Tom Field and Willey

We had a wonderful winter hike with a snowy start and a clear end to
our day. With ambient air temperature in the single digits at the
warmest part of the day, thankfully the trail was mostly out of the
wind other than summiting Willey. We could look across to the
presidentials and see the 100mph winds whipping the last of the clouds
across the summits of Washington, Madison, and Eisenhower. Good thing
we didn't let the higher summits forecast scare us off because our
hike was cold but quite manageable.

The Tom Field Willey Avalon “loop” is a 9 mile mostly out and back trail located near Bretton Woods that is rated as difficult. On a clear day there are good views towards the southern Presidentials. You get multiple summits with Avalon offering the best views. Mt. Tom and Mt. Field are wooded, and offer more obstructed views through the trees.

We start at the Crawford Notch Train Depot near the Highland Center, then climb the Avalon trail to the AZ trail then summit Mount Tom. We descend back to the intersection and pick up the Willey Range Trail summitting Field and then Willey before retracing back to Mt Field. From there we descend on the Avalon trail, summiting Avolon on the way back to the tran station. Trail includes three 4000 Footers if you’re working on that list!

Please arrive by 8am. We will be leaving the parking lot at 8:10. Daylight is short with sunset at 4:10pm so bring a headlamp just in case. 

ROUTE: Avalon and A-Z trail to Mount Tom, Willey Range trail to Field and Willey then back to Field, Avalon Trail down.

STATS: Approx. 9 miles; Elevation gain: 3420 feet. Time depends on conditions and pace of the group.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-hampshire/mount-tom-mount-field-mount-willey-and-mount-avalon-trail

We will be hiking in winter conditions at a moderate pace. There will be ice and snow. MicroSpikes or Hillsounds Crampons are mandatory and we may need snowshoes if there is a recent snowstorm. If you don’t own a pair of snowshoes, you can always rent them from your local outdoor gear shop. 

Please have the appropriate gear/clothing to hike this time of year and the appropriate amount of layers to keep your core body warm. We recommend WINTER hiking boots, MicroSpikes, poles, wool hat, gloves, hand warmers, rain/wind gear, warm layers, HEADLAMP and NO COTTON. Carry at least 2 liters of water, lunch and snacks.