Mts. Willey, Field, and Tom - 5/16/26
Mt. Tom: 4051 ft. - Mt. Field: 4327 ft. - Mt Willey: 4255 ft. - 9.4 mi.
I originally wanted to do this hike in April, but the weather on my free weekend was not suitable, and there were some concerns about trail conditions anyway. There are 2 water crossings right near the start that could be difficult with high water, not to mention likely snow on the trail. But with a good weather weekend in May, I decided it was time, my old roomate Dan was willing to join me, and off we went. My original plan for this hike was to do it as a point-to-point going northward starting with Willey, which would save a couple miles, but required a car spot. Dan didn't want to take separate cars, and so we decided to just do an out and back starting from around the crawford notch AMC center since it was only a couple extra miles.
We crossed the railroad tracks, headed up the trail, and almost immediately ran into a group of people trying to figure out how to do the first water crossing. There were 4 or 5 people hemming and hawing about how to do it and stay dry. I didn't really feel like waiting so I just went for it and kind of spidered across a couple logs and it worked out. Dan swapped his hiking boots for sandals and just walked through the water, which he claimed was not that cold. He ended up just staying in sandals for the rest of the hike like a maniac. The 2nd water crossing was even easier.
As we approached the Willey Range Trail and the split for Mt. Tom Spur, we started to notice a bit of snow on the ground. We quickly hiked the last 100 yards to the summit of Mt. Tom. It was wooded, unremarkable, and so we didn't linger long.
Heading up the Willey Range Trail was like walking in a little streambed. The spring melt had left the trail very wet. As we got higher up, we started to run into some monorail snow.
It was manageable without supplemental traction, but I brought spikes and did use them for some parts, which made it much easier. Dan did not have microspikes with him, but his trekking poles helped him out enough.
The hike up the ridge to Mt. Field was very easy and we made great time up to the second summit of our day. Like Mt. Tom, there really wasn't much to see up there. A couple glimpses of distant other mountains through the trees. We had a snack and moved on.
The ridge between Field and Willey was more rugged, with more rock, ups and downs, etc. but it is not all that far between the two and we made it to Mt. Willey a bit after noon. There is a nice viewpoint a bit past the summit, but it was entirely taken up by a gaggle of college students who were loud and feeding gummy bears to the grey jays. That's not really my scene so I tried to take some pictures and then we walked back to the summit cairn for another snack break.
We headed back along the ridge, and almost immediately after summitting Field for the second time, we turned onto the Mt. Avalon trail.
This also had a lot of monorail and was a bit steeper, so it was a bit more sketchy. Still manageable without spikes, although I still used mine some.
There's a small spur trail up to the summit of Mt. Avalon, which is suprisingly steep, with some rock scrambling. But the trek up is worth it, because there's a good view down to the notch from a very small rock summit. I could see my car from up there.
From the summit of avalon it is only half a mile back to the A-Z trail, and then about another mile down to the parking lot. The water crossings were no more diffucult on the way back, and frankly at this pointmy shoes were soaked anyway so I wasn't all that concerned about keeping them dry.
Between the two water crossings, there is a little loop trail off to the side the leads to 2 waterfalls. One is boring and difficult to see, and the other is beautiful and worth the extra steps. It also spits you back out right at the first water crossing, so it really is very little extra distance.
After the final water crossing it's just a quick jog down to the trailhead and we were done. Dinner at Luchador's Tacos in Conway, it's better than Chipotle. They have pickeled onions for a topping, and Jarritos in the fridge.