Mount Avalon (3442 ft) Mount Field (4340 ft) Mount Willey (4285 ft) and Mount Tom (4051 ft) - June 27, 2010

Weather: Overcast, Muggy/Humid

Trails: Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail. 10.4 Miles 3550ft elevation gain.

Trail Conditions: Damp/Wet in many places

Views: Views from atop Avalon facing north over Crawford Notch, Limited views from atop Field facing northwest back to the Mount Washington Hotel, Limited views atop Willey facing west, back into the Pemigewasset Wilderness. If you believe Brian, there are views atop Mt. Tom. No clue which way they face.

Group: Mike, Brian & Anai

This would be my first multiple 4000ft peak trip, not counting Liberty and Flume which I did when I was 12 or 13. We set out to cover Field, Willey, and Tom, all standing over 4000, with a quick side trip to Mt. Avalon, the mounta

in that would produce the best views of the day. For some reason I felt drained of energy from the outset. It may have had something to do with working at scout camp all day Saturday moving 3 yards of gravel and other similar energy draining tasks. It was a very muggy day which didn’t help the energy levels. As I would learn upon returning and reading Smith & Dickerman, we actually did it in reverse of how they suggest. Their route is to hit Tom first off the A-Z trail and Mt. Tom Spur, then pick up the Willey Range Trail to Field, and Willey, then back to Field and down to Mt. Avalon on the Avalon Trail. We did the exact reverse.

Leaving the Crawford Notch Visitors Center we crossed the RR tracks and started up the Avalon Trail. This trail rises gently without great stress for 1.2 miles, with a few stream crossings, to its junction with the A-Z Trail. From here the climb becomes substantially steeper for the remainder of the climb up to Mt. Avalon. A very short spur takes you off the Avalon Trail and up to the top of Mt. Avalon, requiring a small scramble just before the summit. Here are the best views of the hike. We saw our old friends Jackson and Webster from two weeks ago.

Leaving Avalon and continuing along the Avalon trail you quickly find yourself in a very interesting, almost enchanted forest, just before the more serious climb to Field begins. It is a very quiet area with taller trees but little ground scrub. The trail then becomes a steady, but not quite life sucking, climb to the summit of Mt. Field. Mt. Field is mostly treed in but as you summit from Avalon, to the left is an open area with limited views back down into Bretton

Woods and the Mt. Washington Hotel. The view on this day was interesting because over us was completely overcast and there were clouds lower than us over the valley that includes the town of Bretton Woods, but somewhere there was a break in the clouds below and the hotel and surrounding valley was bathed in a hazy sunlight. Here we met Peggy and ???, two self described middle aged moms. Peggy had completed all but Cabot and Owl’s Head in her quest for the 48. Her friend was on her fifth. They started out a few minutes ahead of us on the way to Willey.

From here we picked up the Willey Range Trail along the ridge to Mt. Willey. On the way out to Willey it seemed a bit longer than we expected and certainly longer than the other ridges we had crossed so far this year. We saw one small group of hikers and another lone hiker in this section. Brian was a bit disappointed that we did not catch up to the middle aged moms. We saw them again atop Willey. From here they would continue along Willey Range Trail down to 302 where they hoped to flag a ride back to their car. We backed off the summit a bit to small spot with a view looking back east into the Pemigewasset wilderness where we could rest, eat lunch, and change socks.

We then headed back to Field. This time it was shorter than we remembered it on the way out and we were at the cairn atop Field before we knew it. From here we continued on the Willey Range Trail that connects into the A-Z Trail just before the Mt Tom Spur. By the time we made it to the top of Tom I was ready to motor this trip into the books. Brian went looking for a view; I was headed back down the spur. He cried from the top that he found a view but I had some momentum going and there was no turning back for me on this cloudy, muggy, June day. The call of the Mad River Tavern was just too strong.

We covered the nearly 3-mile descent in good time on the A-Z trail. It includes a couple of interesting stream crossings in deep cuts requiring you to go steeply down, cross the stream, then climb back out again. In these cuts the air is cool from the water. My legs were relieved to meet back up with the Avalon Trail and its more moderate grade.

