BIGEarl
Well-known member
November 5, 2011: Tecumseh & Moosilauke – Double Hit & Run
Trails: Tecumseh = Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Moosilauke = Gorge Brook Trail
Summits: Tecumseh, Moosilauke
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Tecumseh:
In a clear night sky, I can usually find the Big Dipper, North Star, and the moon without too much trouble. My knowledge of astronomy drops off fast from there. The last time we made an early visit to Tecumseh we were able to enjoy a very nice sunrise over the Tripyramids. That was much earlier in the year when the sun appears to be much further north. Now, when viewed from the top of Tecumseh, the sun doesn’t rise over the Tripyramids, it’s a little further south. I’m getting ahead of myself.
Sue and I planned to really enjoy the terrific conditions that were in the forecast and complete two hikes this time out. We have previously combined Moosilauke with a number of other mountains, including Tecumseh. Since this pair was still on our hike list we decided to get them done together, again. We also knew seeing the sun rise over the Tripyramids is probably the best view there is from Tecumseh. The forecast predicted clear sky and no fog. We got started early with a meet time of ~3:30am.
Usually, hiking the Mt. Tecumseh Trail in the dark is relatively simple; just turn on the headlights and walk. There has been a section of trail relocated, I assume due to storm damage caused by TS Irene. We both zoned out following the new section of trail and managed to wander off trail in the direction of the ski area. We managed to drift quite a distance from the actual trail before deciding we should either come up with a good recovery or turn around and re-find the trail. We decided to climb to a high spot to the south and try to see something. On the climb we landed on an old wood road. We followed it up and eventually landed on the ski slopes. We followed the ski slopes up and eventually came to the spur trail that connects to the Mt. Tecumseh Trail for the views that can be enjoyed from the ski slopes. Now we’re back on course and probably didn’t lose much time in the process, we may have even saved a little.
Suddenly finding ourselves at the bottom of the big ramp that leads to the ridge all we had to do was climb. Along the way we passed through ~3500 feet, which is roughly the elevation where the general coverage of snow and ice starts. There was enough loose snow to allow us to bare-boot the climb. In fact, we bare-booted the full hike. From the start of full coverage to the summit it was only necessary to be cautious with foot placement. The conditions generally provided good footing, ascending and descending.
We made it to the ridge and needed to keep moving to stay warm. The wind wasn’t significant but it was enough to cause quite a chill if we stopped for an extended time, and neither of us wanted to add layers. At the trail split to the summit we went left and took the west approach to the summit enjoying some pretty nice views along the way.
I believe we were the first to reach the summit of Tecumseh for the day. After the summit pictures, we took a few minutes to enjoy some cookies Sue had brought. Then, another couple of hikers arrived just as we were leaving. The hike back to the trailhead was via trail all the way. Along the way we passed quite a few other hikers on their climb. One fellow and his Newfy were above the spur trail to the viewpoint where we came back on-course. All of the others were below the spur.
We never definitely found the place where we went wrong and started to drift off trail but it was an easy fix that worked out well in the end. We quickly packed our things, made a quick stop at Livermore, and took off for Ravine Road and our afternoon entertainment on Moosilauke.
Moosilauke:
When we arrived at the area of Ravine Lodge we found roughly three to four hundred yards of vehicles parked along the road. We went to the end, did the turn-around, and took our place at the end of the line. I don’t recall ever seeing as many cars in the area.
After adding some water to my pack we were ready to go. It would have been a faster start if we simply went down to the lodge area but I think they prefer general hiker traffic to use the trail a short distance past the turn-around, which is the route we followed. Very soon after passing around the lodge we were crossing Baker River. A couple trail junctions later and we were hiking along the side of Gorge Brook. There are a couple places along this section of trail that were eroded from high water, again I assume from TS Irene. One of the places has the trail drop to the stream bed and follows it upstream for a short distance before again climbing back on the pre-storm course. In this area it was time for a Moosilauke Snowman and Sue went to work.
