Hiking the Willey Range on a Spectacular Day

A final check of the weather forecast early this morning promised a spectacular day of sunshine and warmer temps. I would be joining Jill, Amy, Jim and Robin for a hike of the Willey Range. This hike would include the following 4,000 foot summits - Field, Willey and Tom with one non-4,000 footer, Mount Avalon. Our route would start at Crawford Depot and take us up the Avalon Trail to Mount Avalon continuing up to Mount Field on the Willey Range Trail over to Mount Willey then back to Mount Field and over to Mount Tom back down the A-Z Trail to the Avalon Trail completing a loop and back down to Crawford Depot.

When I got up early this morning I noticed the sky was starting to brighten up just after 5:00 AM. It's always nice driving to the trailhead in daylight. It was a cold start to the day with a heavy frost on the car due to a clear overnight sky. As I passed by the high summits I could see there was a lot of snow up there. While we were getting rain in the lower elevations the higher elevations were getting all snow this past week. The snow-capped mountains looked spectacular against the clear blue sky. That would be the theme today.

The parking lot at Crawford Depot was closed so I parked beside the road on 302. Moments later everyone else showed up and parked behind me. We made the decision not to take snowshoes and started out with microspikes. They would stay on for the entire hike. My concern was that the warm temps and sunshine would soften the snow and create snowballing on our traction. The first water crossing had a solid snow bridge. The next water crossing was open but easily crossed.

We reached the trail junction and made the turn up the steep section of trail to Mount Avalon. The trail was solid which made it easier to ascend the steep sections. We got to the Mount Avalon spur trail and dropped our packs for the ascent to the summit. The deep snow made it very easy to walk up over the ledges. The views were incredible and we had the summit to ourselves. After some photos we dropped back down, put on our packs and continued on up to Mount Field.

The snow depth increased as we gained elevation. The trail was packed with some loose snow. There was no postholing as long as we stayed on the trail. The trees hung heavy with snow. We reached the Willey Range Trail and climbed the 100 yards to the summit of Mount Field. Once again we had the summit to ourselves. The actual summit has no views and is protected from the wind. The outlook was a different story. There was a cold wind blowing so we stayed there long enough to get some photos then warmed back up on the summit.

When we left the summit heading for Mount Willey the snow was so deep on the trail that we were up in the branches of the trees that are normally high above the trail when there is no snow. We had to walk hunched over in order to get through this section of trail. It didn't last long and we were able to straighten up again. About halfway to Willey the trail got confused as there were a couple of trails to choose from. I think we initially got on the wrong trail but it brought us back to the main trail.

As there is nothing more than a very narrow trail that passes over Mount Willey we kept going to the outlook. As we turned to go to the outlook I noticed that the Willey Range Trail was not broken out past here. That meant anyone coming up or down the many sets of ladders past here would probably have a very tough hike. We went to the outlook and had our lunch there. The sun felt great and there was no wind. The gray jays soon joined us for lunch. We had this summit to ourselves momentarily before two hikers came along.

After a nice break we started the hike back to Mount Field. Back on Field the cold wind was still blowing. We didn't stop but kept going on to Mount Tom. This is one of my favorite sections of trail. It's a nice gradual descent to the A-Z Trail. Once again we dropped our packs for the ascent to Mount Tom. It felt nice to get the packs off! On the summit we meandered around and enjoyed the views. We briefly had the summit to ourselves before other hikers arrived. We dropped back down to the A-Z Trail.

We picked up our packs and made the final descent back to Crawford Depot. When we got down to the Avalon Trail junction Jim decided to try his buttsled. He was able to get a short run before the trail flattened out enough to end the buttsledding. The final mile consisted of walking through very soft snow known as "mashed potatoes" that describes the consistency. It wasn't deep but sure was slippery.

After 7:15 hours and 10 miles we arrived back at Crawford Depot. For those not keeping track here's a review, we went up to Avalon and a short down, up to Field and down then up to Willey then back down and up to Field and down then up to Tom and down to Crawford Depot. That's a lot of ups and downs but it was a fantastic day of hiking with Jill, Amy, Jim and Robin. The weather did not disappoint and the trail conditions were very good. The views were absolutely amazing. This was a day of mid-winter hiking.

I expect this week to bring some dramatic changes in trail conditions as Spring weather is finally in the forecast with warm temperatures and rain. There is some tough hiking ahead as the snow melt begins at the higher elevations.

Enjoy the photos and videos!

The hike starts here on the Avalon Trail

A solid snow bridge on the first water crossing

Easy under blowdown

Jim at the next water crossing

Easy water crossing

Arriving at the trail junction

A steep section on the Avalon Trail

A slow steep climb

Arriving at the Mount Avalon spur trail

A view from Mount Avalon

Zooming in on Crawford Depot from Avalon

A view down Crawford Notch

Looking up to our next destination...Mount Field

Mount Tom

Mount Field

Mount Willey

An easy descent on the snow-covered ledges going down from Mount Avalon

An open area before going back into the trees

Icicles in the sun

Entering snow-covered trees

Snow-laden trees

Icicles along the trail

Snow and icicles

Snowy path

Arriving at the Willey Range Trail

Mount Field summit at the top of this steep section of the Willey Range Trail

Jim reaches the summit of Mount Field

Group shot on Mount Field

A look back down the trail from Mount Field

Mount Field outlook

Presidential view through snowy trees

A view from the outlook

Mount Carrigain

Mount Eisenhower and Mount Monroe can be seen below Mount Washington

Passing through the land of blue and white

Gray jay visiting on Mount Willey

Mount Webster summit

A lone hiker can be seen on the summit of Mount Jackson

Group shot on Mount Willey

The Willey Range Trail is unbroken past the Mount Willey outlook

The actual viewless summit of Mount Willey

On our way back to Mount Field

The Bonds

Frozen treetop

A look back at Mount Willey

Descending Mount Field on the way to Mount Tom

Lots of snow underneath me

The A-Z Trail to Zealand Trail is broken out

Blue sky and white trees

Mount Carrigain

A view from Mount Tom

There's a tree in this ice

Group shot on the summit of Mount Tom

In step back into deep snow on Mount Tom

Mount Field

Six hikers can be seen ascending the Mount Washington summit cone

Mount Washington

Treading lightly on this snow bridge

The hike ends back at the Crawford Depot

Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!