BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 23, 2008: Tecumseh
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh Trail
Summits: Mount Tecumseh
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), LRiz (Larisa), Kevinmac (Kevin), Unfrozencaveman (Steven), and me
We’re closing out the year and Tecumseh is one of a couple remaining clean-up details on my list of target hikes. Sue and I have hiked a lot together during the year. She has hiked all Four Thousand Footers during the year and I have hiked them all twice. We haven’t managed to actually hike them all together but all that remain are Tecumseh and The Hancocks. Originally, the plan was to make an early morning start on The Hancocks and then hike Tecumseh in the afternoon. The big storm recently made that plan unrealistic. We’ll hike Tecumseh now and The Hancocks in a few days. The last time I hiked with my nephew Unfrozencaveman (Steven) was over two and a half years ago. I really enjoyed getting together again for a hike.
The conditions for the day were perfect; ~11 degrees to start, clear, and a breeze from the west that we were generally sheltered from by the terrain. The snow guns at the ski area were in full operation making snow. Even though Tecumseh is a short hike, we expected a big job of trailbreaking. We geared-up and headed for the trail. When we reached the trailhead we were greeted with a very surprising sight, the trail was broken out and a very nice snowshoe track had been established. Clearly, more than just a couple people had been through since the storm.
With big smiles we set off for the summit. On the lower part of the trail we all gradually came up to temperature and started to adjust layers to be comfortable. At one of the stops a couple other hikers that had started just after us passed – we saw them again later at the start of their descent. We generally continued through the lower section, across the upper stream crossing, and on to the viewpoint spur near the ski area only making the short stops I needed to idle back. At the spur we had a longer break. All three stream crossings were no test at all. There was no sign of traffic to the ski slope from the Mt. Tecumseh Trail. In fact, it looked like the ski trail had not yet opened. Sue had her Swiss Bob tied to her pack and this location was the bottom of the prime sliding on the trail. It was easy to see by her expression that the trip out was going to be fun. This location is also the beginning of the long climb to the ridge of a roughly a mile and ~1300 feet in elevation. We settled into a steady pace and climbed. On the way there were frequent but short stops. On this section we saw the first set of ski tracks next to the snowshoe track. A short distance below the ridge three skiers passed, and then a single. We also met RickB and his group on their descent. Evidently, the trail after the Sosman Trail junction was not yet broken out and they opened it to the summit. Well done!
On the ridge we started to feet the west wind and decided to add some layers. We also were passed by more hikers and a very friendly dog. Before long, we regrouped on the summit for pictures and some refreshments. We were all pretty warm and the day was still cold, especially with the steady breeze. Before long it was time to leave, or build a fire. On the way back across the ridge we passed three more skiers at the Sosman Trail junction.
We reached the steep section of the trail and out came the Swiss Bob. First, Larisa took a shot at it and did pretty well. She managed to cover a good section of the trail and didn’t hurt herself. Then it was Sue’s turn. The rest of us were all pushing pretty hard to stay with her on the descent. In no time at all we were back to the spur trail that leads to the ski area. That was a quick 1300 feet. Here the Swiss Bob was repacked and the snowshoes came back out for the reverse hike of the lower section of the Mt. Tecumseh Trail. We were enjoying a calm, sunny winter afternoon with ideal trail conditions – it would be hard to find something wrong here.
Before long we were back at the trailhead. Along the way we encountered one dog, ~12 hikers – all on snowshoes, and ~8 skiers. The Mt. Tecumseh Trail is in great shape from the trailhead to the summit (via the short Sosman Trail section) with not a single posthole, and the only blowdown is really big and easy to walk under. The section of Mt. Tecumseh Trail that circles around the southeast side of the summit cone was not broken out when we were there. A few minutes after the tailgate was opened there were several containers of cookies for an after-hike treat thanks to Sue. Good stuff!
Thanks to Sue, Larisa, Kevin, and Steve for a short but fun day on Mt. Tecumseh. It was terrific to once again hike with Steve – hopefully we’ll get together again soon.
