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Tecumseh - 5.11.12

wtcobb

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A bit late, but a busy week. At any rate, here's my trip report:

Date(s) Hiked: 5.11.12
Trails(s) Hiked: Mount Tecumseh Trail/Sosman/White Caps (ski trail)
Total Distance: 4.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Conditions: Damp, snow! And some sun.
Special Required Equipment: None.
Trip Report:

Spending the night at my folks' cottage on Winnesquam (and enjoying some pizza from Shooter's), we made the quick drive up to Waterville Ski Resort Friday morning. The trail head is found at the far right of the ski resort parking lot (which was almost completely empty this day). Right away we had to jump rocks over a small stream - a process we'd repeat several times as the trail winds back and forth across the stream for much of the first mile.

2012-05-11_11-57-08_255.jpg


The first half of the ascent climbed slowly and mostly ventured out and around the mountain. Then began the climb. At about 1.2 miles the trail turned into a steep staircase that ascended almost the entire peak. It did pause briefly and offer a peak out to the neighboring ski trail:

trailview.jpg


Closing in on the summit we came across some ice and snow left from an early morning dusting:

snow.jpg


The temperatures dropped quickly but we had worked up quite a sweat on the climb, so we didn't mind. It was around this point we passed one other lone hiker, the only other climber on the hill that day. After about a two hour climb, we reached the summit:

summit.jpg


Stopping for a quick snack we found we needed an extra layer or two with the wind biting through our sweat-soaked clothes. I grabbed a small rock (my habit of collecting a stone from every summit) but couldn't find a survey marker (I usually snap a photo of those too).

Heading back down from the summit we took the Sosman Trail to the top of the ski area. It was a bit surreal walking down a snowless ski trail, but the views were captivating.

skitrail.jpg


We stopped for lunch at one of the lodges - having lunch on a picnic table isn't usually part of my hiking experience - during the trek down. Due to the steep descent we looked like drunkards winding back and forth across the ski trail trying to appease our knees. The sun came out in full on the way down making it an enjoyable afternoon.

The park still had some snow mounds braving the spring heat - perfect for making snowballs to throw at the lady companions:

snowball.jpg


Our total hike time, including plenty of photo stops and lunch, was about 4 hours. A rather casual hike overall, but we got to check off the shortest of the 4Kfters from the list!
 

wtcobb

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Thankfully none on this day - I think the frost killed them off the night before. Hiking Monadnock a few weeks ago was brutal though. With the warmer weather I'd definitely pack some bug spray.

Have fun! Should be great weather this weekend.
 

petergriffen

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cool thanks you never really know how long and when they are out. I figure worst case we just turn around he's only 8 months old and think this will be an easy 4000 for him.
 

wtcobb

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How'd it go? I was biking the Fells Saturday and the flies were out but not too bad. Hopefully you had a good hike!
 
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