The Tripyramids for Sunrise & Tom, Field, Willey - 6/21/14

Way back at the end of June, I did a fun double-hit-and-run of a couple of hikes for my 6th round.  The Tripyramids and Tom, Field, and Willey.  It just so happened that one of the Tripyramids would be the completion of my 3rd solo round of the 4,000-footers, AND it was the day of the summer solstice - an exciting day to hike!  I was shooting for sunrise, but I had not decided which route of ascent until I was at the Livermore Trail head.  I then decided to go North first, but didn't decide whether to take Scaur Trail or the North Slide. As I approached the junction for the North loop, which is right near the Scaur, I took a look at the time, and decided that my best chance to make it up for sunrise is if I take the direct climb up the slide.  It would be slowly getting lighter as sunrise approached, so I went for it.

Mt. Tripyramid Trail, North

Looking down into the night on the slide

On the way in, I past a tent set-up along the road. There are big construction vehicles around from the current work going on.  The campers had placed a very large branch across the road as if a bear would trip over it and alert them something was near.  The slide was almost completely dry except for a few small spots of no concern.  I had only been up here once in winter, during my first round.  It was nice to be back to check it out.  The temperature, I recall, was about perfect, it was a beautiful clear sky, and I smoothly and comfortably ascended the North Slide under some stars.  About 3/4 of the way up, the orange glow of sunrise crept above the easterly mountains to my left.

Start of summer from the North Slide

I made pretty good time up the slide, moved to the left to connect with the trail, and in minutes, I was on North Tripyramid.  I looked at the time, and I still had 30 minutes to sunrise.  Instead of hanging out, I had just enough time to test myself for sunset on Middle.

A cool look from North Tripyramid, half hour before sunrise

Just enough indeed as I busted out the eight-tenths of a mile, reaching the summit of Middle Tripyramid with about 5 minutes until the sun came up.  From a peak I have not given too much attention, sunrise for my 3rd solo round was pretty amazing.  The sun reflected a pink color off the sky, and the moon added some punch to the scene.  It was just awesome, and I took it all in, by myself, with not a sound or soul around. I bundled up a little because it was chilly, but I didn't miss a second of it.

Mt. Passaconaway, pink clouds, and the moon 

Sunrise from Middle Triptramid 

Summit panorama 

Summit selfie for 3rd solo round   

I lingered until the sun was well over the mountaintops before moving on.  I was really impressed and surprised by the sunrise I was afforded, and happy to have made a nice moment to associate with the Tripyramids.  I was feeling pretty motivated, ready to move on.  The glow of the sun lit up the mountainside and trail in a striking way as I head towards South peak.  Entering the south slide, the crisp morning view provided was just about the best I've seen from that spot.  I completed this 11.1 mile hike with a swift pace, especially for early morning, in just 4:45.  I passed the campers with a smile, as they had just started walking up the Livermore. :)  I had other mountains to tend to on this first day of summer.

Mt. Tripyramid Trail between Middle and South peak

Morning view from South Slide (Snows Mountain, I think)

Next up, I drove directly to Crawford Notch, stopping only at the Irving. I pulled into the depot, and sure enough, I was the last one that wouldn't fit, which meant I had to go down by the Jackson Trail head.  Just as I did, cars were literally pulling in behind me, alongside the road, in almost caravan style.  I was hoping to chillout in the car for a few minutes before starting but it was like there were scores of people about to attack the Avalon Trail, I decided the hell with it, I barely did any re-arrangement of my bag, no rest, nothing, I was off up the trail, and it was 8:45am.

Avalon Trail

A dip in the trail along the way

Mt. Tom Spur

It was a beautiful day as the morning's cues indicated it would be.  Temps were tame, as I remember, and the hike was nice and smooth.  Despite the hoards of people I noticed below making dashes to various trail heads, overall, the hike was pleasant and more peaceful than I thought.  I cruised over the summits taking in exceptional views that rank high among my 6 visits to each. I took a panorama to represent each one.  When I reached Mt. Willey, it was the first complete 3-season solo round.  That means Willey was the only I had not climbed solo in 3-season.  On the way back, I got the typical, "Whoa, you got Willey already?" from a passing hiker, but actually I am slower on this hike when its not covered in snow.  Anyways, I was probably slower at the beginning than the end, from having hiked earlier. It was close to 2:00pm when my hiking for the day was done.  It was pretty fun first day of summer, and I head to my camp where I enjoyed the afternoon with my brother and parents, for it was their anniversary.

      

View from Mt. Tom

View from Mt. Field

View from Mt. Willey

Tripyramids Hike Stats

Trails: Livermore Trail, Tripyramid Trail (Loop)

Distance: 11.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,129 ft.

Actual Book Time: 4:45
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Tom, Field, Willey Hike Stats

Trails: Chimney Pond Trail, North Basin Trail, North Basin Cut-off, Hamlin Ridge Trail

Distance: 8.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,40 ft.

