Snowflea
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Mt. Tecumseh & West Tecumseh
Route: Bushwhack, Tripoli Road, Mt. Tecumseh Trail (the whole thing)
Date: Thursday, 1/09/14
Equipment: Hillsounds & snowshoes
Trail Conditions:
Bushwhack (ski parking to Tripoli Road): unbroken crusty snow - 4-6" sinkage
Tripoli Road: Groomed by nordic center to gate at Thornton Gap/Mt. Osceola Trail, then by snowmobiles
Mt. Tecumseh Trail to main peak: Unbroken crusty snow w/sections of fresh powder here & there
Mt. Tecumseh Trail to ski parking: Well-packed "highway" w/lots of icy spots
Comments: Tecumseh from Tripoli Road in winter had been on my to-do list for some time. Am sorry it took so long to actually do it because it is a great loop with a nice snowshoe grade on the northern/western end of the MTT. I parked at the usual WV skier lot for MTT and immediately after crossing the first stream, hung a right off the trail and headed north, then northwest so as to not lose elevation on the way to Tripoli Road. The 'whack was pretty short and sweet - about 25 minutes to Tripoli Road but I was dawdling, stopping to examine the many, many critter tracks.
Tripoli Road was freshly groomed by the nordic center. The surface was very hardpacked corduroy but not icy at all and I barely left footprints. (The skiing conditions looked to be great!) Still, I stayed to the side of the trail. Never saw any skiers, but it was early and was pretty nippy with the wind. The coldest part of today's hike was topping out at Thornton Gap before dropping down to the MTT. Brrr... At the Mt. Osceola Trail/Thornton Gap there is a gate, and that is where the nordic center stops grooming; however, the snowmobiles ride the western side of the road from this gate. A few had been through. Still no ice. Yay!
The Mt. Tecumseh Trail was just as I'd hoped: completely unbroken! The two little stream crossings at the beginning were frozen and not a problem at all. Because my boots were sinking 4-6", I opted for snowshoes and would not have been a happy camper without them higher up. They stayed on my feet until the main summit. The trail was not unbroken for long: I seem to have found the Route 128 for Moose today and followed their prints and postholes (and other "evidence") for a mile or so, to about 3200'. Hadn't seen that degree of moose activity since Frodo and I did the Davis Path to Mt. Davis many winters ago... Some of the tracks were very fresh, and I stopped a few times hoping to hear them crashing through the trees. No such luck.
West Tecumseh used to be a New England 100 Highest peak but was removed from the list in the mid 80s after it was found to be about 24 feet too short. This was before my time, though, so I'd never done it in winter. Was nice to finally pay my respects to a forgotten NE100 peak. There is a bit of a drop between West and Main Peaks, and quite a little eye-opening steep pitch on the way up to 4003 but nothing too crazy. This is Tecumseh after all.
From the Main Peak down was like a well-trodden highway with many icy sections hidden under a thin coating of snow. Ugh. I much preferred breaking trail on the north side of the mountain!
This was a great loop that I highly recommend. It's somewhere in the 9-10 mile range. It certainly makes for a more adventurous day of Tecumseh.
Stinkyfeet
Route: Bushwhack, Tripoli Road, Mt. Tecumseh Trail (the whole thing)
Date: Thursday, 1/09/14
Equipment: Hillsounds & snowshoes
Trail Conditions:
Bushwhack (ski parking to Tripoli Road): unbroken crusty snow - 4-6" sinkage
Tripoli Road: Groomed by nordic center to gate at Thornton Gap/Mt. Osceola Trail, then by snowmobiles
Mt. Tecumseh Trail to main peak: Unbroken crusty snow w/sections of fresh powder here & there
Mt. Tecumseh Trail to ski parking: Well-packed "highway" w/lots of icy spots
Comments: Tecumseh from Tripoli Road in winter had been on my to-do list for some time. Am sorry it took so long to actually do it because it is a great loop with a nice snowshoe grade on the northern/western end of the MTT. I parked at the usual WV skier lot for MTT and immediately after crossing the first stream, hung a right off the trail and headed north, then northwest so as to not lose elevation on the way to Tripoli Road. The 'whack was pretty short and sweet - about 25 minutes to Tripoli Road but I was dawdling, stopping to examine the many, many critter tracks.
Tripoli Road was freshly groomed by the nordic center. The surface was very hardpacked corduroy but not icy at all and I barely left footprints. (The skiing conditions looked to be great!) Still, I stayed to the side of the trail. Never saw any skiers, but it was early and was pretty nippy with the wind. The coldest part of today's hike was topping out at Thornton Gap before dropping down to the MTT. Brrr... At the Mt. Osceola Trail/Thornton Gap there is a gate, and that is where the nordic center stops grooming; however, the snowmobiles ride the western side of the road from this gate. A few had been through. Still no ice. Yay!
The Mt. Tecumseh Trail was just as I'd hoped: completely unbroken! The two little stream crossings at the beginning were frozen and not a problem at all. Because my boots were sinking 4-6", I opted for snowshoes and would not have been a happy camper without them higher up. They stayed on my feet until the main summit. The trail was not unbroken for long: I seem to have found the Route 128 for Moose today and followed their prints and postholes (and other "evidence") for a mile or so, to about 3200'. Hadn't seen that degree of moose activity since Frodo and I did the Davis Path to Mt. Davis many winters ago... Some of the tracks were very fresh, and I stopped a few times hoping to hear them crashing through the trees. No such luck.
West Tecumseh used to be a New England 100 Highest peak but was removed from the list in the mid 80s after it was found to be about 24 feet too short. This was before my time, though, so I'd never done it in winter. Was nice to finally pay my respects to a forgotten NE100 peak. There is a bit of a drop between West and Main Peaks, and quite a little eye-opening steep pitch on the way up to 4003 but nothing too crazy. This is Tecumseh after all.
From the Main Peak down was like a well-trodden highway with many icy sections hidden under a thin coating of snow. Ugh. I much preferred breaking trail on the north side of the mountain!
This was a great loop that I highly recommend. It's somewhere in the 9-10 mile range. It certainly makes for a more adventurous day of Tecumseh.
Stinkyfeet
