Trip/Event Location: Bretton Woods, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): shep5
Max # People: 10
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Strenuous
Join me for this 10 mile hike, which will ascend to the ridge by way of the Avalon and A-Z Trails...steeply in some sections. From the top there is a short spur trail to Mt. Tom (4051').
As you pass the exit for Lincoln, continue on I-93 N for 11.9 miles. Take exit 35 to merge onto US-3 N/Daniel Webster Hwy toward Twin Mountain/Lancaster. Follow US-3 N for 10.3 miles. Turn right onto US-302 E/Dartmouth College Rd and follow US-302 E for 8.4 miles. The Crawford Path parking will be on the left...taking a left for a short distance up the Mt. Clinton Road OR more preferrably there is parking along Rt 302 across from Saco Lake and just past the Highland Center. Total distance from Lincoln is about 30.8 miles (about 35 minutes). Look for a grey Hyundai Elantra.
NOTE: Where ever you choose to park, you will need to head over to the Crawford Notch Train Depot to the southeast of the Highland Center...it is the yellow, orange and green Victorian-looking structure on the southside of Rt 302. The trailhead is behind the station.
On Saturday, February 18, six GO'ers (Kevin, Gary, Martin, Vince, Gil and myself) at the Rt 302 Roadside parking area next to Saco Lake. Boy, did I take flak for not parking at the railroad station...like the extra hundred yards was going to kill anyone! Actually, I didn't notice that the lot had been plowed or maintained, and I didn't know when I wrote the original trip. In the summer it is specifically for Conway Scenic Railroad passengers. The day was cool, but not overly cold with mostly overcast skies. We got ready and made sure everyone knew each other. We then headed across the street, following the tracks to the trailhead, which is behind the station. It had snowed a couple of inches over the week, but we all chose to use microspikes, since this didn't seem significant. It was about 8:35, when we started out. We initially used the Avalon Trail, which has a gentle grade up and it was more icy than snow-covered. As we climbed in elevation there was about 1-3 inches of snow on the trail. We took our time...taking several breaks along the way. Going straight up to the Mt. Tom col, the trail changed to the A-Z Trail and became only a slightly more agressive climb as we headed up to the col. We reached this point, which was also the location of the Mt. Tom Spur Trail at roughly 10:15AM. After another short break, we headed up the 0.6-mile spur and we fairly quickly reached a viewing spot and thereafter the summit of Mt. Tom (4051'). Unfortunately there was not much of a view, so we had a group photo taken and headed back. By this time there was a hazy view of Mt. Field. We reached the trail junction again at about 11AM. We continued a short distance along the A-Z Trail to the junction with the Willey Range Trail. This was mostly gradual as it made its way up to the summit of Mt. Field. At the junction with the Avalon Trail, we took a break, since the grey (Canadian) jays were congregating! Normally, I've seen one at a time, but here there were about 4-5 and they were in full begging mode! We gave in, of course. The summit of Mt. Field (4340') was just a short distance further and we were on top by 11:45AM. The views were starting to open up, but there was sill quite a bit of cloud cover. At least we had views down onto Saco Lake and the Highland Center. Even though it was close to lunchtime, the group choose to continue on, since there was some wind and it was brisk up on the summit. After taking another group shot, we descended off of Mt. Field and headed over to Mt. Willey. The trail dropped steeply in a couple of spots as it winded its way to the southeast of the ridge. We reached the summit of Mt. Willey (4285') at about 12:50PM. We continued past the summit and found the ledge on the eastern flank. The clouds had lifted sufficiently, so there were now views over to Mt. Jackson and the Webster Cliffs and to the southeast to Mt. Carrigain and the Signal Ridge. Mt. Chocorua's distinctive peak was also visible. There was almost no wind on this side of the peak and with the open views, we decided to break for lunch. Sensing the availability of food, the jays were practically in attact mode here too...and they told all their friends! After lunch we headed back via the same route over the summit of Mt. Field. Along the way there were now views into the Pemigewasset Wilderness...particularly the Bonds and even Loon Mountain were visible. We reached Mt. Field again at about 2PM. After a short break, we continued the short distance off the western side and turned onto the Avalon Trail. This was pretty easy-going...at least for this section of it. We reached the short...and rather steep...spur trail for Mt. Avalon at about 2:40. We all chose to go up and were rewarded with nice views back along the Willey Range and down into Crawford Notch. We ran into a small group that we had seen on Tom and Willey and chatted for a short time before deciding to descend back to the Avalon Trail. This is where the trail became fun! It's normally steep and rocky...with all the packed snow, it was steep and made for a great slide...as Kevin can attest! We continued on and were back at the trailhead by 3:45PM...oh, and the grueling hike back along the tracks to our cars! After the hike most of us went down the road to Fabyan's to cap off the day with dinner and drinks (Gary had to get back home to take care of an obligation). It was a fun day with an especially great group of guys! Thank you all for joining me on this trip! And congratulations to Vince and Gil for doing their first three 4000-footers! See you all on another activity soon!
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Strenuous
