BIGEarl
Well-known member
April 10, 2010: Tecumseh and Cannon
Trails:
Tecumseh: Mount Tecumseh Trail
Cannon: Kinsman Ridge Trail
Summits: Tecumseh and Cannon
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Sue completed her Winter Four Thousand Footers this year and planned to attend the awards dinner to receive her scroll. It has been a couple years since the last awards dinner for me and I didn’t want to miss this one. Consequently, the afternoon and evening were not available for hiking. We still wanted to get out and knew a short one was our only option. We had Tecumseh, Cannon, Waumbek, and Moosilauke to choose from. Since the weather forecast was questionable I suggested we save Moosilauke and its views for a better day. We decided on the closest one, Tecumseh, and I suggested a meet time early enough to get the hike done and return home to prepare for the awards dinner. Sue indicated earlier would be fine with her. Aren’t morning people great? I asked Sue if she wanted to go enough to get Cannon too. That’s all it took for a Double Hit & Run.
A couple extra hits of the snooze button got us on the road north a little later than planned but we were able to make most of it up on the drive. We were headed for Tecumseh first. We were driving along Route 49 to Waterville Valley passing a small field when…
MOOSE!!!!!
There was a huge moose entering from the right side of the road. I jumped on the brakes like I was driving a runaway Prius and made a hard turn toward the ditch on the left side of the road. The moose was moving directly into our path. For a moment I was sure we were about to have a really bad day. The combination of hard braking and the sharp turn made the tires squeal and this startled the moose. He froze, jumped back, and finally turned and retreated. Hmmm… I guess all those extra parts I had when I did the brake job were unimportant. We continued on and made the turn onto Tripoli Road. A short distance after the turn we came upon another moose. This time I drove straight toward it and stopped with it in the headlights. He looked at us, mumbled something, and wandered back into the woods.
Now we’re awake, and after a quick stop at the Livermore trailhead it would be time to hike. The temperature was a little colder than expected and there was more wind than predicted. We grabbed an extra layer and got started. We were able to bare boot the early part of the hike. The lower crossing of Tecumseh Brook was our first test. The normal crossing appeared too difficult and we started upstream looking for a place where we could reach the other side with dry feet. Roughly fifty yards above the normal crossing we found a few exposed rocks and made the crossing. Slowly we gained elevation as we worked our way to the upper crossing of Tecumseh Brook. Along the way there were a number of pretty good mud pits developing that we were able to easily get past. A short distance before the upper crossing the trail had become generally ice covered and we pulled out the MicroSpikes. The snow/ice was solid and we had no postholing problem.
As we climbed we found a fresh layer of powder had fallen overnight. Eventually the trees were generally snow-covered and it was again winter. Roughly half way between the viewpoint spur and the ridge we switched off the headlights. Soon we were on the ridge and headed for the final climb to the summit. The reported conditions before leaving the house were partly cloudy, and the weather forecast predicted ~50% sky cover for the early morning. I was hopeful we would enjoy a Tecumseh sunrise over the Tripyramids. Everything was socked-in. We got a few summit pictures and u-turned for the trailhead and our next target. On the way back down we met another couple on their way to the summit. The fellow asked if we had already been to the summit and Sue said that we had. He commented, “you got up early”.
Back to the trailhead and quickly re-pack for the drive to Franconia Notch, via Livermore. The plan for Cannon was to hike the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the north. We pulled into the hiker parking at the Tram and grabbed our things. The temperature was roughly ten degrees cooler than in Waterville Valley, the wind was stronger, and it was snowing. The weather experts had forecast a possibility of snow showers in Franconia with little or no accumulation.
We wandered out to the start of the Kinsman Ridge Trail and began the climb. The trail was snow-covered with roughly an inch of fresh powder. The amount of snow quickly increased with elevation and before we reached the summit we were working with a solid four inches of new snow. Along the way we had an interesting climb. The lower part of Kinsman Ridge Trail is generally in great shape. Problems start where the trail runs with Kinsman Glade. This section is a huge mess. It resembles a big blowdown field. There are blowdowns of all sizes across the trail in all directions along this stretch. Fixing this will take some work. With the fresh snow it was tough to follow the hiking route but we were able to occasionally locate a blaze as we made our way up. We were also being hit with a steady hard snow and pretty good wind. We continued up and I started to think of other options for our exit since descending through this area did not seem like an enjoyable experience.
