Mt. Tecumseh (4003)
Trail: Tecumseh Trail
Date: March 20’ish 1999
Attending: Gabe, Simone, & John Chicoine
Miles: 4.8-miles Round trip Time: 6Hrs
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site: None
Weather: Sunny, 30’ish at base, teens on summit
This is our first full snowshoe 4K hike. (We tried them out on MT. Wachussett already.) The snow was fresh powder 6 to 10 inches deep. Without crampons or snowshoes this hike might not have been do-able. The snow base under the new powder snow was a few feet deep and packed solid. What a workout this snowshoe hiking is. Almost too much for us to handle, any other mountain in these conditions would be out of the question. Gabe and I could hardly push ourselves to take each next step, and we were only about 2/3 of the way up at that time. We were doing some serious bitchen about just how much effort this was, (especially on my 32″ long Tubbs; Even though these are designed for mountain trails, these are just way too long and heavy). Simone loved every moment of it, she’s the one that got us to go on up to the top. I have no idea why or how we continued on to the summit, BUT WE DID! We were hot, it was cold, and we didn’t stay at the summit for too long. My Polar Fleece Vest was toasty warm inside, but my steat frost covered the outside like I was wearing a snow vest. This is the first time our Gateraid turned to slush before the hike was over. Once we stopped moving it didn’t take us long to start to chill down, and we had a long way to go before we could sit down in the car. As usual we hiked our diversion off the official trail and up and down the side of the Ski trail which is known as the Bone Yard; Huge jumps for snow-boarders and brave skiers. Today was exhausting. But! Once it was done, all in all it was a great hike and we were proud of ourselves for having stuck with it to the top. My snowshoes are just too long and heavy, but that’s the price one pays for being 50lbs over weight. (they make your snow shoes out of the hoods of 1964 Lincoln Continentals.)
Addendum!!! After just two more serious hikes with those 32Inch Tubbs I sold them and purchased the plastic deck MSR’s; I love them to no end!. When I die, stick them in the bottom of my coffin just in case there’s snow in Heaven!