Hiking in the White Mountains: Mount Tecumseh

Showing posts with label Mount Tecumseh. Show all posts

End of Summer Sarge & Washington #260

9/15/23

Caps Ridge Trail: 5.0 miles, 2,800' elevation gained

- Sarge spent the end of summer working on his four-season grid, he already finished the winter 4K list in 2021 but since then I haven't focused on the peaks he had left in spring (5), summer (12), and fall (1). Most of the summer ones he had left were not the most exciting peaks and with this being the summer of rain I had no interest in taking him on any water-logged trails. Instead, Sarge spent the summer accompanying me up the rockpile on Dood friendly days and running the Great Glen Trails on hot and humid days.

- One of the mountains on the summer list he had not done yet was Jefferson, so a week before the end of summer on a cool and crisp morning we headed up the Caps Ridge Trail.

- Sarge has done this trail before and with many miles put on his paw pads up and down Lion Head and Tucks this summer I had no worries he would easily hop up and down just like he had a few years back.

- Sarge and I usually get a first light start but on this weekday we got a leisurely start at 9:30AM. Sarge easily made his way up to the pothole rock which is a big boulder with glacial potholes that affords a stunning view of the Ridge of the Caps.

Sarge poses for a picture at Pothole Rock with the Ridge of the Caps rising above him

- From the outlook we quickly made our way to treeline and started up the three Caps. At the first Cap Sarge needed one boost but had no problems with the second and third Cap. Between the Caps we caught up to a few groups of early morning starters, one of which had a Dood too.

Sarge just before tackling the first Cap

- Once above all the Caps we ran into a few more groups before having the last half mile and summit to ourselves.

Sarge living the dream with the Ridge of the Caps below him

Mount Clay, Washington, and Monroe in view as Sarge heads up the summit cone

Sarge on the summit of Mount Jefferson

- After taking a few pics and eating some treats we rock hopped back down the mountain finishing just before 11:30AM and home by 12PM for a yummy Pup Cup for Sarge!

Sarge enjoying the views as we head back down the Caps Ridge Trail

The wind would kick up at times and blow Sarge's Dumbo ears round and round

Another picture at Pothole Rock

Post hike pup cup!

Mount Washington w/Sarge

9/26, 9/28, 10/3, 10/5

Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 8.4 miles (4,250' elevation gained)

- In late September and early Octobers Sarge enjoyed a few mornings and afternoons on the Rockpile when the weather was not too hot for Sarge as we had an early fall heatwave for a few days.

- The trails have become very quiet midweek as we have only seen a handful of hikers on the two hikes when we didn't start at first light. When we start at dawn we see not a soul until passing by Hermit Lake on the way down.

- There is still plenty of water for Sarge to cool off in up until the last half mile so I never have to worry about him not staying cool and he gets plenty of yummy treats on the way up and down.

- Sarge also joined in as I hiked Washington for the 260 time and then some. Hopefully we can get in one or two more Washington summits before the trails get icy.

Sarge passing by Lunch Rocks on his way to the falls

Sarge at the Southside / Crawford Path Junction. Mount Monroe in view

Sarge at the floor of Tuckerman Ravine early in the morning. Moon still visible

Sarge enjoying the clouds clearing off above the headwall

Sarge poses with Boott Spur in view

Sarge at the junction of Tuckerman Ravine and Lion Head trails

Sarge makes his way toward first bridge

Above Tuckerman with Lion Haad in view

Happy Dood!

Tuckerman Junction

Cooling off at Lunch Rocks

10/6/23 Mount Tecumseh: 4.6 miles (2,350' elevation gained)

- The only peak Sarge had left to finish his fall 4K's was Mount Tecumseh. One a trip down to RI to visit my parents we enjoyed a quick hike up and down the mountain before the rain came.

- Sarge was full of energy so I had to reel him in until he finally started to slow down to a normal pace as we gained the ridge. IT was a quiet Friday morning on the trail as we saw only one other hiker about halfway up and then nobody until we got back to the parking lot at 8:30AM.

- Colors were still changing down low and just past their peak up high. We were stuck in a cloud so no foliage photos from the summit outlook of the Tripyramids and Osceola's were taking during this quick jaunt.

- Sarge has now completed the 4K list in fall and winter, so we know wait until spring for the pup to continue peak-bagging.

Sarge waiting for me on a leaf blanketed trail

The great stone staircase that Jeremy Clark has constructed over the last dozen years helps keep this heavily used trail from becoming an eroded mess. Incredible craftsmanship!

Sarge goes for "swims" at the highest water crossing

Sign says it all!

