Mount Tecumseh – Tripoli Road to Waterville Valley Ski Resort

PHOTO: Yours truly descending one of the stone staircases that stabilize and protect the heavily used Mount Tecumseh Trail. Mount Tecumseh is the last peak on the New Hampshire 4,000 footer list and its summit is just 2.5 miles from The Mount Tecumseh Trailhead located near the Waterville Valley Resort parking lot #1. The Mount Tecumseh Trailhead on Tripoli Road runs 3.1 miles up to and across the west ridge to the mountaintop. We utilized a car drop and made a nice point to point hike over the entire trail.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

Here we go again hiking in the rain.
I met Becca at Waterville Valley Ski Area’s parking lot 1 just before 8 am. We weren’t the first
hikers in the lot. The Teal Goat and the Stompmachine were already walking towards the
trailhead.
The Teal Goat, aka Adam, was working to close up his October Grid month (He did so on
Cannon Mountain the next day, congrats). The Grid is hiking all forty-eight 4,000 footers in all 12 months of the year. Check out 48×12.com to learn more about the Grid.
We wished them a good hike. We left Becca’s car behind and we drove up Tripoli Road to the
north Mount Tecumseh Trailhead. I had my windshield wipers on the entire drive.
By the time we put on our backpacks the rain had turned into a light mist. The weather
forecast called for heavy rain in the afternoon so we hoped that the mist would be it while we
hiked.
We were able to rock hop across Eastman Brook and, of course, the trail was wet and
covered with slippery leaves. After crossing the brook the trail went up at a steady grade and
gradually got steeper before it leveled off in the saddle between the Northwest Peak and the
west ridge. This is the point where the trail is at its closest to the Northwest Peak of Mt.
Tecumseh.

Since it was still only misty it didn’t take much to convince Becca that we should make the
quarter mile bushwhack up to the trailless bump. I told her the woods were mostly open and it
would be fun.
I borrowed Becca’s compass, since I had foolishly left mine behind by mistake. I didn’t really
need it to guide us because, as we pushed our way through some leafless Hobblebush, the
clouds lifted for a few seconds allowing us to have a good view of where we were headed. We
didn’t walk in a straight line, we followed moose herd paths (yes we found evidence that moose
were here because they do the same thing that a bear does in the woods). We stayed in the
open hardwoods and walked around patches of thick Spruce.
On top there was an old rock cairn, a moss covered pile of rocks, that marked the summit. We
only stayed a minute or two on top and the mist turned into light rain. We worked our way back
down trying to stay on the same herd paths we had followed up from the trail. I used the
compass to make sure we kept walking in the right direction.
Back on the trail it seemed darker. The rain had once again turned into mist but the wind was
gusting hard on our backs. We marched on and up the west ridge and then up and down over
its bumps. When we began the final climb to the top of Mt. Tecumseh we both commented that it
felt like there were more ups and downs on the ridge than we remembered. Maybe because we
were in the clouds and didn’t get any big views. Or maybe it was the wind and the wet cold
weather that made the trek across the west ridge seem long.
Just before the summit we rolled a blown down tree off the trail. Inside the cloud and on the
summit the wind really pushed us around. We grabbed a snack from inside our packs and ate
while we walked down the trail.

Two other trails leave the summit: the south end of the Mt. Tecumseh Trail and the Sosman
Trail. These trails meet again below the summit cone. We chose to take the Sosman down the
ridge and right away we noticed that the mountain was now blocking the wind.
For the rest of the hike we were out of the wind and the hiking was much more pleasant.
The ski area side of the Mt. Tecumseh Trail is well maintained. For many years the volunteer
trail maintainer has been tending this trail and stabilizing the trail with stone water bars and
steps. We admired and appreciated his efforts.
As we descended we were now passing by hikers working their way up the mountain. Rain
doesn’t stop these folks from getting outside to hike.
The last brook crossings nearing the bottom of the trail were still easy rock hops.
We made it back to the car way before lunchtime. It felt great to change into warm dry clothes
and shoes. We hoped the other hikers would get off the mountain before the big rains arrived
While we drove around the mountain back to my car on Tripoli Road I realized that the next
time that I’m in Waterville Valley I will probably be clicking into my skis. Have fun.