Tom, Field and Willey

Total trip duration: 5:13:33
Distance: 10 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Tom #24 (4,051 feet),  Field #25 (4,340 feet), Willey #26 (4,285feet)

Today we passed the halfway mark on our journey toward 48 peaks!  It was cold and the wind was whipping across the parking lot at the Highland Center as we made our way to the Avalon trail head.  Our route today was: Avalon > A-Z > Mt Tom Spur [Tom] > Mt Tom Spur > Willey Range [Field] > Willey Range [Willey] (turn around) > Willey Range [Field] > Willey Range > Avalon

We were fortunate to be surrounded by gorgeous blue skies throughout the day.  As soon as we crossed the tracks at the Crawford Notch Depot and made our way into the woods, the wind subsided.

 

The sun lit trail had a couple of inches of fresh fluffy snow covering it.

Do NOT eat the yellow snow (or ice)!!!

It was chilly and we were slow moving as our limbs were still getting warmed up.  However, it wasn't long before Quinn got trucking!  We'd be back at this trail junction in what felt like a blink of an eye!

Just below the peak of Mount Tom there was a sun drenched spot just off the trail with great views.  We returned here for lunch on our way back down Tom.

We were fortunate to be greeted by a family of Gray Jays at the summit of Tom!

Quinn absolutely loves these birds and as long he shares his snacks, they're happy to share the love.

Tom was our favorite of the three peaks.  Quinn had a kick in his step up to the summit and he really made me push the pace to try and keep up.

When we started up the Mt Tom Spur trail, there were no tracks heading down the Willey Range trail.  However, when we returned to start of the Mt Tom Spur trail, there was a new set of foot prints heading down the Willey Range trail.

As we approached the steep climb to the peak of Mount Field, we caught up to the hiker who was breaking trail.  Mount Field offered us the best views of the day!

Quinn shows off a tasty green Sour Patch Kid.

Nobody on the peak so we needed grab our own peak photo!

The trail heading toward Willey was untouched after recent snow.  The trail below the powder was well packed.  However, we ran into a handful of snow drifts that unexpectedly devoured our legs.  The snow drifts also turned us off the trail a couple of times.  Thankfully, Quinn's size was a boon for circumstances as he could explore the area without sinking in the drifts.  Every time I tried to find the blue blazes when we were off trail, I'd sink to waist deep.  What an adventure! 

We stopped for a snack and a check of the map below the summit.  A friendly hiker named Steve caught up to us and we chatted as we continued the hike.  Steve kindly took some pictures for us.

There were all kinds of amazing snow and ice formations along the hike.  The following photo was taken at the summit of Willey.

This was a fun little section of the Willey Range trail.  Quinn slid down it on the way to Willey and be-bopped up it on the way back.

Quinn in rapture - Mount Willey in the background.  

We met Gray Jays on all three peaks.  What a delight!  The forest near the top of Field had a mystical, magical quality.

Back over Field again!

Making the turn to get onto Avalon.  The top of Avalon has some great steep sections.  We bombed down the trail - some of it sliding on our butts!

Here we are just above Mount Avalon.

Getting closer to the end of the journey, we crossed the icy river we passed earlier in the morning.

And we're back to Crawford Notch Station!

 

We were unsure at the start if we would need our snowshoes.  We decided to leave them in the car and it turned out to be the right move.  There were a couple of sections where they would have been nice but definitely not worth carrying for the entire trip.  It was really special making tracks in untouched snow today.  As Quinn said during the hike, it was the perfect hike for the weather.  While it was a chilly day, we were mostly protected from the wind by the trees; we got to experience blue skies and a warm sun all day.  It would have undoubtedly been a different experience on exposed peaks.  When we got back to the car, we thawed out and sat for a while reminiscing about the highlights of the day.  It was a great trip!

Quinn's Take

It was very cold and windy and snow covered the trail.  There were some inclines that were challenging to climb.  At the top of Mount Tom, I fed some gray jays.  There were so many of them!  I was so happy to get to the top of Mount Tom that I celebrated with some sour patch kids! Mt. Tom was my favorite peak of the day.  We then made our way to Mt. Field and Mt. Willey.

On the way to Mt. Willey, we met a hiker named Steve.  He hiked with us to the top.  Steve helped us find the marker at the peak and took our picture.  It was a fun day!

We are more than halfway through the 48 4,000 footers- Hooray!!!