Trip/Event Location: Waterville Valley, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): Gandalf , JDNnh
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Pack a turkey sandwich, gather your winter hiking gear, and an attitude of gratitude for a hike to the summit of Mt Tecumseh, the shortest of NHs 48 at 4003 ft. We will be hiking in early winter
To the Waterville Valley Ski Area Parking Lot #1 / Mount Tecumseh Trail head . From I-93, take exit 28 for Route 49. At the bottom of the exit ramp, head East on Route 49. After 10.4 miles, turn left onto Tripoli Road. Follow Tripoli Road for 1.2 miles, then turn left onto the Waterville Valley Ski Area access road (Fire Route 30). Follow the access road for 0.6 mile which will bring you to the parking areas and the ski lodge. Look for parking lot #1 (That is the closest parking lot to where the Mount Tecumseh trail begins.) We'll be driving a blue Toyota Tacoma truck.
Mt. Tecumseh ranks 48th in height, the smallest mountain on the list of NH 4ks. This may be the easiest of the 4000- footers in winter."
On a cold morning the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we hiked up Mt. Tecumseh from the Waterville Valley Ski area. Because this is a short hike our start time was later than usual; later in the day meant warmer air temperature. Our meeting time was 10AM. The ski area was operating but with many trails closed there were not many cars in the parking lot so we could find parking near the trailhead.
What a nice trail that was smoothed over with the snow! We put on MicroSpikes for this hike. We had a great day for hiking, and we were optimistic to see a view!
The trail was packed snow/ice. That said, we have not yet had enough snow so some rocks on the trail were still poking out from the trail. It’s a faster hike with more snow on the ground but I’m not complaining. The higher we hiked we encountered more snow!
The first water crossing was no problem and the two larger ones were easy rock hops. We adopted a slow pace up the trail, tramping on the white snowscape. At the viewpoint (one of Waterville Valley's ski runs) we stopped and took a break. At the viewpoint we turned right and up a noticeably steeper trail. We continued our comfortable pace with our MicroSpikes still holding on the steeper sections. Once we reached the junction of Sosman trail where the trail plateaued, we renewed our excitement - we were almost there! A narrower path brought us to the summit. It was cold and windy at the top causing a wind chill of eight below zero. With our extra layers on, and hand warmers in our mittens, we stayed at the summit for a few minutes enjoying the gorgeous views! It was too cold on the summit for lunch so we dropped back down to the Sosman trail junction and decided we would just have a quick snack due to the cold.
The trail was perfect for hiking today. Great day to be out there!
Afterwards we went into the Waterville Valley Ski Lodge for beer. Rick came back to our house for beverages/appetizers by the fireplace followed by Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner.
~ Mike Boisvert
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Strenuous