Actual Book Time: 5:39
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Willey Range Traverse - 11/16/13

On November 16th, the weather was as perfect as could be for a mid-November day in the White Mountains.  I was invited to join a hike of Willey, Tom, and Field, a Willey Range Traverse.  Cynthia, another passionate hiker like myself, was finishing the Grid on this hike, and there were dozens of others along for the excursion, including many who've completed the goal of hiking all 48 4000-footers in each of the 12 months of the year and/or in a single winter season.  Talk about an amazing group to share a hike with.  I was happy to share such an easy, beautiful day in the mountains while meeting some really awesome people.

Amazingly, we got a few car loads to Ethan Pond Trail head after meeting at the AMC Highland Center. Shortly into the hike on the Ethan Pond Trail we came across some nice bear tracks, and then a notice in the snow making sure we saw them.

This was the first time up the Ethan Pond side for me, which got me the last section of the Willey Range Trail "I needed" for my redlining. One of the bonuses to that was getting to try to the ladders on Willey for the first time.  This trail section is also on the Terrifying 25 Trail list I'm working on.  Up we went!

Willey Ladders

Mt. Washington with Mt. Lowell in foreground

Mt. Willey summit (4th round, 4th month) 

View West from Willey before into the trees towards Field

For summits with limited views, the day overall, weather, and views we had made it seem better than any other time. While some of the group took more time on the summit of Willey, a few of us headed for Field. It was so nice to meet Cynthia who continued along leading the way to Field as we chatted about a few grid moments and hiking in general.  Shortly after that, we ran into Rachel and her beautiful pup Isis. Isis is getting close to her 48 finish! Follow their journey HERE. They also had planned to join the hike along the way, and meet up at the finish.  Continuing on, we ran into others who also were joining the fun along the way, and eventually (but still fast) we made it to the summit of Field.  There were about 20 people on the summit of Field having snacks.  The gray jays flew about cautiously and less closely because of the unexpected and odd commotion of so many people.  After a needed snack, the group cruised on down to the A-Z Trail and the junction with the Mt. Tom Spur, where there was another dozen people waiting, including family members to join for Cynthia's big finish to Mt. Tom.

After the Mt. Tom Spur parade, we arrived at the summit, where the celebration began.  Champagne and chocolates for everyone, and bunch of happy people on a beautiful day celebrating an incredible accomplishment.

In a few spaced out groups, we made our way back to the AMC Highland Center, were it was an absolute blast hanging out in the freezing cold, celebrating, and meeting many others, including the incredible Ed Hawkins! Pictured below are the most grid finishers (13 of 41) together at once. Some have completed it more than once, and a few have climbed all 576 starting after the age of 60.  Talk about some awesome stuff right there. Congratulations to Cynthia!

Hike Stats

Trails: Ethan Pond Trail, Willey Range Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, A-Z Trail

Distance: 8.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,980 ft.

Actual Book Time: 5:54
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Winter 48-in-1: Tom, Field, & Willey - 1/6/13

After hiking 12 miles over Cannon and the Kinsmans on Saturday, I was wondering how this 10 mile loop of Tom, Field, & Willey would treat me for peaks 10-12 of this single winter season quest. Knowing it would be well broken out, I was looking forward to that relief. I had stayed at my place near Winnisquam Lake, and got a really good nights sleep. I arrived at the depot to find the lot unsuitable for my vehicle to attempt accessing the driveway. I decided to park at the end of the AMC lot. It was snowing lightly and it was pretty cold in Crawford Notch, but I urged myself to get geared up and going at about 7:50am, same start time as the day before. I waited a few minutes at Crawford's to see if the train was going to come and take me over these mountains, but it didn't.

Crawford's Depot in winter

Avalon Trail

That was alright though, because once I got moving on the Avalon Trail, which was a broken-out highway, I was hiking at the pace of a speeding train anyways. I bare-booted it all of the way to the Mt. Tom Spur. It was a great workout. Here, I put on microspikes and left them on the rest of the way. It provided all of the traction (and give) I needed to move swiftly across the ridge.

It was a nice walk up to the summit from the junction. I didn't recall the spur not being so steep, but anyways, I had made it here, to the summit of Mt. Tom, in one hour from the depot. I walked right over the summit and over to the view point. There was no one else up here yet. The views were very limited, but there was sunlight trying very hard to poke through the cloud cover. The first time I was on Tom was a bright sunny January day, frigid cold, and we were standing on the tops of trees - it was spectacular. It wasn't like that this time, but I did have a very unique experience with a lone gray jay, which nearly landed on the tree I was putting my camera on (like literally almost landed on my camera). He was the only other thing up there and he surely wasn't camera shy, as he propped himself perfectly right into my photos and video. Because he came so close, I was able to capture video of him from just inches away.