G2 : Schorman's Second Grid Finish on Mighty Tecumseh

Date of Hike : 4/23/16

Mount Tecumseh Trail / Sosman Trail / Ski Trails: 5.2 miles (2,234 feet elevation gained) Garmin Forerunner 910XT

Trip Report:
- Saturday morning I made my way south to Waterville Valley to hike with a big group of friendly hikers and a few trail dogs for Bill's second Grid finish. I had been invited to Grid finishes before but was unable to make them so I was really excited to be able to join in and finally put names to faces of hikers I have heard of and read about but have never had the chance to meet in person. There were around twenty Grid finishers in the group, and one dog who has gridded, too!
- We started hiking around 9AM and everyone set out at their own pace and most ended up hiking in small groups spread out over the trail. For the hike up I was with Ethan and Summerset (A.T. 2015 thru-hiker). Ethan and I talked about gear, long hikes, and trail running making the hike up go quickly.
- The weather ending up turning out to be perfect, and the ice on the trail above 3,000 feet wasn't too bad, all that was needed was some light traction. When we reached the summit a big crowd gathered as we waited for Bill to arrive for his final steps to the summit. He was accompanied by his main squeeze, Diane (Lady Di), with Hiker Ed waiting for him at the finish with one of his old Grid license plates from his second finish (Ed had six Grid completions, that's a lot of hiking!!).
- We didn't linger too long on the summit as there was lots of food and drinks waiting back at the parking lot. Most of the hikers headed down the ski slopes which was easier than the trail, no ice just patches of old snow. The sun was out and it was warm making for a very enjoyable descent back to the parking lot.
- At the lot we set up a table with food, coolers with beer, and a couple of grills, where Bill grilled up a few dozen of his famous 'Grid Dogs'. Almost everyone hung around for a few hours eating, drinking, and having a good time.
- It was a real nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Congrats to Bill on his second Grid completion, what an incredible accomplishment, can't wait to see what you do next!

Pictures below, I took a few pictures from Bill's album, click here to view his photo's from the day

Looking up and down the Mount Tecumseh Trail, ice still on the trail but it's melting little by little every day

Bill about to complete his second grid

Ed and Bill. Hiker Ed's creation of 'The Grid' has inspired a number of hikers to battle the challenging terrain and weather of hiking the 48 - 4,000 footers in New Hampshire in each month. Click here to view website

Clouds clearing off the Tripryamids from across Waterville Valley

Just a random bench with a view along the Sosman Trail

Taking the easy way down!

Descending the upper slopes of the Waterville Valley Ski Area

The slopes had snow in some spots and bare ground in other

Taking in the views as we hike back down.

Tripyramids in full view

Steve making some final turns in the snow! Steve, AKA Little Brown Mushroom, has gridded the White Mountains and is about to Grid the Adirondacks too, that's pretty freaking awesome. I enjoy meeting hikers who hike in both ranges, the Whites and Daks' are different yet the same if that makes any sense. He and his hiking buddy Wayne have done some pretty incredible hikes over the years.

Post hike cookout. Plenty of food, drinks, and smiles

Yours truly and Jeremy, Jeremy's website came in handy for when I started my off trail adventures a few years ago, click here for his website

Tim, Bill, and Diane. Tim gave a great speech and had some gifts for Bill and Diane. These three hikers have hiked just about everywhere in the White Mountains, you name it they have hiked it in every season and every condition.

Group shot of about twenty previous Grid finishers. John and his dog Pepper where photo-shopped in. Pepper decided to do some hill repeats on the Mount Tecumseh Trail so John was out finding him while the pictures were taken. Keep your eye out for these hikers on the trails, they're all very knowledgeable and friendly, and you can get some really good advice from each and everyone.

The whole group of hikers that came out for Bill's second grid finish.

Spikes & Ice . . . Mount Tecumseh & Cannon Mountain

Date of Hike: 3/16/16

Mount Tecumseh Trail: 4.6 miles / Kinsman Ridge Trail: 3.7 miles
Total Miles 8.3 (4,431 feet elevation gained) Garmin Forerunner 910XT

Trip Report:
- Wednesday's forecast called for a beautiful sunny and warm day, which was sandwiched in-between two crummy weather days. I took advantage of the mid spring temperatures and headed to Waterville Valley for a quick hike before work, followed by a jaunt up Cannon Mountain during an extended lunch break.
- Conditions on Tecumseh were pretty slippery in spots but with the warm temperatures it was a pretty straight forward hike in microspikes. Cannon, on the other hand was still as steep as it ever was with some murderous icy sections over the first mile and a quarter. I managed to get up in down in my microspikes, which are still very sharp since they are new, but crampons would have not been an overkill at all.
- As a side note, both these hikes ended up finishing my grid for these two peaks. Tecumseh, I have hiked fourteen times, while there aren't many ways to mix up this hike I've tried my best over the past twenty-four years to do so, yes you read that correctly it took twenty-four years to grid this peak! Anyway, I tried different approaches over the years, from both ends of the Tecumseh Trail, up the ski slopes, down them, up the tower access road, trail running the mountain. I still have yet to bushwhack over from the Welch-Dickey col where there used to be an old trail so I look forward to that.
- As for Cannon, it took seven years to grid, and it was my sixteenth time overall summiting the 'Freak' of Franconia Notch from just about every direction, Kinsman Ridge, Mittersill-Cannon, Hi-Cannon, via Kinsman Junction and the Cannon Balls, Lonesome Lake and Coppermine Col, Franconia Notch Loop, MMD 50K Ultra trail run, etc. The Mittersill-Cannon approach is my favorite, however that trail is only opened on a limited basis due to it going up the ski slopes.