Soon after the snowman break we were at the 3300 foot elevation and area of the McKenney memorial plaque. From there, over the next ~2.1 miles and ~1500 feet in elevation it’s a mild climb to the summit with a couple chainsaw viewpoints along the way.
Remember all the vehicles that were strung out on Ravine Road? We met 48 others on Gorge Brook Trail in the course of our climb (I was keeping track). I assume the other routes from the summit back to Ravine Road were getting a fair amount of traffic as well. Again, as we found on Tecumseh the complete snow and ice coverage starts around 3500 feet. The snow was soft with great footing. Moosilauke via Gorge Brook was another bare-boot hike for us, up and down, with no traction problems along the way.
The main reason we decided to hike Gorge Brook was the wind. The National Weather Service had predicted a significant wind from the Northwest. Hiking Gorge Brook would have us sheltered from it until the last couple hundred yards. We enjoyed a very comfortable hike all of the way to the treeline. At the treeline we were treated to a big surprise; all we had was a light breeze. Nearly every previous visit Sue and I have made to Moosilauke included lots of wind and many of those visits also included obscured views, and some with precipitation. On this trip the sky was clear, we had comfortable temperature, and nearly no wind. Nice! Climb Moosilauke enough times and eventually you’ll be rewarded for the effort.
We got the usual summit pictures, some distance shots, enjoyed the area for a while, and started our exit hike back out the way we hiked in. The return hike was completely uneventful but we did get one pleasant surprise. I had expected to hike at least the final couple miles with headlights. We arrived at the truck, with most of the other vehicles that had been there gone, and were still hiking in daylight. We weren’t trying to push the hike at all but made much better time than expected. We loaded our things into the back of the truck and took off for a quick stop in Lincoln, and then the highway south.
We were able to enjoy a great day in the mountains with outstanding conditions every step of the way. I really enjoy when the weather professionals are wrong in the right direction.
Thanks Sue. That’s a good start to November – let’s keep it going.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Tecumseh = Mt. Tecumseh Trail, Moosilauke = Gorge Brook Trail
Summits: Tecumseh, Moosilauke
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Tecumseh:
In a clear night sky, I can usually find the Big Dipper, North Star, and the moon without too much trouble. My knowledge of astronomy drops off fast from there. The last time we made an early visit to Tecumseh we were able to enjoy a very nice sunrise over the Tripyramids. That was much earlier in the year when the sun appears to be much further north. Now, when viewed from the top of Tecumseh, the sun doesn’t rise over the Tripyramids, it’s a little further south. I’m getting ahead of myself.
Sue and I planned to really enjoy the terrific conditions that were in the forecast and complete two hikes this time out. We have previously combined Moosilauke with a number of other mountains, including Tecumseh. Since this pair was still on our hike list we decided to get them done together, again. We also knew seeing the sun rise over the Tripyramids is probably the best view there is from Tecumseh. The forecast predicted clear sky and no fog. We got started early with a meet time of ~3:30am.
Usually, hiking the Mt. Tecumseh Trail in the dark is relatively simple; just turn on the headlights and walk. There has been a section of trail relocated, I assume due to storm damage caused by TS Irene. We both zoned out following the new section of trail and managed to wander off trail in the direction of the ski area. We managed to drift quite a distance from the actual trail before deciding we should either come up with a good recovery or turn around and re-find the trail. We decided to climb to a high spot to the south and try to see something. On the climb we landed on an old wood road. We followed it up and eventually landed on the ski slopes. We followed the ski slopes up and eventually came to the spur trail that connects to the Mt. Tecumseh Trail for the views that can be enjoyed from the ski slopes. Now we’re back on course and probably didn’t lose much time in the process, we may have even saved a little.