We left the parking area just about 10:35 AM and returned to the car at 6:30 PM for about 8 hours on the trails which included breaks at each summit including lunch and a sock change.

Of course this trip ended with the long spur trail to the Mad River Tavern.

So the month of June is in the books and with it six 4000 foot peaks: Waumbek, Jackson, Zealand, Field, Willey, and Tom. And in the course of hitting those six we also hit three more mountains: Starr King, Webster, and Avalon. Four hikes, nine mountains, six 4000 footers. Not a bad start.

We plan to kick off July with our most ambitious undertaking yet: Owl’s Head. Seems many people save this one toward the end, and who can blame them. The trek is 18 miles deep into the Pemigewasset Wilderness to the most remote of the 4000 footers with a grueling rock slide trail and no view from the top. Who could ask for more. It will certainly be a test of our resolve. With 18 miles to cover Brian suggested it is best that we get this one done while the days are still long and that makes sense to me.

Zealand Mountain (4260 ft)

Weather: Warm but otherwise fantastic.

Trail: Zealand Trail & Twinway Trail (AT). 11.4 miles roundtrip. We left the parking area at 10:30 and were back to the parking lot by 7:00pm. We spent about a half hour at the Zeacliffs, two 15 minute stops at the Zealand Hut, and a 20 minute stop for lunch and sock change.

Trail Conditions: Fairly good throughout.

View: No view from the summit. From Zeacliffs you get a fantastic view of the Pemi Wilderness. Zealand is on the north end of the Pemi Wilderness and you get a great southeast facing view. Mt. Washington, the Willey Range, and Carrigain stand out. See movie below.

Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

I group this hike in three sections: The Country Stroll, The Relentless Ascent and, The Search for the Summit. The first

2.5 miles of this hike (The Country Stroll), from the parking lot at the end of Zealand Rd to the Zealand Hut, meanders through forest and wetlands on a fairly level, or gradually ascending, grade. Here I saw some of the largest paper birch trees I have ever seen. According to Smith and Dickerman it follows an old logging railroad for large portions of this section. In “The 4000 Footers of the White Mountains” they describe this as the “beaver-haunted Zealand Valley” and we did see many signs of beavers including gnawed trees and dams. It was perfect country for a moose encounter. We kept our eyes peeled but did not see one. The trail then passes Zealand falls and begins a steep grade for a relatively short distance which ends at the Zealand Hut.

At the Zealand Hut we had an encounter with Bruce, an AMC volunteer. I am not sure what prompted it but Bruce volunteered his opinion that someone should put a bullet in the head of every legislator down in Concord. I checked for the weapons stash while Brian distracted Bruce with some questions about the trail ahead. Being satisfied that Bruce was more talk than action, and having had our fill of the homemade AMC baked goodies, we were off.

The second section of this hike (The Relentless Ascent) is from Zealand Hut to the Zeacliffs. It begins innocently enough, passing the pump station and crossing Whitewall Brook. We would stop here at the brook on our return, tempted to take our boots off and soak our feet but settling for a quick wash of the face. The trail then begins a steady and persistent climb of about 1800 feet in short order. As the ascent finally does relent you find yourself at a short spur that takes you to the Zeacliffs. Here there are truly excellent views. It was a tough place to leave. It was a bit easier to leave on the return trip as the AMC Leadership School had taken up all the best seats and were milling about looking at their compasses and comparing bearings. Brian and I agreed that if they had just been scouts they would already know most of that stuff.

The third section (The Search for the Summit) is essentially a ridge walk with a few interesting diversions. The first is what I call the fake out summit. After climbing a steep area that includes a ladder you come to a rocky ledge. Looking around you can’t really see any higher ground. It is easy to think that you have reached the summit. In reality the summit is another 30 minutes away. On the way from the “fake out summit” to the real summit you cross through an area of trail that is frequented by grouse. I had not read Smith and Dickerman’s description of this section prior to hiking it so I was surprised to see one right on the trail who did not seemed at all intimidated by or impressed with my presence. I snapped a few photos of him and carried on.

