Tom, Field, Willey, & Avalon

Trip Details
Date: August 5^th, 2016
Total Distance: 10.95 mi (via Trimble Outdoors Navigator Pro on iPhone 4S)
Total Time: 5 hours 2 minutes
Total Elevation: 3400 ft gained
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In a desire to get some mileage under my belt and get Boomer to a few more summits that will not stress him out too much and destroy his paws, I took a day off from work and we headed up to Crawford Notch. I had previously completed the Willey Range via a traverse, but this time I planned on a in-and-out/loop by adding Mt. Avalon on the descent. When we arrived just after 0800, I was a bit unsure of where to park but pulled into the Crawford Depot (AMC's Macomber Family Information Center) and parked there as the lot was empty and the signs only said no overnight parking. In hindsight I could have probably parked more to the left and in front of the picnic table area or even down near the Jackson-Webster Trail. The parking along Saco Lake was already full at this time.

You can see the trail straight ahead as it cuts through the brush.

The Avalon Trail is very tame and the A-Z Trail continues this except for the one gully where it drops down significantly and then climbs back up on the other side. It then becomes gradual again as it makes its way up to the Field-Tom col. The footing is relatively good up to the col.

After a water break, we headed off to Mt. Tom. This is a relatively short trip and besides for one scramble at the base of the final push to the summit it is gradual and easy. Just remember when the trail looks like it dead ends into some scrub, turn left and continue on a side trail around a corner to the real summit. When you see the cairn you are at the summit.

Looking towards the Twin Mountains and the Bonds.

Looking out towards the Hancocks.

Mt. Carrigain through the trees.

Just past the false summit on the way back there is a lookout with some obstructed views.

Mt. Carrigain

Mt. Field

From the Field-Tom Col the next mile to the summit of Mt. Field is ridiculously easy. It took us about 15 minutes to make it over to Mt. Field. The footing is great and the elevation gain is under 600 feet.

Mt. Tom

Looking into the Mt. Washington Valley.

Omni Mount Washington Resort

The Presidentials through the trees.

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Washington

We then continued onto the Mt. Willey. The trail has a steep scramble descent, which was probably Boomer's toughest part of the day. We took it slow and made it down the scramble. Eventually the trail arrives at the massive blowdowns from Hurricane Sandy. The debris is just a nice sight as the trail cuts through it, but a year after it happen this was a mess of herd paths as people made their way around this.

Continuing on we took a break just north of the summit in a cleared little area off the trail. There were some conspicuous rocks placed but I measured the elevation and it was lower than the actual summit.

We then went around the corner, over a scramble, and found the cairn and actual summit of Mt. Willey.

Boomer is eyeing something just beyond the actual summit rock.

We then started our trip back to Mt. Field and down the Avalon Trail. There is a lot of exposed slab on this trail and if things were wet the difficulty would significantly increase as the slabs would become slick. Everything was basically dry on this day. We then made the short ascent up to the summit of Mt. Avalon.

Clouds moving in on the Presidentials.

AMC Highland Center

The cliffs of Mt. Webster.

The southern Presidential Range.

Mt. Willey

Mt. Field

Mt. Tom

We started our final descent of the day. This part of the Avalon Trail is the rockiest and steepest part of the entire loop. We slowed down a bit, but eventually came back to the junction with the A-Z Trail. At the Crawford Brook we took a break to do some swimming.

Since we were making good time we took the short side path to see the cascades.

Pearl Cascade

Beecher Cascade

Now the cascade side path is actually a loop bath, but to see Beecher Cascade you have to take another side path off the loop path. To keep things simple, just continue to descend down the side of the brook after Beecher Cascade and you will pop out at the first water crossing on the Avalon Trail in a short distance.

The parking lot at Crawford Depot was a madhouse of people trying to find parking spots, visiting the train station, and going up for an early afternoon hike. We dried off a bit and then headed home.

The mileage is only off by approximately a half of mile. Trimble Outdoors is retiring their software and service so I will have to find a new tracker shortly.