Friday, December 16, 2022
Start/End: Crawford Notch
Miles: 9.38
Elevation Gain/Loss: 3976′
Peaks: Tom, Willey, Field
I started from the Highland Center parking lot in the afternoon. It had been snowing since ~9am and there was quite a bit of acculumulation and high winds. I bundled up and headed up the mountain. There were footprints to follow for less than a mile before it was just me out there. Partway up the Avalon Trail, I put on my snowshoes to help with the thick ice under the snow. Soon after, one of my trekking poles snapped in half, so going forward, I only had one. The climb to Field in the incoming dark was neverending. At the summit, I continued across in the 35 MPH wind, and descended into the saddle as quickly as I could. The saddle was awful with wind as usual, and the climb to Willey took a long time. Then it was going back the way I’d come; at least I had footprints to follow, except for the ones that had already been blown away. After getting over Field, I headed down towards Tom and the A-Z Trail. I had a few moments of being unsure if I was still on the trail, but I didn’t lose it at any point. At the Mt Tom spur, I took a quick stop to change out my gloves. Then it was up to Mt Tom, and then it was all downhill, heading back towards the trailhead. The initial 0.5mi was hard to follow in a more open forest and I kept feeling disoriented by the snow, woods, and my headlamp catching the light of snow and reflections of trees. I did eventually escape the woods and emerge back at Crawford Notch, delighted to be safely back near a plowed road.
Transcending Mountains 