It had been quite a few years since I'd hiked Mt. Tom and Mt. Field in the summer. All of my recent visits had been in winter, when deep snowpack opens good views on these wooded peaks. I was curious to see what views are available in summer.
Parking at the Avalon trailhead was fairly full when I arrived for a late morning start, but the trails were not overly busy. Saw maybe two dozen hikers through the day. The water was low at the first crossing of Crawford Brook on the Avalon Trail.
A short side path leads down to this view of a flume and cascade. This is above the loop that leads to Beecher and Pearl Cascades.
A few years ago the AMC trail crew relocated the beginning of the A-Z Trail, moving it away from a steep down-and-up traverse of a gully that was especially difficult in winter. Impressive sidecut work is seen along the relo.
Lush forest and an old yellow birch along the A-Z Trail as it ascends the Crawford Brook valley.
Stairway on the valley headwall.
A new post for the Mt. Tom Spur sign.
Approaching the summit, the trail splits. The main trail bears left to the summit cairn. The right fork leads 70 yards to a small clearing where for a number of years a "fir wave" blowdown patch had provided good views of the Presidentials, Crawford Notch and the eastern Pemi Wilderness.
It was a bit shocking to see that in summer the views here are now in the past tense.
View from the same spot in January 2018.
This look at nearby Mt. Field is the best summer view available at this point. Barring a major blowdown event, in a few more years Tom will join Hale among the ranks of completely viewless summits.
The Tom summit cairn.
Same situation at a another former fir wave viewpoint that looked west to the Bond-Twin-Zealand region.
Looking for views, I did a little fern-whacking...
...out to a fir wave area.
Here was a nice view of South and North Twin, a good spot for a late lunch break.
On to Mt. Field.
This section of the Willey Range Trail is a longtime favorite of mine, ascending gradually through a fine ridgetop balsam forest.
Just before the summit of Field there's a view to the Bond-Twin Range. It's superb in winter, and still fairly good in summer, though partly restricted.
I was pleased to see that the NE view on the other side of the summit is good in summer as well as winter. By this point the distant views had become hazed in, but there was still a good look down at the Mount Washington Hotel.
Field summit cairn.
From a fir wave near the summit I found a nice if hazy vista across the eastern Pemi Wilderness to Mt. Carrigain and Mt. Hancock. Here I was lucky enough to get a good look at a Black-Backed Woodpecker, an uncommon northern specialty.
Typical terrain on the descent from Mt. Field to Mt. Avalon on the Avalon Trail.
Ledge scramble on the spur to Mt. Avalon.
Mt. Willey and Mt. Field, looming.
Summit rocks on Avalon. Trees are starting to obscure the views here.
A ledge on the south side of the summit now offers the best view into Crawford Notch.
Peering down to the AMC Highland Center and Saco Lake.
Holy moly, the trail below Mt. Avalon is gnarly. The loop over Mts. Tom, Field and Avalon is 7.4 miles with 2900 ft. of elevation gain.
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