Mt. Tecumseh our 1st 4000 footer
At 4,003 ft. Mt. Tecumseh just barely makes the list and is the smallest of the official 48 4,000 peaks in NH. It's located in Waterville Valley, NH and the Waterville Valley Ski area is located on Mt. Tecumseh.
Mt. Tecumseh was our first 4,000 footer. Up until then we had been doing smaller hikes and making sure the kids were up to the challenge and enjoyed hiking. Everyone said Tecumseh is an easy one, "It's a great mountain for your 1st 4,000 footer". I'm not so sure I would agree. While it's certainly not the most difficult and is rated "easy" it was still a challenge and not what I would recommend for a 1st timer.
There are likely a few factors which made this one a little more challenging. We started off under cloudy skies with a chance of rain. Since we were still new to hiking we lacked good hiking gear that might have made things easier like light weight backpacks with back support, hiking poles, and RAIN gear.
We approached Tecumseh from the Waterville Valley ski area vs. the other approach from Tripoli road. About 30 minutes into our hike it started raining. Quick get out the $3 dollar ponchos, cover the backpacks with the extra $3 ponchos and keep going. The density of the trees helped keep the heavy rain at bay, but we were still getting wet and now sweating under our non-breathable ponchos.
We did enjoy the little peak out onto the ski trails and all agreed they look much better with snow on them. We stopped several times to give the kids legs time to rest and refuel with some snacks. The climb was gradual with several steep sections. One steep section that seemed to go on forever. Every time I looked up I thought it would never end, but it did.
At 0.3 miles from the peak there is a fork in the trail. Either way will take you to the peak. We opted to go left. Those last 0.3 miles were challenging. A lot of rocks and some rough terrain. We were still below the tree line but the trees were not as dense so now we were really exposed to the rain. We finally reached the summit and were ready to refuel. The peak was in the clouds so I can't tell you about the views from Tecumseh. I've been told there is a peek-a-boo view from the top and I've seen pictures of it but we didn't get to see it on this day.
The climb back down was uneventful and the rain finally let up about halfway down. By the time we got back to the car we were soaked to the bone, a muddy mess and tired. Despite our condition we were still very proud of ourselves for completing our very first of the 48 4000 footers and believe it or not already talking about our next one (after we upgrade some gear).
While we didn't get to see the views, I would recommend a peak with more of an open summit and expansive views for a first 4000 footer. Perhaps Mt. Pierce...
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