Outdoor Diversion: Gridding Out Tom and Field

Summits: Mount Tom (4,051'), Mount Field (4,340'), Mount Willey (4,285')

Trail route: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mount Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail

Trail conditions: Dry, wet and a variety of deteriorating monorails at higher elevations

Weather: Cool to start then warm and sunny

Total miles: 9.5

Total time: 7:12

A beautiful Spring day was in the forecast and I wanted to take advantage of it with a hike to Tom, Field and Willey. I would be gridding out Tom and Field but still need to hike Mount Willey two more times to grid out that summit.

I was the first one in the parking lot at the Crawford Depot this morning. Of course it was only moments before the next vehicle pulled in. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was just coming up over the mountains.

I saw the first patch of snow on the A-Z Trail. Up on the Mt Tom spur there were a few more short monorails but nothing of significance. The views on Mount Tom are becoming obscured with the growing trees and I would not be surprised if the views were gone in a couple of years.

It was on the Willey Range Trail that I would start to experience a variety of snow/monorail conditions. This is where I put on my microspikes. There was solid snow, soft snow, narrow monorail, hollow sounding monorail with water beneath, deteriorating and collapsing monorail then areas of bare trail and the cycle would start all over again.

I took off the microspikes just below the steep rocky climb up to the summit of Mount Field. After a short break I continued to Mount Willey without microspikes but was soon back into snow and monorail. I put the microspikes back on but that was short-lived because the snow disappeared and I was back to bare trail. The microspikes came off but I was soon once again back into a variety of snow conditions.

I was not going to play the on again off again microspike game and bare booted the rest of the way to Mount Willey. This proved to be the best way to deal with the varying conditions. I took my time and carefully placed my feet to avoid any slips and falls. The summit of Willey was bare and there were spectacular views from the outlook. I met two other hikers that had come up from the other side of Willey.

I took a nice break on the outlook and it was definitely a day for lingering and basking. This was my turn around point and I started back with the microspikes on the pack. I made my way up over Mount Field and down the other side to the Avalon Trail.

There was a lot of snow on this trail and I put the microspikes back on for the steep descent. As I got out of the snow and monorail the microspikes came off for the rest of the hike. The microspikes really got used and abused today.

I passed by Mount Avalon and did not summit this peak today as I have already done it several times. It was a pleasant hike back down to the Crawford depot. I only met five hikers today which was kind of surprising for this popular hike.

While the weather was beautiful the trail conditions were tougher than expected but that is typical for Spring hiking and shouldn't be too surprising here in the mountains at higher elevations. I was prepared and was able to handle the conditions. The young couple I met on Mount Willey was not prepared. When I told them the conditions they decided not to venture further and went back down the way they came up.

I will return to Mount Willey in December and March to grid out that summit. It was a great day to grid out Tom and Field!

Enjoy the photos!