Sunshine Chris
New member
Summit: Mt. Tecumseh- #13 for NH Winter 4K's and 4th summit for the weekend.
Elevation: 2250'
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh Trail from Waterville Valley Ski Area
Company on Trail: Me, Myself and I
Pics for the day are here: http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/u...brary/Mount Tecumseh solo on February 18 2013
I just couldn't let Monday go by without getting in another summit so figured to go grab Tecumseh in the afternoon. This would be my first time in winter adding a 2nd day of hiking to the same weekend. I knew the trail would be steep in the top half but hoped that my body would be up for another day of hiking.
When I arrived at the ski area I got front row parking , 1st car in and straight across from the trail-head. Sweet! Here is a photo from the trailhead.
I ran up to the lodge to use the facilities and then got on trail at 1:40 pm. The first brook crossing was open but easily rock hopped. I had my soft shell on and a balaclava but as usual discovered I was over dressed when I warmed up about 7 minutes later. Off with the pack and put the clothing away for later. It was really sunny and pleasant and just a little windy at the beginning of the trail. My legs were in no mood for climbing and I really suffered for awhile until they woke up some. About 1/4 mile in I decided to stash the snowshoes along side the trail as it was obvious I did not need them. Saw a couple coming down at this point. The trail was like a paved sidewalk except for the occasional short blown in section every once in awhile on the lower 1.1 miles of trail. It got windier the higher I climbed. The second brook crossing was completely snow bridged.
2nd brook crossing pic
The 3rd crossing was also bridged.
I passed the view sign and did not bother with going out onto the ski slope to check it out as I had business to get done and with the temps around -4 degrees due to the winds of 25 mph and gusts to 50 mph I wanted to get done quickly. NOT a FAN OF THESE TEMPS! Got onto the logging road and discovered it to be an unrelenting climb. There were hardly and turns for quite awhile. Just one straight unending trail. The trail was hard packed still so micro-spikes worked great. I didn't feel like I was doing very well making time as I kept having to stop, catch my breath and give my legs an 20 second break off and on as I climbed. My legs seemed to leg strength today and endurance. I kept pushing onward, figuring every step was one step closer to getting there. To not get discouraged I would look back to where I had come from on rest breaks and got a few pics of Mt. Osceola as I continued making progress. Checking my altimeter verified what I had accomplished and what was left to be done. I made sure to drink plenty of water as I was working hard and my muscles would need the water today. I was losing alot of water to respiration too. I finally got a break in the trail grade for a little bit, then back at it again.
Low and behold the sun was shining at the end of the tunnel of trail ahead of me and I hoped that meant I was in close to the Sossman Trail. The drifting on the trail occurred more often now and was up to a foot deep and getting a little annoying. The wind was much stronger up here so I layered up, slipped on a neck gaiter I could pull up over my mouth and nose, added a balaclava and goggles and my warmer mitts with hand warmers in them already heating them up. I passed the Sossman trail and at the next intersection decided to take a left and head up around the summit cone on the west side where all the sun was. I was working through 1 ft. drifts using other folks footprints as much as possible and loving the sun! I got some nice pics along here and then hurried on to the summit arriving at 3:50 pm (20 minutes ahead of book time). Gee and I thought I was making poor time on the way up! MMMM.
Fr
om the summit- The Tripyramids
No one was on the summit so I had it to myself for about 2 minutes until I decided to head down before getting blown off of it. Views were nice though.
I ran into 2 people coming up when I reached the intersection again. We shared pleasantries and I continued on my way. I decided to not use the brakes constantly on the way down like I usually do and just kept on flying on down and before I knew it I was back at my snowshoe stash, picked them up and carried them the final 1/4 mile to the car. It took me one hour to get down which I was pleased with. I made out ok with the cold and wind. It was challenging for my comfort levels but I just had to make adjustments more often. My body felt pretty good at the end of the hike so I'm hoping I won't be feeling it tomorrow.
Elevation: 2250'
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh Trail from Waterville Valley Ski Area
Company on Trail: Me, Myself and I
Pics for the day are here: http://s1343.beta.photobucket.com/u...brary/Mount Tecumseh solo on February 18 2013
I just couldn't let Monday go by without getting in another summit so figured to go grab Tecumseh in the afternoon. This would be my first time in winter adding a 2nd day of hiking to the same weekend. I knew the trail would be steep in the top half but hoped that my body would be up for another day of hiking.
When I arrived at the ski area I got front row parking , 1st car in and straight across from the trail-head. Sweet! Here is a photo from the trailhead.
I ran up to the lodge to use the facilities and then got on trail at 1:40 pm. The first brook crossing was open but easily rock hopped. I had my soft shell on and a balaclava but as usual discovered I was over dressed when I warmed up about 7 minutes later. Off with the pack and put the clothing away for later. It was really sunny and pleasant and just a little windy at the beginning of the trail. My legs were in no mood for climbing and I really suffered for awhile until they woke up some. About 1/4 mile in I decided to stash the snowshoes along side the trail as it was obvious I did not need them. Saw a couple coming down at this point. The trail was like a paved sidewalk except for the occasional short blown in section every once in awhile on the lower 1.1 miles of trail. It got windier the higher I climbed. The second brook crossing was completely snow bridged.
2nd brook crossing pic
The 3rd crossing was also bridged.
I passed the view sign and did not bother with going out onto the ski slope to check it out as I had business to get done and with the temps around -4 degrees due to the winds of 25 mph and gusts to 50 mph I wanted to get done quickly. NOT a FAN OF THESE TEMPS! Got onto the logging road and discovered it to be an unrelenting climb. There were hardly and turns for quite awhile. Just one straight unending trail. The trail was hard packed still so micro-spikes worked great. I didn't feel like I was doing very well making time as I kept having to stop, catch my breath and give my legs an 20 second break off and on as I climbed. My legs seemed to leg strength today and endurance. I kept pushing onward, figuring every step was one step closer to getting there. To not get discouraged I would look back to where I had come from on rest breaks and got a few pics of Mt. Osceola as I continued making progress. Checking my altimeter verified what I had accomplished and what was left to be done. I made sure to drink plenty of water as I was working hard and my muscles would need the water today. I was losing alot of water to respiration too. I finally got a break in the trail grade for a little bit, then back at it again.
Low and behold the sun was shining at the end of the tunnel of trail ahead of me and I hoped that meant I was in close to the Sossman Trail. The drifting on the trail occurred more often now and was up to a foot deep and getting a little annoying. The wind was much stronger up here so I layered up, slipped on a neck gaiter I could pull up over my mouth and nose, added a balaclava and goggles and my warmer mitts with hand warmers in them already heating them up. I passed the Sossman trail and at the next intersection decided to take a left and head up around the summit cone on the west side where all the sun was. I was working through 1 ft. drifts using other folks footprints as much as possible and loving the sun! I got some nice pics along here and then hurried on to the summit arriving at 3:50 pm (20 minutes ahead of book time). Gee and I thought I was making poor time on the way up! MMMM.
Fr
No one was on the summit so I had it to myself for about 2 minutes until I decided to head down before getting blown off of it. Views were nice though.
I ran into 2 people coming up when I reached the intersection again. We shared pleasantries and I continued on my way. I decided to not use the brakes constantly on the way down like I usually do and just kept on flying on down and before I knew it I was back at my snowshoe stash, picked them up and carried them the final 1/4 mile to the car. It took me one hour to get down which I was pleased with. I made out ok with the cold and wind. It was challenging for my comfort levels but I just had to make adjustments more often. My body felt pretty good at the end of the hike so I'm hoping I won't be feeling it tomorrow.
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