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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Field, Mt. Willey, Mt. Tom, NH
Trails
Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Thursday, April 11, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes:  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Second crossing is open but hoppable. All other crossings are currently snow bridged, fairly solidly for the time being. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Lots of blowdowns on Willey Range between Field and A-Z. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Late winter conditions and snowpack courtesy the storms this week. No one without snowshoes attained any summits.

Avalon Trail up to the second crossing was a couple of feet deep and fairly well packed out spring snow (made really uneven by a late barebooter). Snowpack quickly increased above A-Z junction. A lot of the snow above this remained powder last night, so further drifting is still possible.

A gaggle of parasitic postholers continued up the Avalon Trail, but lost the trail just prior to Avalon (as evidenced by their futile attempts to try to find the hidden packed footbed by feel). Snowpack already approaching 6 feet in places on that ascent. Above there, there was evidence of someone postholing earlier in the week in places, but the rest was drifted over. Deep snowpack with some blazes presumably buried. Some places the current track is off trail.

Lots of snow on Field, including just east of the summit...nice views. As with upper Avalon Trail, the only tracks up here and to Willey were from a postholer from earlier in the week, much of which were erased by drifts fortunately. Deep snowpack made for fun trailfinding, and in some places the corridor is useless at current depth. The steeper scrambly chutes are completely filled in. No tracks coming up from Ethan Pond side.

Back to Field, heading to A-Z, packed route again deviates from trail, due to a bunch of blowdowns in the corridor. Finally hit recent tracks at the A-Z-Tom junction. Fortunately the last user was on snowshoes. Evidence of barebooters a day or two earlier not making it to the true summit, perhaps because packed route goes off trail.

A-Z Trail below Mt. Tom spur has multiple places in which the track goes off the actual trail. There are also two areas of very tough sidehill where there's not much of a footbed.

Nice sunset colors from Willey and Field.  
Name
Name: rocket21 
E-Mail
E-Mail: rocket21@franklinwebpublishing.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-04-12 
Link
Link: https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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