Taking advantage of an extra two days off work, though jet-lagged as all hell after returning from a trip to Hawaii the morning before, I packed up the essentials and headed north. Stopping at my mom’s in Vermont for an overnight power nap, I left to drive up to the Whites around 4:30 am for a true ‘bang-for-your-buck’ hike hitting three 4000 footers.
This would be my first true solo trip hiking in New Hampshire. I’ve hiked alone plenty, even there, but I usually had my partner waiting at the AirBNB close by in case I needed anything. For some reason, the idea of my immediate connections being nearly 3 hours away made me uneasy. Alas, not everyone is going to want to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and if I constantly waited for other people to live my life, I’d never get to do anything.
I parked at Crawford Notch, crossed over the railroad tracks, and started out on the Avalon trail around 7:30 am. It was a crisp 55° morning so between that and the gentle incline to start, I was able to get moving pretty quickly. Around 1.3 mi in, the Avalon trail continues to Mount Avalon (a mountain on the 52 With a View list) to the left while the A-Z trail veers off to the right toward my first 4000 footer of the day, Mt. Tom. I decided to stay right and hit Tom first - I would live to regret this choice!
The A-Z trail quickly began to get steeper, climbing just over a mile with several brook crossings along wooded ledges through the forest. You then reach the junction of the Tom Spur trail, another 0.6 mi to the wooded summit of Tom. I hadn’t seen anyone else on trail up until this point. This was a gentle, rolling incline that was relatively easy on the feet, especially for New England standards. I spent more time than I’d like to admit searching for the rock cairn that marked the official summit and quickly realized I’d probably be doing that quite a bit today.
Heading back down from Tom, you continue west on the A-Z trail for a short spurt before going south on the Willey Range trail to hit the other two peaks. From this split, Mt. Field - the tallest peak of the day - is just under a mile away with a bit steeper climbing involved. Atop Field, you can catch a few ‘peek-a-boo’ views above some shorter trees. With not much else to see, I tapped the cairn and started back on Willey Ridge toward Mt. Willey.
Knowing I would have to repeat this 1.4 mi segment to head back, I worried I’d lose some steam coming back up the very steep descent between the two peaks. One moment, I’d think the downhill was over according to the topo map, but I’d soon eat my words as the trail dropped another 100 feet. After what felt like an eternity, I once again found the cairn on the tree covered summit of Willey. I dropped my pack, cracked open a summit beer, and begrudgingly hobbled down to the view point just east of the top; it was totally worth it.
I’m unsure if I would have made it up that incline back to Field with such gusto if not for that beer and the breakfast sandwich I packed out. Once re-summering, I headed down the loop counter-clockwise back on the Avalon trail thinking it would be the quicker way. I should have known better as the common mantra in the northeast is ‘short, but steep’ - I probably could have crawled that 1 mi down to the Avalon spur faster.
My knees were shaky from each cautious step, averaging a 28% decline on wet rocks. I wasn’t necessarily planning on hitting Avalon, but knew those would likely be my best views of the day, so I decided to see how far off trail the summit spur would take me when I got to it. At only 100 yds, I really had no excuse, but that was also #steepaf. Also totally worth it, the summit opening up to a boulder field with outlooks spanning the Presidential Range. After the 0.5 down to the junction of the A-Z trail, the remaining mileage came quickly. I made it back to the truck around 3 pm feeling mighty accomplished. It was a long day with a long drive back, but I’ll never take any time I get to spend in my favorite place for granted.
NH 10, 11, and 12/48
New England 15, 16, and 17/67
New England 20, 21, and 22/100 Highest
Northeast 17, 18, and 19/115