Arriving at the summit of Mt. Tom where I was welcomed by a lone Gray-jay

Mt. Tom summit for the 3rd time; my buddy perched up above

With a blink of an eye, I was half-way on my way to Mt. Field on the Willey Range Trail. This section of trail is a very pleasant one (like most). The trees were loaded with snow, and the couple feet of untouched snow everywhere beyond the packed out trail was just a beautiful sight. I made it to the summit of Mt. Field, which was vacant as I snapped some photos. A couple of minutes later as I took in the view from the outlook, a solo hiker named Elizabeth reached the summit, and we chatted for a few minutes. She shared a nice story about an attempt of Maine's North Brother in waist deep snow with a group. North Brother is the only New England 4000 footer I need to climb, and I'm hoping that somewhere in the mix of this winter I will have an opportunity to give it a go. It seems fitting for me that I didn't get it done this fall, and its left me to do, as the hardest 4000-foot peak to bag in New England in winter. After the chat and some water, I scooted off towards Willey.

View from Mt. Field summit outlook

Willey Range Trail between Field & Willey

The nice gradual descent into the col and very manageable trail makes, again for quick movement between the peaks of the Willey Range. I arrived at the rather plain summit of Mt. Willey, where I poked around beneath the snow for the summit cairn. A quick peak over at the outlook just past the summit provided no view, so I went back and snapped a few photos at the true summit. As I was doing that, I met again with Elizabeth for a couple of minutes before I was on my way.

Mt. Willey summit

With all three peaks now in the bag, the only thing left for me to do was high-tail it out of there to complete a successful weekend of hiking, having climbed six winter 4000 footers. After reaching the summit of Field again, I branched off onto the top part of the Avalon Trail for the descent. As I was barreling down the trail, I came upon two hikers putting on some snow pants for some butt-sliding action. After a quick hello, and being already in my suitable snow pants, I ran, jumped, and slid down the luge-like trail that they were just gearing up for! They must have thought I was nuts! Along this section, on the descent, there are about 3-4 solid sections of butt-slidable trail. If I had my sled, I probably could have gotten myself going for about a half-mile.

Mt. Avalon seen from the flat section on Avalon Trail

Slopes of Mt. Tom visible as I butt-slid my way down

Back to Crawford's Depot and the AMC Highland Center

All in all, this was another great hike, and it was done in nice time, considering I hiked 12 miles the day before. Last winter, I did the hike in 4:45. I am now 1/4 of the way through this quest, and it has been a great challenge so far. It snowed for 12 hours straight on my first hike, which included navigating the unbroken and obliterated Kate Sleeper Trail; I broke trail completely for my first two hikes; it has snowed, at least partially, on each hike thus far, and lastly, I've done it all solo, so far. Despite these challenges already faced, I am fully aware that this is nothing compared to what is to come...

Hike Stats:
Trails: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail
Distance: 10 mi.
Elevation Gain: 3,400 ft.
Actual Book Time: 5:30

Mt. Tom, Mt. Field, Mt. Willey, and Mt. Avalon

The temperatures remained mild as I started my second hike on Saturday at 9:30am after driving to Crawford Notch after sledding down Tecumseh real quick. My goal was to bag Tom, Field, and Willey, and return to Lake Winnisquam to spend time with family through Sunday. The trails were once again in great shape. I saw hikers heading up the trail in show shoes so I put them on, but quickly took them off and wore Microspikes the rest of the day, and snowshoes were just training weight. There were a few other groups and pairs hiking in the Willey Range on Saturday. The weather was overcast and perfect for this hike, although I was lucky enough to catch a view on Avalon on my way out (above), since it was socked in on my first trip there in May.

Snow bridge on Avalon Trail

View from the summit of Mt. Tom

The depth of the snow on Mt. Tom was not as high as it was last January on my first ascent. The view was not as great, but its still a great peak and pleasant peak and tough hike up. I didn't linger too long, and I quickly made it down to the junction of the Willey Range Trail. The walk to Mt. Field on the Willey Range was quiet and peaceful. I only heard light breezes and the crunching and thumping of the trees grinding together.

One mile to Mt. Field on the Willey Range Trail

Me on Mt. Field for round two and winter list

The trail conditions were the same as I pushed towards Willey, broken out nicely with a fresh powdery coating. There was a slight clearing as I approached, and I was able to get a decent view down into the notch from Mt. Willey, which was my 39th peak completed on the Trailwright's 72 list.

View from Mt. Willey outlook

The jays were out in full force and looking nice and plump from the mass of food they are fed all year long.

As I said, on the way out, I stopped at Avalon to peep the view I didn't get before (It's a 52 With a View peak), and after that, I continued down and completed the hike in 4hrs 45min. I was back at the lake before dinner. I was feeling great having thought this was the perfect warm-up hike for what was to come on Monday.

Hike Stats

Trails: Avalon Trail, A-Z Trail, Mt. Tom Spur, Willey Range Trail, 

Distance: 10 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,400 ft

Book Time: 4hrs 45 minutes