The summit is on a short 0.1 spur off the Twinway to the right. Basically you come to a hole in the woods with a pile of rocks. Congrats – you reached the summit of Zealand. Get out your list, check that one off and keep moving cause there’s nothing to see here.

We hiked about half the distance back to the Zeacliffs before stopping to eat and change socks. From that point on we were mostly business, with a short stop again at Zeacliffs with the AMC Leadership School, and another quick stop at the Zealand Hut to check in on Bruce. As we descended from the hut we again passed the Zealand Falls area where another trail comes in from the right. Here we met a young woman carrying some climbing gear in her pack. Brian asked her if she had been climbing and she said that she her climbing partner (who was not with her at the time) had just finished climbing a section of Whitewall Mountain that had not been climbed since the 1930’s and that they had renamed it. She then told us that her climbing partner was taking too long and she set out on a brisk run ahead of us. Brian and I wondered aloud how she could know that nobody else had been there in 80 years. She seemed fairly certain and proud of herself so we didn’t bring it up when we saw her again at the parking lot where she looked a bit nervous about her climbing partner not showing up after we did. She ran back into the woods as we were getting ready to take off. We wondered if there ever was a climbing partner, or if there was, what had she done with him...

On our way out of the WMNF area we stopped at the general store just south of the intersection of routes 3 & 302. It seemed like the kind of spot to find some beek jerky and we were right. After that it was off to the Mad River Tavern. I stuck with the chili and salad this time but Brian and Anai twisted my arm to get some ice cream afterwards. The decision was made to leave the top down on the Jeep for a nice starlit night ride back home down 93.

Mount Major & Footwear

This past weekend I took Friday and Monday off from work to enjoy the weather and get outside (see separate post to follow shortly on Zealand from Saturday June 20). Friday I took Jasper (my yellow lab) up to Mount Major. We had plenty of company on our way to the trailhead with all the motorcycles heading up to Laconia for the closing weekend of Motorcycle Week. This is a short hike not too far from home with a great view of Lake Winnipesauke. It is an excellent place to start getting in shape for some more serious mountain hiking. If you are out of the house by 8AM you can be back by noon. There are two trails to the top. The main trail starts to the right of the parking area and the Boulder Loop trail starts on the left. I forgot which was which and ended up on the Boulder Loop trail which involves, as its name might suggest, a little more scrambling. I was surprised that Jasper did so well. He is an 85 pound yellow lab mix and I was concerned how he might do scrambling up some tough spots. He is not the kind of dog that likes to be picked up – in fact I’ve never done it successfully. I was very impressed with his problem solving abilities. He was determined to not only go everywhere I went, but to lead the way. Someday I’ll get him a pack so he can carry his own water. I kept him off leash for most of the hike except for one section when we were headed down and there were a lot of people on the trail. He is friendly but you do run into people who just don’t like dogs.

FOOTWEAR

I’ve been really struggling with footwear. My standard shoe size is 13EEEE (extra wide). There are only a few traditional boot makers that make wide (EE) hiking or backpacking boots and very few who make extra wide widths. I have a pair of Propet hiking boots I picked up about 18 months ago. I got them mail order because nobody carries extra wide in a store. They seem to run just a bit wide but do fine with a heavy sock. But as talked about in the Waumbek post, I got blisters on my toes during the last mile of the descent so my confidence in them is shaken. It might have been just because the socks were wet – it was pouring rain – but I tried to find some alternatives.

I went to REI down in Reading last week and tried on both the Asolos Fugitive and the Vasque Wasatch in 13EE (no outdoor gear outfitter that I am aware of in my area carry 13EEEE). Immediately upon putting my foot in the Asolo I knew it was too tight – I didn’t even bother lacing it. But the Wasatch was close. They fit my left foot very well. They felt just a bit tight on the right, that being the bigger of my two feet. After wearing the Wasatch around the store a bit I decided to take them home and give them a try. But after wearing them around the house for about an hour I determined that they were too tight. Just sitting down, after an hour the right side was aching.

