| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Avalon, Mt. Field, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Avalon Trail, Willey Range Trail, A-Z Trail |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 25, 2026 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
It was empty today. We got a spot right at the station after 10. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easy hops (which isn't actually good at this time of year -- water is lower than normal). |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
One big blowdown that will need cleaning up on A-Z between Willey Range and the Mt. Tom Spur. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
One other pup out on the trail today. |
|
 | Bugs: |
Saw one butterfly and one midge kind of thing. |
|
 | Lost and Found: |
Someone has put a plastic bag at the kiosk for placing all the lost and found items (I'm guess a lot of stuff is suddenly being revealed by melting snow). There was one hat on a stick near the intersection of Avalon and A-Z. Forgot to take it and put it in the bag. |
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Mashed potato snow monorail began after the last water crossing on Avalon, just before the A-Z intersection. Put on micros but, honestly, full-on crampons would likely have worked better. It was intermittent monorail, mostly decaying and unstable but with a few stable parts, below maybe 3300 feet or so. More solid monorail higher up giving way to solid snowpack along the ridge. Not the most fun conditions, but the day was beautiful.
Had lunch on Avalon and just happened to catch before and after pictures of the backside of Frankenstein Cliff with the wildfire smoke billowing up. In case you didn't hear, a wildfire broke out (literally as we were eating lunch on Avalon) around Arethusa Falls and in front of Frankenstein Cliff. It trapped the Conway Scenic in the notch and they had to bus the passengers back to North Conway. |
|
 | Name: |
Ian D |
|
 | E-Mail: |
iantdurham at gmail dot com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2026-04-25 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
|
