Evan came to visit, and to join in the fun of hiking binge week.
After some pondering, we decided to head back to the snowy Crawford Notch woods to try to peak bag Field and Willey (and Avalon, a non 4k footer just for good measure.)
We knew what to expect at the start, as we had just been up Avalon a few days earlier. Of course, since it was a Saturday there were far more people and lots more cars (still, not summer level by any means.)
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| Typical first half mile!! |
The weather was forecast to be pretty decent (it was supposed to be the better weekend day, by FAR!!) It was decent. A few peeks of sun, not too cold, but not fabulous by any stretch. We met quite a few young hikers (part of a youth group of some sort) all of whom looked chilly, and who warned us about "lots of snow." (which we knew about, because of all the hiking during the week!)
At mile 1 we saw the first signs of the monorail, and at mile 1.28 we spiked up. (and went UP!)
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| Just a tiny bit of snow. |
We headed left to continue towards Avalon, and headed into uncharted waters (last time, A-Z trail took us to Tom.) The trail, as it continued towards Avalon, was most certainly steep in sections! We were especially cautious as we had just donned traction and were annoyed at the prospect of removing it) While the below photo doesn't show it- there was plenty of mud/snow to step in to avoid the nasty spike/rock combination. Also, it really was steep AF for a minute or two.
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| Hello, incline |
The non snowy section did NOT last. As we got to the Avalon Spur, there were a good number of people descending. Knowing that trying to meet them would result in some major sinking, we saved that peak for the return trip. Too much snow to deal with trying to get around people, thanks.
There was a lot of snow. Pretty unstable at times! Evan, in particular, wasn't getting along too well with the conditions. "God Forsaken Monorail" he would cry, as he tumbled into the snowy abyss up to his ears.
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| We had to wait for a nice stretch to get a pic! |
While we would never laugh AT Evan, we laughed WITH him quite a bit. To the point that we were all crying. The snow was just NOT on his side!!
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| Ellie didn't mind. She weights 31 pounds though.... |
This was a day where the experiences definitely varied from hiker to hiker. We all agreed that it was tough going. But (because I'm small?) I mostly stayed afloat. Evan is hardly huge, but he spent a lot of time icing his legs mid hike!
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| You said you needed to ice your shins, EVAN |
54 postholes later, we made it to the summit of Field. There is a scenic overlook, and it was alternating between being completely socked in with fog, or humans. We did manage to snag a photo for proof though.
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| Another 4K for Ellie |
Heading towards Willey, the sun actually came out and the day turned a bit nicer.
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| Maybe you can't tell- but the sun is out! |
The weather became better, but the trail did NOT. The challenges stopped being fun and began to get annoying (super narrow trail with bushwacking through the pines, limited time to make to to the next peak, the continuations of unstable snow, etc.) So, we called it a day and headed back towards Crawford Notch. While it was annoying to leave Willey for another day, it was the best option.
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| Heading back |
We did make the little trip to the top of Avalon, and what a pleasant little summit it was! It was at least 10 degrees warmer than in the woods, with great views of the notch.
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| Pretty at the Avalon Summit |
The trip down was basically what one would expect. More postholes, wet feet, Evan swearing like a sailor, and all of us laughing hysterically. Normal!!!
Ellie was eager for the stream crossings, and proved that she has become an expert.
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| Smart pupkins |
While it was not a complete shit day, we were still just as happy to be done with this one.
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| Field, DONE |
We were pretty soaked and Evan was bleeding from the knees.
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| GROSS FEET |
We had a beer to cheer up. Talked about how we do strange things on a Saturday afternoon. Evan quit hiking, and promptly tried to talk us into a Presi or Franconia loop the next day (nope!)
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| Good times! |
In good conditions, and with an older dog, Tom/Field/Willey can definitely be done in one fell swoop. But not for us. Not on this day!
Stats
Total elevation: 4340 (Ellie's highest climb to date!)
Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt)
-elevation climbed: 2,819
-miles covered: 6.25
-elapsed time: 4:41 (there's no book time on this, because we were here and there and everywhere.)
Difficulty: Ohhhh this is a tough one! I would say, hard side of moderate. A couple stream crossings, a few totally legit steep sections, some rocks and mess. Nothing too technical that we could notice. Plenty of good bail out options (just go to Avalon and call it a day with a view!) Not a fabulous choice for your first hike ever.
Views: Decent
Bugs: Not a one, but it was brisk and windy
Dog friendly trail? Yep
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