In the meantime I went online and ordered some Dunham Cloud 9 light hikers. I had a pair of Dunhams years ago that did okay but back then I wasn’t doing any hiking like have I have been this year. I wore the Dunhams up Mt Major. This is not a great pair of hiking boots. Overall I just felt like my feet were moving around too much and not getting enough protection or support. They don’t have the same level of craftsmanship as other boots in the same price range. So after getting off Mt Major I was off to EMS to see if I could get some help there. I found a boot I was really happy with. The Keen Klamath. Keens do not come in widths but I have a pair of Keen shoes that fit great so I figured I would give them a try. This pair of Keen boots are just about perfect in the width for me. There was just a slight bit of tightness around the pinky toe on the right but I was able to push the side out a bit. I also like the material, the design, the comfort (except as detailed below), and the tread. When I tried them on at the store I was really annoyed at the way the tongue or top of the boot was rubbing the top of my right foot. Moving the tongue around, adjusting the lacing, nothing seemed to help. It was rubbing right on the bone. I really like them so I asked the clerk if they had another pair. They did and I did not notice the problem in this new pair – so I bought them. I wore them on our 11.4 mile hike of Zealand detailed in a blog to follow.

After resting at the Zeacliffs, about 2/3 of the way into the hike I noticed the same annoying rubbing of the shoe I had noticed at the store on the top left foot this time. It became pretty painful. I adjusted the lacing a few times to try and relieve the pressure on this spot. I was able to get it to a point where I could finish the hike with just a bit of discomfort. When we got back to the car and I took of my boots I noticed a painful welt the boots had created on the top of my foot. It is greatly diminished but still hurts today, four days later.

Brian says he tried out these same Keens and noticed the same problem in the store with pressure/pain on top of the foot. I’m headed back to the store to see what they have to say about it and show them the photo of my foot after the hike.

My footwear dilemma continues. I am considering visiting Intervale and dropping the serious dough to get a pair of custom Limmers. Mass manufactured footwear just does not seem to be cutting it for me. But there is a long wait for custom Limmers so I need some sort of mid-term solution. Then of course there was the Jackson/Webster hike where I forgot my boots and hiked it in my New Balance NB 966 trail shoes. It makes me question how much I actually need boots. The New Balance did well on this hike but I would like to have a little more support.

The search continues….

Mt. Jackson (4052 ft) & Mt. Webster (3910 ft) – June 13, 2006

Weather: The day started out very cloudy below the notches and stayed that way, but above the notches an overcast morning gave way to sun by mid afternoon. Some ominous clouds over Mt. Washington when we hit the Jackson summit never produced rain for us. Sun was shining bright by the time we reached Webster and stayed with us down the mountain.

Trail: Webster Jackson Trail, Webster Cliff Trail. Well maintained and marked trails. Toward the top there is a bit of a hand and foot scramble but nothing too difficult. Scramble on ledges the rest of the way. Descending Jackson on the Webster Cliff Trail (AT) there are some downward scrambles.

View: Great views of Presidentials, Crawford Notch, Mt. Washington Hotel.

Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

We were a bit worried that this might make two rainy hikes in a row. As we set out from the Concord area it was overcast and the forecast predicted it would stay that way with a chance of a thunderstorm. After Waumbek I went out and bought a pack cover. Luckily I wouldn’t need it this day.

Brian had picked me up again from the Exit 17 park & ride. We transferred my gear from my car to his and we were off, again stopping at Price Chopper in Lincoln for my lunch. We swung into the AMC Highlands Center just to check it out. It seems like a great facility. There is a store there where you can pick up any last minute forgotten items or AMC logo gear. On this trip there would be some forgotten items. When I transferred my gear to Brian’s car, the boots somehow got forgotten. When I realized this at trailside I had a few minutes of agonizing at the thought of doing the trail in my New Balance 966 trail walking shoes. I love these shoes and this is my second pair, but I have always used them on flatter surfaces such as the ones I find near home in Bear Brook State Park or the scout camps. Not wanting to scrap the day I decided to make due. Brian forgot his synthetic blend t-shirt. I let him borrow the extra one I carry since it seemed we would stay dry this day. This made us look like we were a hiking team with our matching navy UA shirts and our Gregory packs which have the same color pattern despite being different models (Brian has the z35).

