge on the west side of the summit for a quick lunch break. We’re still pretty much on plan with some addition time for the visiting, lunch break, and summit stops. With lunch out of the way we set off north on the WRT to cross back over Mount Field and head for Mount Tom, our final target for the day.
We again made a quick stop on the way over Field but were quickly on the generally downhill run to the WRT – A-Z trails junction – more clear and dry trail. In roughly thirty minutes we were making the right turn and heading to the Mount Tom Spur junction and on to the summit of Mount Tom. Here we found a very pleasant surprise; the mud pits on the Mount Tom Spur were also dry and solid. We briefly stopped at the viewpoint below the summit area for a couple pictures back to Mount Field and continued to the summit. The sun was relatively low making pictures to the west impossible. We got the pictures at the summit cairn and paid a quick visit to the Mount Tom Bench. There we managed a few very nice view shots of Crawford Notch and surrounding peaks before setting off for the exit.
The hike out was completely uneventful. Roughly a half mile after passing the Avalon – A-Z trails junction we turned on the headlights for the final walk out in the dark. It really gets dark early! Pretty much on plan we hit the trailhead and Crawford Depot. Fitz changed into his traveling footwear, we packed our things into the back, and we were heading south.
The overcast from the approaching bad weather limited the sun in the afternoon but we still had a terrific hike on the Willey Range. Thanks for the hike Fitz, I had a great time.
Pictures will follow.
