BIGEarl
Well-known member
September 11, 2008: Tecumseh
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Sosman Trail
Summits: Tecumseh
Hikers: Fitz and me
Fitz has Thursdays off and he asked if I was interested in joining him for a hike. He was looking for a relatively short day because he needed to be back early. Fitz also knew I still had Tecumseh on my list for this year and suggested we hike there. And, possibly add the Welch-Dickey Loop after if time allowed. We had great weather conditions to enjoy. With Tecumseh the target I would be hiking for #48 of 48 for ’08.
We headed north from Nashua at 7:30am planning to hike Tecumseh from Tripoli Road instead of the usual route from the ski area. The selected route was a great decision! We made a couple stops along the way and were on the trail at 9:30am. We had the place to ourselves; there were no other vehicles in the lot. The approach from Tripoli Road is clear and dry all the way to the summit, except for one blowdown at just over 3,100 feet. I can’t imagine the trail is ever in better condition.
The trail crosses a couple very small streams just after leaving the trailhead lot and begins the climb. From the trailhead to 3,000 feet the trail is one huge ramp. The grade is fairly constant and there are no negative gains (aka Puds). We reached the blowdown, crawled under, and continued our way to the summit. Above 3000 feet there are a couple steep sections leading to a lesser summit approximately a mile short of Tecumseh’s summit. After that, we passed through a relatively level section and then dropped ~two hundred feet before the final climb to the summit, which becomes quite steep in a couple places. Along the way there were some great viewpoints. At the earlier peak we had very nice views to the west. Then, below the summit we were treated to very nice views to Franconia Ridge, Cannon, Kinsman Ridge, and Moosilauke.
We reached the summit and found another couple already there. The views from Tecumseh are limited to the Tripyramids and Osceolas, and if you really stick your neck out Crawford Notch and the Presidentials. Since this was the first time I recall being on the summit in great conditions I was a little surprised. The views were better than I remembered. Fitz checked the time and decided we didn’t have time to add Welch-Dickey. So, he suggested we head over to the top of the ski area and check out the views there. This sounded good to me.
We headed north off the summit to go south. We may as well hike the loop around the summit if we’re extending the hike. Soon, we gave up the couple hundred feet and headed south toward the Sosman Trail. There, we made the turn and hiked across the ridge to the tower and then the top of the ski lift.
As expected, the views were terrific. In front of us were the Tripyramids, to the right Sandwich Mountain. Moving across to another open area we found views south to Monadnock and Pack Monadnock. Soon, we were off for the tower area and to get back on trail to hike out. First, we needed to get back to the summit and reversed our route to the trail split below the summit. At the trail split we turned left to complete the loop around the summit. Back on the summit there was a new couple of hikers. We exchanged greetings and headed back down to Tripoli Road.
The hike down was almost exactly the reverse of the hike up. The only difference was a solo hiker we met with a few hours to kill. He decided Tecumseh was a suitable place to fill the available time. Again, we exchanged greetings and were on our way.
Back across the trail section leading to the lesser summit including the re-climb of ~200 feet. Back down to 3,100 feet and the blowdown to crawl under. And, back down the long ramp from 3,000 feet to the trailhead.
This was easily the most enjoyable hike to Tecumseh I have done. The approach from Tripoli Road is much more scenic all the way from trailhead to summit, and the long-range views along the way seem much better. I’ll be on this trail again for sure.
Great suggestion Fitz, and great hike. I’m looking forward to our next one.
Pictures to follow.
Trails: Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Sosman Trail
Summits: Tecumseh
Hikers: Fitz and me
Fitz has Thursdays off and he asked if I was interested in joining him for a hike. He was looking for a relatively short day because he needed to be back early. Fitz also knew I still had Tecumseh on my list for this year and suggested we hike there. And, possibly add the Welch-Dickey Loop after if time allowed. We had great weather conditions to enjoy. With Tecumseh the target I would be hiking for #48 of 48 for ’08.
We headed north from Nashua at 7:30am planning to hike Tecumseh from Tripoli Road instead of the usual route from the ski area. The selected route was a great decision! We made a couple stops along the way and were on the trail at 9:30am. We had the place to ourselves; there were no other vehicles in the lot. The approach from Tripoli Road is clear and dry all the way to the summit, except for one blowdown at just over 3,100 feet. I can’t imagine the trail is ever in better condition.
The trail crosses a couple very small streams just after leaving the trailhead lot and begins the climb. From the trailhead to 3,000 feet the trail is one huge ramp. The grade is fairly constant and there are no negative gains (aka Puds). We reached the blowdown, crawled under, and continued our way to the summit. Above 3000 feet there are a couple steep sections leading to a lesser summit approximately a mile short of Tecumseh’s summit. After that, we passed through a relatively level section and then dropped ~two hundred feet before the final climb to the summit, which becomes quite steep in a couple places. Along the way there were some great viewpoints. At the earlier peak we had very nice views to the west. Then, below the summit we were treated to very nice views to Franconia Ridge, Cannon, Kinsman Ridge, and Moosilauke.
We reached the summit and found another couple already there. The views from Tecumseh are limited to the Tripyramids and Osceolas, and if you really stick your neck out Crawford Notch and the Presidentials. Since this was the first time I recall being on the summit in great conditions I was a little surprised. The views were better than I remembered. Fitz checked the time and decided we didn’t have time to add Welch-Dickey. So, he suggested we head over to the top of the ski area and check out the views there. This sounded good to me.
We headed north off the summit to go south. We may as well hike the loop around the summit if we’re extending the hike. Soon, we gave up the couple hundred feet and headed south toward the Sosman Trail. There, we made the turn and hiked across the ridge to the tower and then the top of the ski lift.
As expected, the views were terrific. In front of us were the Tripyramids, to the right Sandwich Mountain. Moving across to another open area we found views south to Monadnock and Pack Monadnock. Soon, we were off for the tower area and to get back on trail to hike out. First, we needed to get back to the summit and reversed our route to the trail split below the summit. At the trail split we turned left to complete the loop around the summit. Back on the summit there was a new couple of hikers. We exchanged greetings and headed back down to Tripoli Road.
The hike down was almost exactly the reverse of the hike up. The only difference was a solo hiker we met with a few hours to kill. He decided Tecumseh was a suitable place to fill the available time. Again, we exchanged greetings and were on our way.
Back across the trail section leading to the lesser summit including the re-climb of ~200 feet. Back down to 3,100 feet and the blowdown to crawl under. And, back down the long ramp from 3,000 feet to the trailhead.
This was easily the most enjoyable hike to Tecumseh I have done. The approach from Tripoli Road is much more scenic all the way from trailhead to summit, and the long-range views along the way seem much better. I’ll be on this trail again for sure.
Great suggestion Fitz, and great hike. I’m looking forward to our next one.
Pictures to follow.
