Like Trish (Tecumseh (again), January 3) I hike Tecumseh quite often. It is a short drive from home, and is an easy hike, something very important as the years go up and the fitness goes down 
The forecast for Sunday called for minimal winds, but I could hear the wind when I woke up. I waited for it to drop, but by 10:30 decided that, wind or no wind, the time had come to hike. Lots of wind as I was getting my coffee from the Campton Dunkin Donuts. Fortunately there was much less wind at the trailhead.
Based on Trish's report I left my snowshoes at home, and put the microspikes on in the car. The trail below the ridge was in excellent condition; the microspikes were only useful for the first stream crossing (hard water ice) and for a few icy spots after the second stream crossing.
Between the outlook and the ridge I met Tom and Atticus coming down; as I had not seen them in a very long time I was delighted. Short chat, and I continued.
Along the ridge there were areas where there was quite a bit of drifted snow, but nothing that would have required snowshoes. The Sossman Trail seemed broken out in the direction of the outlooks.
The one unpleasant part was where the Sossman Trail swings around the west side of the summit cone. There was a lot of hard ice ... not really dangerous as most of it was flat, but enough to make me uncomfortable. All in all there may have been a hundred or so feet (horizontal!) of nasty stuff. The microspikes performed very well; I never felt my foot even start to slip. Stabilicers, of course, do not perform well on hard ice.
At the summit I met a couple who had just arrived, Islandside (Greg) and Sandi. They had come round the summit the other way (Mt. Tecumseh Trail all the way) and told me that they had plowed through some deep drifts.
I spent around fifteen minutes chatting and eating, then began to get cold (in spite of having put on all my layers) so I started down. The icy sections were (as often happens) easier the second time around, and soon I was descending the steep upper part of the trail. It is an absoltely delightful descent in winter, with the well packed snow covering all trace of rocks.
My times were, strangely, identical to Trish's; two hours up, 1:10 down.
The forecast for Sunday called for minimal winds, but I could hear the wind when I woke up. I waited for it to drop, but by 10:30 decided that, wind or no wind, the time had come to hike. Lots of wind as I was getting my coffee from the Campton Dunkin Donuts. Fortunately there was much less wind at the trailhead.
Based on Trish's report I left my snowshoes at home, and put the microspikes on in the car. The trail below the ridge was in excellent condition; the microspikes were only useful for the first stream crossing (hard water ice) and for a few icy spots after the second stream crossing.
Between the outlook and the ridge I met Tom and Atticus coming down; as I had not seen them in a very long time I was delighted. Short chat, and I continued.
Along the ridge there were areas where there was quite a bit of drifted snow, but nothing that would have required snowshoes. The Sossman Trail seemed broken out in the direction of the outlooks.
The one unpleasant part was where the Sossman Trail swings around the west side of the summit cone. There was a lot of hard ice ... not really dangerous as most of it was flat, but enough to make me uncomfortable. All in all there may have been a hundred or so feet (horizontal!) of nasty stuff. The microspikes performed very well; I never felt my foot even start to slip. Stabilicers, of course, do not perform well on hard ice.
At the summit I met a couple who had just arrived, Islandside (Greg) and Sandi. They had come round the summit the other way (Mt. Tecumseh Trail all the way) and told me that they had plowed through some deep drifts.
I spent around fifteen minutes chatting and eating, then began to get cold (in spite of having put on all my layers) so I started down. The icy sections were (as often happens) easier the second time around, and soon I was descending the steep upper part of the trail. It is an absoltely delightful descent in winter, with the well packed snow covering all trace of rocks.
My times were, strangely, identical to Trish's; two hours up, 1:10 down.
