OldMan
New member
I was itching to hike this weekend. With the snow we had in the week and snow that was coming on Sunday, Saturday seemed like the perfect day. I was hoping for something where the trail was broken out. Looking at the forum's Trail Conditions, Bryan reported he'd been up Mt Tecumseh on Friday. Perfect. I'd head up Mt Tecumseh in the morning and then head over to Mt Waumbek for the afternoon. I suspected Mt Waumbek would be broken out by the afternoon, seeing it's a popular trail. I was not disappointed.
When I arrived at the ski area it was busy with, well… skiers arriving for the day. Attendants were directing everyone where to park. I just followed their directions and ended up in a nice spot in lot 2 near the road, very close to the trail head. I was geared up; snowshoes on and was heading up the trail by 8:00am. The trail had a slight dusting of snow but was well packed from the last snowstorm, thanks to Bryan and the numerous snowboarders who use the trail. It wasn’t long before I had warmed up on the trail and stopped to remove a layer. A short ways up the trail I ran into a woman who snowshoeing down. She mentioned that she works at the ski area and was out for a morning snowshoe before work. She had gone up the trail ½ a mile or so. I pushed on and made my way to the summit. I ran into another solo hiker who had read Bryans VFTT report on the trail and was here for the same reason I was… a broken out trail. Not much to see today on the summit as the sun tried desperately to burn through the clouds, but I didn't care, I was on a peakbagging roll. This was my 22nd winter summit this winter season.
The trip out went by very fast. I passed several groups of hikers on the way out, including a group of 8 or 10 young boys and their adult chaperones who were taking them on a snowshoe adventure. I was back at my car for 11:00am, packing up and heading out to tackle Mt Waumbek for the afternoon.
I ate my lunch on the drive to Mt Waumbek. I carefully hung my damp cloths in various places around my car and had the heat blowing to dry things out. By the time I arrived at the RT2 parking area, everything was dry. I geared up and was on the trail by 12:30. This will be the second time I hiked Mt Waumbek as the second hike of the day and I must say, it’s much harder hiking, stopping, and hiking again that to just do a long hike. I was dragging on the gentle ascent of the Starr King Trail. The great part was the trail was well packed from the morning hikers. After about a mile of hiking, my lunch finally kicked in and I was feeling much better and picked up my pace a bit. The sky was still overcast with some patches of blue starting to form. I passed a group of hikers on their way down. They had been to Mt Waumbek so the trail would be broken all the way for me. Thanks folks! When I reached Mt Starr King the skies had blued up but the wind was cold. I took a few pictures and then continued on to Mt Waumbek. Of course there are no good views on the summit but along the trail a few good views were had. After a quick summit (W48 #23) picture I was on my way down. In several places the snow covered trees against the blue sky provided some nice photos.
On the final stretch on the Starr King Trail I was hiking into the setting sun. Quite a fitting finish for a great day of hiking!
I arrived back at my car for 5:00. Driving home the skies had completely cleared up and the views of the surrounding mountains in Jefferson with the setting sun were truly enjoyed.
Garmin 60CSx:
Mt Techumseh 4.8 miles, 2838 ascent, 1.6mph average
Mt Waumbek 7.4 miles, 3429 ascent, 1.6mph average
When I arrived at the ski area it was busy with, well… skiers arriving for the day. Attendants were directing everyone where to park. I just followed their directions and ended up in a nice spot in lot 2 near the road, very close to the trail head. I was geared up; snowshoes on and was heading up the trail by 8:00am. The trail had a slight dusting of snow but was well packed from the last snowstorm, thanks to Bryan and the numerous snowboarders who use the trail. It wasn’t long before I had warmed up on the trail and stopped to remove a layer. A short ways up the trail I ran into a woman who snowshoeing down. She mentioned that she works at the ski area and was out for a morning snowshoe before work. She had gone up the trail ½ a mile or so. I pushed on and made my way to the summit. I ran into another solo hiker who had read Bryans VFTT report on the trail and was here for the same reason I was… a broken out trail. Not much to see today on the summit as the sun tried desperately to burn through the clouds, but I didn't care, I was on a peakbagging roll. This was my 22nd winter summit this winter season.
The trip out went by very fast. I passed several groups of hikers on the way out, including a group of 8 or 10 young boys and their adult chaperones who were taking them on a snowshoe adventure. I was back at my car for 11:00am, packing up and heading out to tackle Mt Waumbek for the afternoon.
I ate my lunch on the drive to Mt Waumbek. I carefully hung my damp cloths in various places around my car and had the heat blowing to dry things out. By the time I arrived at the RT2 parking area, everything was dry. I geared up and was on the trail by 12:30. This will be the second time I hiked Mt Waumbek as the second hike of the day and I must say, it’s much harder hiking, stopping, and hiking again that to just do a long hike. I was dragging on the gentle ascent of the Starr King Trail. The great part was the trail was well packed from the morning hikers. After about a mile of hiking, my lunch finally kicked in and I was feeling much better and picked up my pace a bit. The sky was still overcast with some patches of blue starting to form. I passed a group of hikers on their way down. They had been to Mt Waumbek so the trail would be broken all the way for me. Thanks folks! When I reached Mt Starr King the skies had blued up but the wind was cold. I took a few pictures and then continued on to Mt Waumbek. Of course there are no good views on the summit but along the trail a few good views were had. After a quick summit (W48 #23) picture I was on my way down. In several places the snow covered trees against the blue sky provided some nice photos.
On the final stretch on the Starr King Trail I was hiking into the setting sun. Quite a fitting finish for a great day of hiking!
I arrived back at my car for 5:00. Driving home the skies had completely cleared up and the views of the surrounding mountains in Jefferson with the setting sun were truly enjoyed.
Garmin 60CSx:
Mt Techumseh 4.8 miles, 2838 ascent, 1.6mph average
Mt Waumbek 7.4 miles, 3429 ascent, 1.6mph average
