Ethan Pond Overnight 10/18-19

[Tim&Val]

We had a great weekend hiking around the Zealand/Crawford Notch area. We did about a 17-mile loop going up the Zealand Trail to A-Z trail, then following that to the col between Mts Tom and Field. At that point, we took the Willey Range Trail over the top of Mt Field, then continued on to Mt Willey. We then had the daunting task of climbing down Mt Willey with full packs for mile #8 of a 9.5-mile day. OK, that mile didn't go quite as well as the others. HAHA. We got into Ethan Pond campsite just before sunset and had a GREAT night under a crystal clear sky.

Morning broke and we were on our way again. MORE crystal clear sky and a beautiful day to walk out via Ethan Pond Trail to Zealand - with stops at Thoreau Falls and also at Zealand Hut.

GORGEOUS weather - we should have left the Gore-tex at home, but we never do that no matter what the forecast.

Here's a view from Mt Willey! This was our third time on the summit but first time that we could really appreciate it.


Full report is here

Valerie

[Debi]

Gorgeous as always. Great trail report.

[CHRIS]

Great TR and wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great hike with perfect weather thou a little chilly @ night.

[BlueDog]

Great write up Val! Nice pics too. You are making me want to get in the car and start heading north again. I see you jumped on the Jetboil.

Leaves down here in VA are almost at their peak. This coming weekend should be good viewing down in Shenandoah NP.

[TrishandAlex]

Wow, what a great view from Willey!

Glad you had a great trip.

[mtruman]

What a beautiful fall weekend for this trip. Excellent TR as always. Lots of great pictures, but the one into Zealand Valley that you included in the post is definitely my favorite. Just beautiful!

[Tim&Val]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words!

I see you jumped on the Jetboil.

Hey Erich, that thing ROCKED this weekend! We'd been a little nervous when we'd read all the talk of it not starting well in cold weather. We *do* use the 4-season fuel, but still people had reported issues with it. It was a dream! No problems at all!

...the one into Zealand Valley that you included in the post is definitely my favorite.

Thanks Mark! I'll let Tim take credit for the scenic pics! That's actually Crawford Notch. If you look down the valley you can see both Rt 302 and the scenic railroad winding along. Webster Cliffs are on the left and directly ahead is Mt Crawford, Mt Resolution and Stairs Mtn. I swear if we'd been a little higher, we would have seen the ocean! What a clear day!

Valerie

[KD Talbot]

Startin' to get a little cool for backpackin' trips, ay? Ahh, the best time of year for hikin' is upon us!

Confession: We've never been to Ethan Pond. I love the pano. We'll be visiting. Maybe a winter backpack?

Great shots of the grouse, warbler and Whiskey Jacks.

It is possible those scrapes you saw were from bears. They mark their territory that way and reach as high as they can to show their size. Good pictures but hard for me to tell without seeing them in person. I might not know then, either. In the first photo the scratches on the left appear to be claw marks.

Great stuff!

KDT

[Tim&Val]

Startin' to get a little cool for backpackin' trips, ay? Ahh, the best time of year for hikin' is upon us!

Confession: We've never been to Ethan Pond. I love the pano. We'll be visiting. Maybe a winter backpack?

Great shots of the grouse, warbler and Whiskey Jacks.

It is possible those scrapes you saw were from bears. They mark their territory that way and reach as high as they can to show their size. Good pictures but hard for me to tell without seeing them in person. I might not know then, either. In the first photo the scratches on the left appear to be claw marks.

Great stuff!

KDT

This is BY FAR the best time of year to be hiking!! We've really enjoyed October this year. The sky is so clear and its so easy to hike without heat, humidity and bugs.

Kevin, I can't believe you guys have never stayed at Ethan Pond! I guess it's just too accessible for you. Consider coming in from Zealand either the way we did over Field/Willey or via Zealand Trail to Ethan Pond Trail to make a longer hike out of it. We've stayed there before in early March when there was 3 feet of snow everywhere. It was lots of fun, believe it or not!

Confession: I had to Google "Whiskey Jacks" to figure out what they were!

Scrapings could have been bears, I have no idea. Doing some comparison viewing on the web, I'd still go with moose, but who trusts what they read on the web?

Valerie

[MsCntry]

Just lovely photos, and great TR. It looked like a great time!!