We reached the place where the hiking trail went left off Kinsman Glade. From there we had roughly 600 feet in elevation remaining. Cannon was closed for the season and I was thinking we had a couple options. We could stay with the hiking trail and head out to Cannon Cliffs before turning back toward the summit or simply stay with Kinsman Glade and make a direct approach to the summit. The slope had moderated and the blowdown problem appeared to be finished. We continued on Kinsman Glade. In a short distance the postholing started. We stopped to change from MicroSpikes to MSRs. With that change complete we made good time through the remaining part of Kinsman Glade and onto Vista Way, which we followed to the summit.
As we approached the summit tower Sue looked at me and said, “we’re not alone”. We reached the tower and I could see fresh tracks on the stairs. Evidently there were people on the tower in the wind, snow, and no views. As we got a couple summit pictures the other two hikers descended from the tower. They were planning to hike to the Kinsmans. We set off for our exit hike.
Normally, I prefer to avoid hiking ski trails. We had other plans for the day and really needed to get back down as quickly as we could. The most direct route was the ski trails but not Kinsman Glade. We headed for the top of Cannonball Express Quad Chairlift and checked the trail map for a route plan. We decided to descend along Cannonball, Spookie, Paulies Extension, Avalance, Banshee Cut-Thru, and Jasper’s Hideaway. As we descended the snow gradually stopped, the wind died, and eventually the clouds started to break up. We hit the base of the tram under sunny and generally pleasant conditions. The Cannon Beach Party was scheduled to be underway at the Peabody Base Lodge by now and the band (Jimmy Buffet’s opening act) was expected to start in thirty minutes. Oh well, not for us. We packed and hit the highway south. We needed to keep moving if we were to make it to Margaritas for the pre-awards dinner get-together.
With only half a day for hiking everything worked out pretty good. Thanks Sue – it was fun.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails:
Tecumseh: Mount Tecumseh Trail
Cannon: Kinsman Ridge Trail
Summits: Tecumseh and Cannon
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Sue completed her Winter Four Thousand Footers this year and planned to attend the awards dinner to receive her scroll. It has been a couple years since the last awards dinner for me and I didn’t want to miss this one. Consequently, the afternoon and evening were not available for hiking. We still wanted to get out and knew a short one was our only option. We had Tecumseh, Cannon, Waumbek, and Moosilauke to choose from. Since the weather forecast was questionable I suggested we save Moosilauke and its views for a better day. We decided on the closest one, Tecumseh, and I suggested a meet time early enough to get the hike done and return home to prepare for the awards dinner. Sue indicated earlier would be fine with her. Aren’t morning people great? I asked Sue if she wanted to go enough to get Cannon too. That’s all it took for a Double Hit & Run.
A couple extra hits of the snooze button got us on the road north a little later than planned but we were able to make most of it up on the drive. We were headed for Tecumseh first. We were driving along Route 49 to Waterville Valley passing a small field when…
MOOSE!!!!!
There was a huge moose entering from the right side of the road. I jumped on the brakes like I was driving a runaway Prius and made a hard turn toward the ditch on the left side of the road. The moose was moving directly into our path. For a moment I was sure we were about to have a really bad day. The combination of hard braking and the sharp turn made the tires squeal and this startled the moose. He froze, jumped back, and finally turned and retreated. Hmmm… I guess all those extra parts I had when I did the brake job were unimportant. We continued on and made the turn onto Tripoli Road. A short distance after the turn we came upon another moose. This time I drove straight toward it and stopped with it in the headlights. He looked at us, mumbled something, and wandered back into the woods.