Suddenly finding ourselves at the bottom of the big ramp that leads to the ridge all we had to do was climb. Along the way we passed through ~3500 feet, which is roughly the elevation where the general coverage of snow and ice starts. There was enough loose snow to allow us to bare-boot the climb. In fact, we bare-booted the full hike. From the start of full coverage to the summit it was only necessary to be cautious with foot placement. The conditions generally provided good footing, ascending and descending.
We made it to the ridge and needed to keep moving to stay warm. The wind wasn’t significant but it was enough to cause quite a chill if we stopped for an extended time, and neither of us wanted to add layers. At the trail split to the summit we went left and took the west approach to the summit enjoying some pretty nice views along the way.
I believe we were the first to reach the summit of Tecumseh for the day. After the summit pictures, we took a few minutes to enjoy some cookies Sue had brought. Then, another couple of hikers arrived just as we were leaving. The hike back to the trailhead was via trail all the way. Along the way we passed quite a few other hikers on their climb. One fellow and his Newfy were above the spur trail to the viewpoint where we came back on-course. All of the others were below the spur.
We never definitely found the place where we went wrong and started to drift off trail but it was an easy fix that worked out well in the end. We quickly packed our things, made a quick stop at Livermore, and took off for Ravine Road and our afternoon entertainment on Moosilauke.
Moosilauke:
When we arrived at the area of Ravine Lodge we found roughly three to four hundred yards of vehicles parked along the road. We went to the end, did the turn-around, and took our place at the end of the line. I don’t recall ever seeing as many cars in the area.
After adding some water to my pack we were ready to go. It would have been a faster start if we simply went down to the lodge area but I think they prefer general hiker traffic to use the trail a short distance past the turn-around, which is the route we followed. Very soon after passing around the lodge we were crossing Baker River. A couple trail junctions later and we were hiking along the side of Gorge Brook. There are a couple places along this section of trail that were eroded from high water, again I assume from TS Irene. One of the places has the trail drop to the stream bed and follows it upstream for a short distance before again climbing back on the pre-storm course. In this area it was time for a Moosilauke Snowman and Sue went to work.
Soon after the snowman break we were at the 3300 foot elevation and area of the McKenney memorial plaque. From there, over the next ~2.1 miles and ~1500 feet in elevation it’s a mild climb to the summit with a couple chainsaw viewpoints along the way.
Remember all the vehicles that were strung out on Ravine Road? We met 48 others on Gorge Brook Trail in the course of our climb (I was keeping track). I assume the other routes from the summit back to Ravine Road were getting a fair amount of traffic as well. Again, as we found on Tecumseh the complete snow and ice coverage starts around 3500 feet. The snow was soft with great footing. Moosilauke via Gorge Brook was another bare-boot hike for us, up and down, with no traction problems along the way.
The main reason we decided to hike Gorge Brook was the wind. The National Weather Service had predicted a significant wind from the Northwest. Hiking Gorge Brook would have us sheltered from it until the last couple hundred yards. We enjoyed a very comfortable hike all of the way to the treeline. At the treeline we were treated to a big surprise; all we had was a light breeze. Nearly every previous visit Sue and I have made to Moosilauke included lots of wind and many of those visits also included obscured views, and some with precipitation. On this trip the sky was clear, we had comfortable temperature, and nearly no wind. Nice! Climb Moosilauke enough times and eventually you’ll be rewarded for the effort.
We got the usual summit pictures, some distance shots, enjoyed the area for a while, and started our exit hike back out the way we hiked in. The return hike was completely uneventful but we did get one pleasant surprise. I had expected to hike at least the final couple miles with headlights. We arrived at the truck, with most of the other vehicles that had been there gone, and were still hiking in daylight. We weren’t trying to push the hike at all but made much better time than expected. We loaded our things into the back of the truck and took off for a quick stop in Lincoln, and then the highway south.
We were able to enjoy a great day in the mountains with outstanding conditions every step of the way. I really enjoy when the weather professionals are wrong in the right direction.
Thanks Sue. That’s a good start to November – let’s keep it going.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
