Mats Roing
New member
After practicing for some time in winter conditions in the Whites I finally decided to do a solo hike up Tecumseh. I knew it was going to be cold and windy higher up so I prepared myself with hats and gloves and a jacket with a hood. Since relatively cold I thought I'll be ok with one liter of Zenergize.
The trail by the ski slope would probably be fairly well broken out so I used the small Kathoola snowshoes (the ones you can wear with any boots).
Started around 4:30pm after getting energized at the Common Man in Lincoln with my friend John. He believed I could do it and my self-confidence went considerably up hearing his pep-talk.
The first obstacle to climb Tecumseh is to get by the police patrols hanging out around exit 28 on I-93. They were patroling in each direction on route 49 towards Waterville Valley......luckily they didn't stop me this time. The second obstacle is to get by the tough maple syrup salesmen offering maple syrup vintage 2011 draping the road with signs containing irresistible sales slogans.
Arriving late in the day to the ski area make sit possible to get a parking spot close to the TH. The wind was hitting my face as soon as I opened the car door......I quickly gathered my stuff, locked the car and walked across the road to the TH where I put the snowshoes on and looked at the watch: 4:37pm. That gives me about 3 hours before it gets dark.....it was tough getting a decent pace after 2 hours filling up at The Common Man. I could still taste the last chunk of cheese as I made it up the left side of the creek a couple of minutes into the hike. I looked back to see the late afternoon sun hitting the Tripyramids with a golden-green glow......I thought I could see the glimmer of the disco-ball I lost on the north slide when celebrating Junipers 48-finish a couple of years ago. One day I find it......I like my disco balls.....
The trail continued up through the opened woods and I hoped that the food and drinks would digest at some point......into the pine woods and down to the deep creek crossing where I took a break and drank a chunk before the relentless uphill would start.......finally I found a good rhythm and I saw the pine-covered summit of Tecumseh through the trees. It gave me hope that I might be able to make it and I started to shake and bake up the hill. The lightweight Kahtoolas has less aggressive crampons but the grip was still good.......shortly before the ridge I drank my last Zenergize water and tightened the hood since the wind picked up and my ears were complaining.
Not a single soul on the trail so far. Once on the ridge proper the trail was well filled in with drifts....tried to look away from wind gusts whipping snow into my face.....might be in for a battle up here.....it won't be the first time I turn around if it get real bad......had to stop a couple of times and wait out the wind......shuffled across the slanted western side of the ridge and then the magic right turn and I knew it was just a matter of minutes now......the trail got flatter and there was the cairn! Still untouched by the rangers eagerness to undo any formation of more than one rock. Enjoyed the solitude up there in the cold wind for about 20 seconds before retracing my steps which were partially eliminated already by newly formed drifts.....the sun was fading and the setting sun makes Tecumseh a bit magical.......last time I was here I actually ran into Frodo himself......off the ridge and the snowshoes did glide nicely down the slopes.......
I was tempted to head out into the ski area instead of following the trail.....but decided on the trail anyway......and lo and behold the parking lot showed up and my watch said 6:20pm. Satisfied with my solo snowshoe outing on Tecumseh I headed back to Boston......observed the Campton cops interrogating a mini-van driver underneath the I-93 overpass before heading south.......and the sun was now settled in the west........
Treatment given when driving 35 in a 30-zone in Campton:
The trail by the ski slope would probably be fairly well broken out so I used the small Kathoola snowshoes (the ones you can wear with any boots).
Started around 4:30pm after getting energized at the Common Man in Lincoln with my friend John. He believed I could do it and my self-confidence went considerably up hearing his pep-talk.
The first obstacle to climb Tecumseh is to get by the police patrols hanging out around exit 28 on I-93. They were patroling in each direction on route 49 towards Waterville Valley......luckily they didn't stop me this time. The second obstacle is to get by the tough maple syrup salesmen offering maple syrup vintage 2011 draping the road with signs containing irresistible sales slogans.
Arriving late in the day to the ski area make sit possible to get a parking spot close to the TH. The wind was hitting my face as soon as I opened the car door......I quickly gathered my stuff, locked the car and walked across the road to the TH where I put the snowshoes on and looked at the watch: 4:37pm. That gives me about 3 hours before it gets dark.....it was tough getting a decent pace after 2 hours filling up at The Common Man. I could still taste the last chunk of cheese as I made it up the left side of the creek a couple of minutes into the hike. I looked back to see the late afternoon sun hitting the Tripyramids with a golden-green glow......I thought I could see the glimmer of the disco-ball I lost on the north slide when celebrating Junipers 48-finish a couple of years ago. One day I find it......I like my disco balls.....
The trail continued up through the opened woods and I hoped that the food and drinks would digest at some point......into the pine woods and down to the deep creek crossing where I took a break and drank a chunk before the relentless uphill would start.......finally I found a good rhythm and I saw the pine-covered summit of Tecumseh through the trees. It gave me hope that I might be able to make it and I started to shake and bake up the hill. The lightweight Kahtoolas has less aggressive crampons but the grip was still good.......shortly before the ridge I drank my last Zenergize water and tightened the hood since the wind picked up and my ears were complaining.
Not a single soul on the trail so far. Once on the ridge proper the trail was well filled in with drifts....tried to look away from wind gusts whipping snow into my face.....might be in for a battle up here.....it won't be the first time I turn around if it get real bad......had to stop a couple of times and wait out the wind......shuffled across the slanted western side of the ridge and then the magic right turn and I knew it was just a matter of minutes now......the trail got flatter and there was the cairn! Still untouched by the rangers eagerness to undo any formation of more than one rock. Enjoyed the solitude up there in the cold wind for about 20 seconds before retracing my steps which were partially eliminated already by newly formed drifts.....the sun was fading and the setting sun makes Tecumseh a bit magical.......last time I was here I actually ran into Frodo himself......off the ridge and the snowshoes did glide nicely down the slopes.......
I was tempted to head out into the ski area instead of following the trail.....but decided on the trail anyway......and lo and behold the parking lot showed up and my watch said 6:20pm. Satisfied with my solo snowshoe outing on Tecumseh I headed back to Boston......observed the Campton cops interrogating a mini-van driver underneath the I-93 overpass before heading south.......and the sun was now settled in the west........
Treatment given when driving 35 in a 30-zone in Campton:
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