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Mts Willey, Field, and Tom - page 2 of 5

At first, after branching off from the Ethan Pond Trail, the Willey Range Trail was relatively flat, but after recrossing Kedron Brook, the trail began to rise more sharply. Rough rocky sections alternated with log steps and a couple of boulder scrambles. 

Soon, we arrived at a succession of recently-built ladders that spanned some steep smooth ledges. The last time that I climbed Mt Willey, in the late fall of 2001, the ladders were in really terrible shape, decaying and with several missing rungs. These new ladders, which were also more step-like (the old ladder rungs were round, these were flat), were a vast improvement over the old ones, and quickly took us up one of the stepper sections of the trail.

Although the south side of Mt Willey is particularly steep, the trail is also relatively short in mileage, so it doesn't take a long time to climb to the top. When ascending, I usually prefer short steep trails over long gradual ones. I enjoy gaining elevation quickly. Coming back down is another matter.

Muffin had no trouble scampering up the new ladders. In most cases, she prefers to bypass ladders and often climbs up off to the side in the woods or on the ledge faces. Of course, unlike me, she can squeeze through some fairly small spots, under low-hanging branches or through narrow fissures in the rock.

Above the ladders, the trail still climbs steeply, but we soon scrambled up the last boulder to arrive at the top. Immediately to the right is an open ledge that overlooks Crawford Notch, the Webster Cliffs, and the Southern Presidentials.

Willey Range Trail. The trail begins to get steep mot long after leaving the Ethan Pond Trail.

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Willey Range Trail Ladders. This succession of ladders quickly gets you up one of the steeper sections of the trail. 

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Looking down the ladders. These are a vast improvement over the decaying ladders that were in this spot the last time I climbed Mt Willey.

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Muffin on the Willey Range Trail. Muffin had no trouble scampering up the ladders.

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Willey Range Trail. Above the ladders, the trail still climbs steeply, but it doesn't take long to reach the top.

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Muffin on the Mt Willey ledges. These east-facing ledges give a great view of the Webster cliffs.

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Map

  Willey Range page: 

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