Specs:

Summits: Avalon 3442 feet, Field 4327 feet, Tom 4052 feet

Elevation Change: 2700 feet

Rating: Strenuous

Distance of Hike: 8.5 mile loop

Approximate Time of Hike: 5 hours (including many little breaks)

Starting Point: Crawford Path – AMC Highland Center at Crawford Notch – White Mountain National Forest, U.S., US-302, Bretton Woods, NH 03575

Directions:



The Adventure:

The Franconia State Park/Crawford Notch area in the northern White Mountain region has quickly become one of our favorite spots to explore. These mountains always pose exciting trails and panoramic views of the surrounding valley (and Mount Washington-still on our bucket list!). So when we needed a new mountain to tackle this weekend, knowing that there was a snow storm the night before, we decided we had to trek up to this area again.

We had heard that Mount Avalon boasts amazing views, and that Mount Tom possess the most enjoyable trail but the views are more limited. Conveniently, there is actually a route that you can take to hit both Mount Avalon and Mount Tom, AND Mount Field, in one big loop.

I will preface this adventure by saying we definitely did this loop the “wrong” way. We hiked up Mount Avalon, across to Mount Field, and finished at Mount Tom. Going up Mount Avalon was by far the most strenuous elevation change over such a short distance that we have done, so we were quickly dying (plus all of the fresh powder added extra weight to lift our legs). Every 100 yards or so we needed to pause because our calves were burning and our FitBits were showing heart rates of 160. I will get into more detail below, but there was even more gain in elevation going from Avalon to Field, whereas our decent from Tom back to the parking lot was slow and gradual. We passed about nine groups of hikers, all which laughed and said we should have gone the other route because you could sled down from the Avalon summit and avoid the major up-mountain strenuosity. Talk about an awesome workout though!! We are majorly feeling it today 🙂

Anyway, we were able to park at the AMC Highland Center off of 302 (the same place you park if you are going to hike Mount Pierce–see our previous blog). The trailhead is located just over the set of railroad tracks, and is actually for both Mount Wiley and Mount Avalon. After the first 100 meters or so, there is a sign that indicates the trail to the Avalon summit. This trail is nicely marked the whole way with yellow squares painted on the trees.

Stay left for the Avalon trail. The first half mile is really enjoyable with beautiful birch and evergreen trees lining the trails, untouched and sparking with the fresh snow. You soon cross over a creek that is mostly frozen, but if you look around you can find some breaks in the ice with tricking fresh water underneath. After the half mile or so, you run into the junction where you can stay left for Mount Avalon or take a right to head to Mount Tom. Standing at this junction, we should have known the level of difficulty of the two paths by looking at them (Avalon looks straight up and the other trail looks nice and gradual), but we had a plan that we wanted to stick to. To take the route that we adventured, keep left.

The next mile is a total leg-burner with no end in site :). There were even a few parts that required us to somewhat crawl/climb upwards to avoid sliding down. Thank goodness we were wearing cramp-ons over our boots! There are truly amazing views along the way, so there really is no harm in taking your time here though. You might want to use some rocks or trees to lean against when you stop for some snacking too. Also, we recommend constantly drinking your water for two reasons…1) you are probably going to be losing a lot of hydration through your sweat even though it is so cold and 2) your hose might freeze on you (it was about 28 degrees when we were out there so we ran into this problem).

At the 2 mile mark, we ran into the sign that read “100 yards to Mount Avalon Summit.” You definitely want to leave the loop to see the summit, even if you are feeling exhausted!! This again feels like you are climbing straight up, but it is SO worth it. A fellow group of hikers that we passed left there packs at this sign when they did the 100 yards upward–not a bad idea to lose a little weight for this quick portion.

When we finally made it to the summit, we were amazed at how gorgeous it was. You will have a nearly 360 degree view of the valley, with some mountains highlighted by the sun and other areas sparkling from the snow. There are a few rocks you can chill on, but the wind feels like it is cutting through you, so take your pictures quickly before you need to get moving again! We wanted to rest up there longer, but we were freezing (and also were in somewhat of a race against the sunset since the ascent took longer than anticipated).

When you go back down, we recommend the “butt slide.” It was kind of chilly, but seemed a lot safer, and way more fun, than trying to squat and slowly get down the steep portions. This fresh pow was a plus for this activity!

From the junction, you want to follow the signs towards Mount Field. You get a nice portion through the woods to warm back up (isn’t it amazing how much warmer it is under the tree line?!), but the ascent quickly begins again. We made it through three Clif bars by this point, even though it was only about 3 miles to the Field summit.

The Mount Field summit doesn’t have AS good of views (don’t get us wrong though-still good) because there are a lot of little trees on the top and the visibility is more limited, but there are Gray Jays! We found that these birds were less eager for our snacks that those that we encountered on Mount Pierce, but they are still beautiful fluffy birds. Maybe there were some hikers before us that fed them? Either way, we had some fun trying to get some pictures of them, but similar to the Avalon summit, were quickly losing feeling in our fingers and had to move on.

After the Mount Field summit, we followed the A-Z trail to get to Mount Tom. This trail had a little bit of a decent which was MUCH appreciated at this point. It also was incredibly silent for most of the trek which is always refreshing. When you get closer though, you will start to hear loud bird chirping (we think it was Gray Jays)! Similar to the way you have to leave the loop for Avalon, Mount Tom requires you to trek 0.6 miles off of the loop for the Mount Tom Spur. You will see this when you hit the junction because it is well labeled.

When you are about .4 miles up, there is a little area where it looks like a patch of trees is missing off to your right; Take the few extra steps to this patch because you can look between a couple trees for a spectacular, unexpected view! This little spot was even better than the summit itself in our opinions. The summit is just ahead from here but is mostly covered in low-level trees. The views of the valley are somewhat obstructed by clouds, but who can complain to be that high up!?? Amazing!!!

Once we bagged the three mountains, we were ready for the decent with our Jello-y legs. You can probably guess what we did for a huge part of the journey down….yep…butt slide!!! We had a blast throwing the fresh snow and sliding our way down. The trail was not nearly as steep as the Avalon trail, but still steep enough to get some speed and give our legs a break. Just watch out for ice patches or rocks, though depending on when you go, this might not be an issue.

We made it to the bottom just in time to catch the sunset for the drive home. Overall, this is a hike that we would describe as strenuous in the snow if you take the route that we did, but the views were incredible. It was an experience that we will always be able to laugh about, because we like to think we are in shape, but really got that handed to us by nature here. If you are looking for a challenge, do it!!! Good luck!

Hiker Tip: Layers are key! We started in three layers each (under armor, a sweatshirt, and a winter jacket) and lost the sweatshirt after the first mile. We would have loved to have more gloves though because they got pretty soaked and then frozen from the sliding. It is a constant battle of sweating and then freezing from the movement and then wind, so it is better to be prepared!