The Jackson Webster Trail has two branches. From Rt. 302 just south of the AMC Highlands Center the trail heads east and then turns south after about .2 miles. After another mile you come to the Silver Cascade and at this point the trail branches to the left (east) to Mt. Jackson and right continue south to Mt. Webster. We decided to bag the 4000 footer first and see what the weather was like before heading for Webster. Up to the Silver Cascade the steepness of the trail varies with some rambling semi-flat sections and some rather steep sections including some rock stairs at points. The cascade is a good place for a photo op and a quick snack.

The last half mile of Jackson becomes progressively steeper until you reach a point where hands are needed to scale some rock faces. This was more fun than it is challenging. Beyond

that it is a quick walk over some rock face to the summit. When we reached the summit there were some slightly worrisome clouds headed towards us over the Presidentials but they never amounted to anything. We took plenty of time at the summit eating lunch and taking in the views. You have views in all directions from Jackson but most notable are the views of the Presidentials, and the valley that includes Bretton Woods and the Mt. Washington Hotel.

From there we took the Webster Cliff Trail southwest toward Mt. Webster. Coming off Jackson this involves several sections of downwards scramble, again more fun than challenging. This is a beautiful trail, blazed in white as part of the AT. When we reached Webster the sun was shining. Webster has some great views down on Crawford Notch, the trestles RR bridge, Mt Willey and Mt. Field to the East. Web has a rock slide on its west face that you stand directly over at the summit. Great photo op location if you don’t mind heights.

After Web we came down on the south branch of the Webster Jackson Trail. You cross the

cascade again, only in a prettier spot with a waterfall – great photo op location.

The rest of the hike down was uneventful. Brian says this will be his among his recommendations for troops looking for 5+ mile hike suggestions. I agree this one has a lot to offer. The climb is interesting and the forest you walk through is beautiful. The views are excellent on both Jackson and Webster.

Leaving Crawford Notch the sun was shining brightly. As we hit Franconia we could see clouds looming over Cannon. Evidently the clouds never left Southern NH all day. It was a long ride to the Mad River Tavern this time. I went with the bourbon steak tips this time. They were good but I could have used more steak tips and less cauliflower and fries.

Gear Notes

On Saturday I went to REI in Reading MA and bought some trekking poles and a pack cover. I have no experience to report yet on the REI pack cover.

LEKI Trekking Poles: I have nothing to compare them to since Jackson was the first time I used poles. The poles I purchased (At REI in Reading, MA) have clamps on the pole extensions, what they call the speed lock system, rather than a twisting lock mechanism which was on certain Leki poles and all the REI poles. I had a tough time getting the twisting lock mechanism to work in the store so I wanted ones that clamped. I opted not to get antishock due to cost. I went with the cork covered grips for better wicking. In all, if you have any knee issues and have never tried poles I highly recommend them. I am looking forward to my next hike with Leki’s.

NB 966: How about my very well-broken-in New Balance 966 trail walking shoes (see blog masthead)? Despite my agonizing at the trailhead about forgetting my boots, the NB 966's ended up being almost perfect for this hike. A little more ankle support would have been nice in the last half mile or so but otherwise I had no regrets about forgetting my boots back in the Jeep. The NB 966's do have a decent tread and held up well on the trails of Jackson & Webster with no major loss of traction.

