When we started the steep climb up Willey, Vicky said she wanted to see a Pine Marten and that she heard they have been seen up here.
The last time we hiked Isolation we ran into a moose. We have a good track record of seeing wildlife on the trail together. Once we were past the ladders on the Willey Range Trail, and hit the summit, we forgot about seeing wildlife. On this beautiful Monday with full-on-sun, the ladders were doable.
There was some ice but the sun made it soft and we maneuvered over the ladders pretty easily.
We were sweating and getting showered on by the melting snow on the trees. The mountains got about two inches of snow overnight and by the time we started hiking, it was melting fast.
The views north to the Presidentials were amazing. It would’ve been a perfect day to be above treeline. High winds were predicted so we stayed away but it was so beautiful to look at from afar.
As we descended to Field on a relatively flat area Vicky spotted a Pine Marten heading toward us on the trail. I heard her shriek in delight at seeing the animal and I saw it dart off the trail to avoid us. It stayed close as Vicky took pictures and then as we passed the Pine Marten he jumped back on the trail and continued on. He was so freaking cute.
The trail from Field to Tom is such a nice, gradual hike. The snow was perfect. I didn’t wear spikes for most of this section. Mount Tom had limited views but the white snow against the perfect blue sky made this summit so rewarding to bag. As we headed down A-Z trail back to Crawford Notch we put our spikes back on since it is so steep. Then once we hit 2,300 feet it was back to dirt trail.
Next hike…. We are hoping for a southern Presidential Traverse this weekend if the weather holds.