Monday, November 13, 2017

Frost-covered Tom and Field, 11/7/2017

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Tom and Field
A-Z, Willey Range, and Avalon Trails
7.2 miles round-trip
2750 feet of elevation gain

We all started our hike wearing a fleece or a wind-proof jacket because of the cold and chilly breeze that hit us when we got out of the car.  I had an online Spanish class at 12:00, so we had to get up earlier than normal to get back home on time.  It was dark for about an hour while we were hiking.

Photo by Trish Herr

There were many stars in the sky, but I could only capture the moon in my iPhone camera. 



Dark trail:


The water was pretty high!


Photo by Trish Herr



It may be hard to see in this photo, but this tree was uprooted from the rain storm that hit many parts of New England.  We lost electricity in our home for four days (we spent most of our time working in a library that did have power).



There was another uprooted tree at the intersection -- the one with the trail sign attached to it, in fact.  Sage sat on it!



Onward...


Fallen trees...


Photo by Trish Herr



Intersection with Tom Spur Trail:






There was frost on the trees near the summit of Mt. Tom!  



Summit cairn:




Photo by Trish Herr
After taking a quick break on Tom, we headed back down to the intersection.


After that, we hiked onward to Field.  The frost-covered trees were gorgeous to look up at while hiking.


We saw a gray jay while coming up Field, but it did not follow us to the top.  It was adorable!  I wished it flew with us as we hiked up the mountain.  It must not have felt like it.






Looking up at frosty tree tops was like admiring glimering, snow-covered diamonds from below.



Beauty...








Us on the summit!

Photo by Trish Herr
Mom and Sage getting clothes and food out of their packs...


The sky was a deep clear blue.


We did not hike Willey (so we could get to my class on time), but on the way down, since we had some extra time, we decided to remove a log that had fallen across the trail with our axe.  The following pictures show Mom hacking at the wood...



...then Sage did some work...


...and then I did.





Mom attacking the log!



Moving the halved log off the trail...





I took the other part of the log!



Me holding up the log!



Watch out!


I'll post the next trip report, our recent hike of the Franconia Ridge Traverse, in a couple days.

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