Mount Waumbek (4006 feet) via Mount Starr King (3898 feet) - June 6, 2010

Weather: Rain, steady at times
Trail: Starr King Trail to Starr King Mountain (1:50), cross ridge to Waumbek (35 min). 7.2 miles roundtrip. Hit trail at noon. Back to car by 5:15.
Trail Conditions: Wet rocks, roots, and some mud. There were some blowdowns on the ridge between the two summits but they had been trimmed up a bit to allow them to be negotiated easier. Otherwise, this is a very well maintained RMC trail.
View: None. This mountain is treed-in at the top with no exposure. The weather prevented us from seeing the available views from Starr King.
Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

We made a few stops in Lincoln on the way up, picked up our WMNF parking passes for the year at the Visitors Center, then stopped into the Mountain Wanderer Book and Map Store to meet Steve Smith and pick up his book “The 4000 Footers in the White Mountains”. Steve was very kind to sign my new copy and also signed Brian’s well used copy. I thought about purchasing it earlier in the spring but figured I’d wait and buy it from the source on the way up. Then we were off to Price Chopper because I left my lunch in the fridge at home. Luckily that was the only thing I forgot, aside from sunglasses which I would not need this day.

We knew when we headed out that it would be a rainy day. We considered a few factors and decided to make the trip anyway. First, the summit is treed-in, providing protection if we got caught in a storm and also preventing us from seeing any views even on a sunny day and second, the trail was not technical in any way and we had enough gear to keep us “mostly dry”.

The trail is easy to find. Starr King Road is just off of the state highway and well marked. It dead-ends at the trailhead. It is a small parking lot, but on this day there were only two other cars there.

We started out in a light rain. About a half mile in we decided we were sweating so much in our raingear that we would shed it and allow ourselves to get wet on the way up, knowing we had dry clothes to change into at the top for the descent. The trip up was fairly uneventful. Within a few minutes we met the occupants of the only other two cars at the trailhead and from that moment on we had Starr King and Waumbek to ourselves this day. Starr King is a very steady climb. When we got to the top of Starr King we quickly started to cool off, being wet and no longer producing heat from climbing. So we took a few quick pictures at the fireplace and moved on to Mt. Waumbek. The col was uneventful other than a few blowdowns. Between the treed in summit and the foul weather there wasn’t much to see on Waumbek. As soon as we stopped moving we got pretty cold so it was out of the wet clothes and into some dry ones. Luckily it was not raining while we were at the summit so we could comfortably get into some dry clothes. We all wore raingear for the hike back out – and good thing we did because we hit another steady rain on the descent from Starr King. The wet rocks, roots, and mud made for less than ideal conditions on the way down but we made it back safely.

Brian and Anai shared with me their post hike tradition of eating at the Mad River Tavern off exit 28 in Campton, NH. Great stop for hungry hikers on the way home. I recommend the chili and Thai salmon.

We look like drowned rats in what few photos I took of this wet hike.

Gear Notes

This was my first hike with my new Gregory z30 day pack. It fits great and no sore shoulders afterwards. It performed as expected. Pretty comfortable. Perhaps a more detailed gear review of the z30 in the future.

With the wet trail on the way down, and my knees feeling a little more than my age, some poles would have been nice. Something I will consider for the future.

A pack cover is a necessity if hiking in rain. I didn’t have one. Brian and Anai did – they learned that lesson after doing the Presidential Traverse. I consider myself lucky that I learned my lesson easier than they did.

I also do not own gaiters and have wanted them for a while. They would have helped keep the rain from getting my socks wet.

I had a blister on my right big toe start to develop in the last mile or so of the descent. At that point, being close to finished and it raining pretty hard, I decided to keep going rather than digging out the athletic tape or moleskin. The right sock was the one that got wet in my pack for lack of a pack cover. I’ve been considering new boots because I think my feet move too much in the ones I have and I wear heavy socks to compensate. I got the green superfeet at EMS hoping it would take up some room but I didn’t notice much of a difference. I had no problems on the way up, just some issues on that last mile. I think the combination of the wet sock and some movement of the foot inside the boot caused the blister.

At Brian’s suggestion I picked up some Under Armor heatgear compression boxers. Great product. Never leave for the mountains without them!