alspal
New member
Thus far all of my hikes/runs on the higher peaks have been with small groups. I decided to finish off a week of vacation with my first solo. I chose Mt Tecumseh because it looked like an interesting hike and the bonus was that I could finish at the base of the ski area and include a run back to the car. Any time I know I’ll have a highly run-able section of trail, or in this case road, to finish out the hike I consider that to be a bonus.
On Friday morning Cath (my wife) and I did a short hike in Petersham, MA to check out the former town of Dana. We explored some cellar holes and enjoyed the quiet of one of the few “ghost towns” in Mass. I then took off on my own for Tecumseh. I drove to the Waterville ski area first to see where the trail ended, then drove up Tripoli road to scope out how the climb to Thornton Gap would be.
There was only one camper along the road and no cars at any of the trailheads. I would definitely have a lone hike. The fact that it was 2:00 on a Friday and the weather wasn’t great probably added to the lack of company.
I parked at Tecumseh trailhead, quickly gathered up my gear and headed off. There would definitely not be any views on this day as it was drizzling and there was dense fog up on the mountain. It was a comfortable 60 degrees, but the nearly 100% humidity made it seem cooler. I started out running and immediately had to stop for the stream crossing. I was wearing my Jala’s (Orienteering shoes) which made the log crossing pretty easy despite my normally terrible balancing ability.
Once across I was off at an easy clip heading slowly up. The trail was very run-able and I was soaked in the first 5 minutes of running. At almost exactly 3,000’ I reached the low cloud deck. I stopped for a brief moment at 3,700’ to re-check the map as the decent drop after the NW peak. I was sure that I couldn’t miss the top as the trail went right over it, but wanted reassurance. Even with the log crossing and the hesitation I was able to comfortably hit the summit in 51:00 (3.1 miles). I took five minutes on the summit for a couple of pictures and tightened up my shoelaces.
I really took it slowly coming down as I’m not a good descender. It seemed to take forever to get to the “view” at the ski area. I took a quick look but could only see bright white clouds. The descent was rockier than I like, but not terrible, and I got to the ski area parking lot in 49:04 (2.2 miles). I took three minutes to tighten my laces and eat a Gu.
I dropped another 200’ to Tripoli road, and then climbed the road. Although Jala’s are made for running (orienteering) and they grip great on rocks, I wouldn’t recommend them for a 5+ mile run on roads. I click-clacked my way up to the gap and then back down to my car in 45:06. The total time for the 11ish mile loop was 2:32:33 with about 3,000’ of climb/descent. I got into my car as the ski opened up and the rain began. No view, but a cloudy day in the woods beats a sunny day at work.
On Friday morning Cath (my wife) and I did a short hike in Petersham, MA to check out the former town of Dana. We explored some cellar holes and enjoyed the quiet of one of the few “ghost towns” in Mass. I then took off on my own for Tecumseh. I drove to the Waterville ski area first to see where the trail ended, then drove up Tripoli road to scope out how the climb to Thornton Gap would be.
There was only one camper along the road and no cars at any of the trailheads. I would definitely have a lone hike. The fact that it was 2:00 on a Friday and the weather wasn’t great probably added to the lack of company.
I parked at Tecumseh trailhead, quickly gathered up my gear and headed off. There would definitely not be any views on this day as it was drizzling and there was dense fog up on the mountain. It was a comfortable 60 degrees, but the nearly 100% humidity made it seem cooler. I started out running and immediately had to stop for the stream crossing. I was wearing my Jala’s (Orienteering shoes) which made the log crossing pretty easy despite my normally terrible balancing ability.
Once across I was off at an easy clip heading slowly up. The trail was very run-able and I was soaked in the first 5 minutes of running. At almost exactly 3,000’ I reached the low cloud deck. I stopped for a brief moment at 3,700’ to re-check the map as the decent drop after the NW peak. I was sure that I couldn’t miss the top as the trail went right over it, but wanted reassurance. Even with the log crossing and the hesitation I was able to comfortably hit the summit in 51:00 (3.1 miles). I took five minutes on the summit for a couple of pictures and tightened up my shoelaces.
I really took it slowly coming down as I’m not a good descender. It seemed to take forever to get to the “view” at the ski area. I took a quick look but could only see bright white clouds. The descent was rockier than I like, but not terrible, and I got to the ski area parking lot in 49:04 (2.2 miles). I took three minutes to tighten my laces and eat a Gu.
I dropped another 200’ to Tripoli road, and then climbed the road. Although Jala’s are made for running (orienteering) and they grip great on rocks, I wouldn’t recommend them for a 5+ mile run on roads. I click-clacked my way up to the gap and then back down to my car in 45:06. The total time for the 11ish mile loop was 2:32:33 with about 3,000’ of climb/descent. I got into my car as the ski opened up and the rain began. No view, but a cloudy day in the woods beats a sunny day at work.
