| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Tom, Mt. Field, Mt. Willey, Mt. Avalon, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 2, 2025 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Shoulder along 302 in front of Crawford Station is wide and plowed. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All very solidly bridged. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Clear up to Mt. Tom, although a couple of the leaners required head down and push through. From Tom to Willey was a steady procession of spruce car wash gauntlet. There is an unbelievable amount of snow overhead in the trees along the ridge...a warm day is going to have 50 pound snow piles raining down. Probably 20 to 30 blowdowns on this section. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
A chilly day on the Willey Range.
A very nice snowshoe track in the 2" of fresh snow heading up to Tom. About 3/4 of the way up, the 4 people who had been making the track turned around when they had trouble following the trail and the wind got real. They had turned around on a long sidehill section where the snow had completely covered any previous signs of the trail and the drifts were 3-5' deep. Good time from there up to Tom then Field and the previous trench was easy to follow.
From Field summit clearing, there are several attempts at finding the trail to Willey...you want the most left one looking at Willey, although all will join up at some point, some are more adventurous than others. 100' down from the summit the trail became easy to follow for a while, until it became completely obliterated in drifts. The actual trail in some points had drifts so high that going around was easier. I cleaned up the route on the way back, but I'd expect places to be completely drifted in by tomorrow. I definitely needed my GPS track to tell me when I was off the trail, which way the trail was a couple of times. Met one other grinder heading towards Willey as I returned, and I'm guessing he cleaned up the route a bit as well. Needless to say, you would be foolish to attempt the out back to Willey without snowshoes until we get some freeze/thaw or at least a bunch more tracks.
One person bare booted up from Avalon to Field and then must have headed towards Tom so the trail down to Avalon was choppy and unconsolidated. Not super steep, so I could kind of step-glide with the snowshoes. From Avalon summit down to the car was solid by the end of the day, so if you are looking for a summit to bareboot to, Avalon is an option. |
|
 | Name: |
Borealis |
|
 | E-Mail: |
kdwelch1@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2025-03-02 |
|
 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/13772696317/overview |
|
|
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. |
|
