Tackling Tecumseh

Mt. Tecumseh is the smallest on the 4K hit parade, a mere 4003 feet above sea level. But it had proved to be one of those nagging little mountains that just seem to be stubborn and unapproachable for me.

Twice over the summer, I’d been denied by bad weather -- once when it started to pour the minute I hit the trailhead. A third time, I got hopelessly lost on this poorly marked trail. (Though I did find a couple those new dollar coins along the way, so it wasn’t a total loss!)

It’s not a particularly enticing trail. Only a few views except near the very top.

But wintertime is the best and most interesting time to hit this peak, in my view. The snow filled wooded trail is pretty. And if you’re venturing solo, there’s a certain comfort in hearing the skiers shussin’ down the slopes that run parallel to the hiking trail.

I got a late start -- a spur-of-the-moment decision to grab a 4K. I hit the trailhead at 1 p.m. The trail was fairly well packed, but I still needed my snowshoes to avoid postholing.

A few minutes into my hike, I spied a chipmunk in the middle of the trail. I fully expected it to scamper across the trail and into the woods. Instead, it simply disappeared! As I got closer, I found its escape route: a tunnel it had burrowed beneath the trail. I tried to coax it out, to no avail.

As I continued on, I could hear the Waterville Valley ski area, where some sort of race was going on. The announcer was alerting skiers to the brief break in the clouds that had just arrived.

About halfway up, I ran into two guys coming back down. They warned of winds on top but said the trail was well protected. The trail is a relatively easy grade, but I was huffin’ and puffin’. I was trying hard to stay hydrated and fueled -- always a problem in the winter and one that I tend to struggle with.

Within an hour, I spotted a trail sign up ahead. At first, I was elated, thinking I must already be at the Sosman Trail. Not so. It was a trail-marker sign; to the left was a view from the side of a ski trail. The sign pointing to the right directed hikers to the trail upward.

It took an hour to hit the Sosman Trail sign. It was nearly buried in the snow.

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