Excellent forecast for today, storm tomorrow, so in spite of a longish walk yesterday I decided to attempt mighty Mount Tecumseh 
Temperature was perfect; cold enough for the snow to maintain its compactness, but warm enough to hike in log pants on top of polypro, no hat and light gloves.
Snow on the trail from the start; there was no "January thaw" Depths increased to over a foot off trail near summit. Trail itself was hard packed, with a few icy sections. I used spikes the whole way, there were sections when I was glad to have them on. Today my snowshoes just came for the ride, maybe I will get a chance to use them this weekend.
[Added]On the way up I took the Mt. Tecumseh Trail (rather than the better packed Sossman Trail) to the summit; it was the only section of trail that was quite soft. Snowshoes were really not an option given how short that section is, and in any case the snow was not really soft enough to justify them, but it was clearly very different from the rest of the trail.[/Added]
One of the things I enjoy most about winter hiking is a sunny day in the hardwoods: blue sky, white snow, grey trunks, black shadows:
From the summit there was an interesting view to the northeast, with the East Peak of Osceola, Carrigain and Washington lined up:
Looking down the trail going to West Tecumseh there was a glimpse of the dome of Mount Moosilauke:
I almost had the mountain to myself on this gorgeous day just met one hiker on my way down.
Temperature was perfect; cold enough for the snow to maintain its compactness, but warm enough to hike in log pants on top of polypro, no hat and light gloves.
Snow on the trail from the start; there was no "January thaw"
Depths increased to over a foot off trail near summit. Trail itself was hard packed, with a few icy sections. I used spikes the whole way, there were sections when I was glad to have them on. Today my snowshoes just came for the ride, maybe I will get a chance to use them this weekend.[Added]On the way up I took the Mt. Tecumseh Trail (rather than the better packed Sossman Trail) to the summit; it was the only section of trail that was quite soft. Snowshoes were really not an option given how short that section is, and in any case the snow was not really soft enough to justify them, but it was clearly very different from the rest of the trail.[/Added]
One of the things I enjoy most about winter hiking is a sunny day in the hardwoods: blue sky, white snow, grey trunks, black shadows:
From the summit there was an interesting view to the northeast, with the East Peak of Osceola, Carrigain and Washington lined up:
Looking down the trail going to West Tecumseh there was a glimpse of the dome of Mount Moosilauke:
I almost had the mountain to myself on this gorgeous day
just met one hiker on my way down.
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