Now we’re awake, and after a quick stop at the Livermore trailhead it would be time to hike. The temperature was a little colder than expected and there was more wind than predicted. We grabbed an extra layer and got started. We were able to bare boot the early part of the hike. The lower crossing of Tecumseh Brook was our first test. The normal crossing appeared too difficult and we started upstream looking for a place where we could reach the other side with dry feet. Roughly fifty yards above the normal crossing we found a few exposed rocks and made the crossing. Slowly we gained elevation as we worked our way to the upper crossing of Tecumseh Brook. Along the way there were a number of pretty good mud pits developing that we were able to easily get past. A short distance before the upper crossing the trail had become generally ice covered and we pulled out the MicroSpikes. The snow/ice was solid and we had no postholing problem.
As we climbed we found a fresh layer of powder had fallen overnight. Eventually the trees were generally snow-covered and it was again winter. Roughly half way between the viewpoint spur and the ridge we switched off the headlights. Soon we were on the ridge and headed for the final climb to the summit. The reported conditions before leaving the house were partly cloudy, and the weather forecast predicted ~50% sky cover for the early morning. I was hopeful we would enjoy a Tecumseh sunrise over the Tripyramids. Everything was socked-in. We got a few summit pictures and u-turned for the trailhead and our next target. On the way back down we met another couple on their way to the summit. The fellow asked if we had already been to the summit and Sue said that we had. He commented, “you got up early”.
Back to the trailhead and quickly re-pack for the drive to Franconia Notch, via Livermore. The plan for Cannon was to hike the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the north. We pulled into the hiker parking at the Tram and grabbed our things. The temperature was roughly ten degrees cooler than in Waterville Valley, the wind was stronger, and it was snowing. The weather experts had forecast a possibility of snow showers in Franconia with little or no accumulation.
We wandered out to the start of the Kinsman Ridge Trail and began the climb. The trail was snow-covered with roughly an inch of fresh powder. The amount of snow quickly increased with elevation and before we reached the summit we were working with a solid four inches of new snow. Along the way we had an interesting climb. The lower part of Kinsman Ridge Trail is generally in great shape. Problems start where the trail runs with Kinsman Glade. This section is a huge mess. It resembles a big blowdown field. There are blowdowns of all sizes across the trail in all directions along this stretch. Fixing this will take some work. With the fresh snow it was tough to follow the hiking route but we were able to occasionally locate a blaze as we made our way up. We were also being hit with a steady hard snow and pretty good wind. We continued up and I started to think of other options for our exit since descending through this area did not seem like an enjoyable experience.
We reached the place where the hiking trail went left off Kinsman Glade. From there we had roughly 600 feet in elevation remaining. Cannon was closed for the season and I was thinking we had a couple options. We could stay with the hiking trail and head out to Cannon Cliffs before turning back toward the summit or simply stay with Kinsman Glade and make a direct approach to the summit. The slope had moderated and the blowdown problem appeared to be finished. We continued on Kinsman Glade. In a short distance the postholing started. We stopped to change from MicroSpikes to MSRs. With that change complete we made good time through the remaining part of Kinsman Glade and onto Vista Way, which we followed to the summit.
As we approached the summit tower Sue looked at me and said, “we’re not alone”. We reached the tower and I could see fresh tracks on the stairs. Evidently there were people on the tower in the wind, snow, and no views. As we got a couple summit pictures the other two hikers descended from the tower. They were planning to hike to the Kinsmans. We set off for our exit hike.
Normally, I prefer to avoid hiking ski trails. We had other plans for the day and really needed to get back down as quickly as we could. The most direct route was the ski trails but not Kinsman Glade. We headed for the top of Cannonball Express Quad Chairlift and checked the trail map for a route plan. We decided to descend along Cannonball, Spookie, Paulies Extension, Avalance, Banshee Cut-Thru, and Jasper’s Hideaway. As we descended the snow gradually stopped, the wind died, and eventually the clouds started to break up. We hit the base of the tram under sunny and generally pleasant conditions. The Cannon Beach Party was scheduled to be underway at the Peabody Base Lodge by now and the band (Jimmy Buffet’s opening act) was expected to start in thirty minutes. Oh well, not for us. We packed and hit the highway south. We needed to keep moving if we were to make it to Margaritas for the pre-awards dinner get-together.
With only half a day for hiking everything worked out pretty good. Thanks Sue – it was fun.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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