Pictures to follow.
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh Trail
Summits: Mount Tecumseh
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), LRiz (Larisa), Kevinmac (Kevin), Unfrozencaveman (Steven), and me
We’re closing out the year and Tecumseh is one of a couple remaining clean-up details on my list of target hikes. Sue and I have hiked a lot together during the year. She has hiked all Four Thousand Footers during the year and I have hiked them all twice. We haven’t managed to actually hike them all together but all that remain are Tecumseh and The Hancocks. Originally, the plan was to make an early morning start on The Hancocks and then hike Tecumseh in the afternoon. The big storm recently made that plan unrealistic. We’ll hike Tecumseh now and The Hancocks in a few days. The last time I hiked with my nephew Unfrozencaveman (Steven) was over two and a half years ago. I really enjoyed getting together again for a hike.
The conditions for the day were perfect; ~11 degrees to start, clear, and a breeze from the west that we were generally sheltered from by the terrain. The snow guns at the ski area were in full operation making snow. Even though Tecumseh is a short hike, we expected a big job of trailbreaking. We geared-up and headed for the trail. When we reached the trailhead we were greeted with a very surprising sight, the trail was broken out and a very nice snowshoe track had been established. Clearly, more than just a couple people had been through since the storm.
With big smiles we set off for the summit. On the lower part of the trail we all gradually came up to temperature and started to adjust layers to be comfortable. At one of the stops a couple other hikers that had started just after us passed – we saw them again later at the start of their descent. We generally continued through the lower section, across the upper stream crossing, and on to the viewpoint spur near the ski area only making the short stops I needed to idle back. At the spur we had a longer break. All three stream crossings were no test at all. There was no sign of traffic to the ski slope from the Mt. Tecumseh Trail. In fact, it looked like the ski trail had not yet opened. Sue had her Swiss Bob tied to her pack and this location was the bottom of the prime sliding on the trail. It was easy to see by her expression that the trip out was going to be fun. This location is also the beginning of the long climb to the ridge of a roughly a mile and ~1300 feet in elevation. We settled into a steady pace and climbed. On the way there were frequent but short stops. On this section we saw the first set of ski tracks next to the snowshoe track. A short distance below the ridge three skiers passed, and then a single. We also met RickB and his group on their descent. Evidently, the trail after the Sosman Trail junction was not yet broken out and they opened it to the summit. Well done!
On the ridge we started to feet the west wind and decided to add some layers. We also were passed by more hikers and a very friendly dog. Before long, we regrouped on the summit for pictures and some refreshments. We were all pretty warm and the day was still cold, especially with the steady breeze. Before long it was time to leave, or build a fire. On the way back across the ridge we passed three more skiers at the Sosman Trail junction.
We reached the steep section of the trail and out came the Swiss Bob. First, Larisa took a shot at it and did pretty well. She managed to cover a good section of the trail and didn’t hurt herself. Then it was Sue’s turn. The rest of us were all pushing pretty hard to stay with her on the descent. In no time at all we were back to the spur trail that leads to the ski area. That was a quick 1300 feet. Here the Swiss Bob was repacked and the snowshoes came back out for the reverse hike of the lower section of the Mt. Tecumseh Trail. We were enjoying a calm, sunny winter afternoon with ideal trail conditions – it would be hard to find something wrong here.
Before long we were back at the trailhead. Along the way we encountered one dog, ~12 hikers – all on snowshoes, and ~8 skiers. The Mt. Tecumseh Trail is in great shape from the trailhead to the summit (via the short Sosman Trail section) with not a single posthole, and the only blowdown is really big and easy to walk under. The section of Mt. Tecumseh Trail that circles around the southeast side of the summit cone was not broken out when we were there. A few minutes after the tailgate was opened there were several containers of cookies for an after-hike treat thanks to Sue. Good stuff!
Thanks to Sue, Larisa, Kevin, and Steve for a short but fun day on Mt. Tecumseh. It was terrific to once again hike with Steve – hopefully we’ll get together again soon.
Pictures to follow.
