Trip Details
Date: March 10th, 2017
Total Distance: 11.59 mi (via Trimble Outdoors Navigator Pro on iPhone 4S)
Total Time: 6 hours 16 minutes
Total Elevation: 3430 ft gained Click for more details.
As the winter season came to a close for BishopX and I, we hoofed it up one more mountain (or in this case three). The forecast was never truly in our favor all winter as there was always something for us to battle with and on this day it was afternoon snow. It lightly snowed throughout the day and by the time we got back to the parking lot the roads still were not covered and for the most part the wind was never a huge factor. I would consider that a win. The trip home, well that is another story...
Anywho, the Avalon Trail and continuing onto the A-Z Trail were both built for speed. The monorail was hard packed so we carried our snowshoes on our packs and ascended up to the col between Tom and Field. We then dropped our packs and booked it the half a mile or so over to Mt. Tom. The trail was still in great shape. As we were at the view just past the summit, our only friends for the trip made there first appearance. The grey jays would keep tracking us down on each summit.
The start of the A-Z Trail was a little puffier than the Avalon Trail to the junction, but still mostly hard packed and easy to follow.
There were literally four well defined paths at the start of the Mt Tom spur. Just stay to the left. That is the real trail.
The view just past the summit of Mt Tom. Mt. Bond, The Twins, and Zealand are all visible.
Mt. Hale
The Twins
Mt. Bond, Zeacliff, Mt. Zealand, and Mt. Guyot
Mt. Carrigain
BishopX kicking around the summit area.
The summit is one of these nooks. No cairn visible today.
You are going to share with me right?
Grey Jay - 1, BishopX - 0
We then headed back to the col, grabbed our stuff, and started towards Mt. Field. As soon as we got on the Willey Range Trail though it was clear that most of the traffic had turned back around and headed down. There was no monorail and at parts there was no evidence at all of a trail. Wind drifts were partly responsible, but in others that was not the case. About halfway to Mt. Field we put snowshoes on. It made it much easier to move in the powder that was on top of frozen drifts. Soon enough we were on Mt. Field.
The trail is already looking less used.
There was the start of a trail up to the summit, but it needed additional breaking to really get a monorail down.
Mt. Field summit
Snow falling over the Presidentials.
Omni Mount Washington Resort
Mt. Tom
BishopX was curious what the shiny thing was on the side of Mt. Tom...it is a rock.
The trail went cold from this point. There was zero evidence of anyone continuing on to Mt. Willey. We broke the trail, lost it in one open spot, and then re-found it by backtracking and looking for the next blue blaze. Thankfully the trail is well blazed with them. We continued around to the summit of Mt. Willey and then went down to the view. It is an amazing view of Webster Cliffs. Too bad it was obscured.
The summit of Mt. Willey in the trees.
The grey jay has returned!
Webster Cliffs
Looking down Route 302.
We looked behind us and found that we were stalked by three grey jays!
We then worked our way back to Mt. Field. Once we arrived, we switched back to microspikes as we hoped to do some significant butt sliding down the Avalon Trail. I thought I remembered that it was significantly steep. Sadly, I was wrong and it was a gradual decent until the Mt Avalon Spur trail. Worst of all, the dusting of falling snow was hiding a significant number of postholes that at one point almost thrashed my knee.
Mt. Jackson, Mt. Webster, and the Webster Cliffs
Southern Presidentials
AMC Highland Center
Mt. Willey and Mt. Field
Mt. Tom
The steep part of the trail I remembered followed the junction with Mt. Avalon Spur trail. We butt slid down this section in a handful of fun butt slides.
We took the detour over to the cascades near the trailhead.
As our winter hiking comes to a close, and I write this up during a snowpocalypse while enjoying some hot cocoa and a homemade thin mint whoopie pie, I realize that BishopX and I had a successful winter hiking season. We got eight completed, which was our best so far. We now have 23 done and are on schedule to complete by the time we hit 40. For those that will continue hiking during the shoulder season, godspeed! I will return to the trails once the snow melts in the late spring. See you on trails then!
The mileage is only off by approximately a mile and half, but we had to road walk from the Jackson-Webster Trailhead parking since the AMC Parking at the train station was closed. Trimble Outdoors is retiring their software and service so I will have to find a new tracker in a few days.
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